News has leaked from the John Edwards ur-campaign that the former North Carolina senator and vice presidential candidate will launch a run for president later this month. Edwards, Clinton, and Obama will likely outclass the other contendors for the Democratic nomination, including Al Sharpton, Dennis Kucinich, Tom Vilsack, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, and others. (And don’t forget the ghosts of elections past, Al Gore and John Kerry, who haven’t put an end to speculation that they may be running.) To watch John Edwards talk about labor and the economics of the middle class, see this video from Hardball. He’s a charming bugger, that Edwards.
One man who won’t be running is Indiana Senator and former Indiana Governor Evan Bayh, who people have been discussing as a potential presidential candidate for years. Bayh didn’t use the old “more time with family” line when announcing his non-run. He was actually quite forthcoming about the reason: he just couldn’t win.
“And whether there were too many Goliaths or whether I’m just not the right David, … the odds were longer than I felt I could responsibly pursue,” Bayh’s statement continued. “This path — and these long odds — would have required me to be essentially absent from the Senate for the next year instead of working to help the people of my state and the nation.”
Bayh has spent a lot of time in Iowa and New Hampshire over the last year or so, which makes this decision to drop out at this point a little curious. Best wishes for continued success in the Senate, Mr. Bayh.
