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The Morning Grind / DayAhead |
Kerry-Edwards '04
By John Mercurio
CNN Political Unit
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 VIDEO |
 John Kerry names John Edwards his running mate.
 CNN's Candy Crowley on John Edwards as a running mate.
 CNN's Bill Schneider on looking for the 'VP bounce.'
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RELATED |
• NY Post makes the wrong call
• Bush-McCain ad in the works
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- It's Edwards.
John Kerry apparently decided it doesn't matter whether John Edwards was in diapers in 1969.
Kerry chose the exciting but untested North Carolinian over the tested but unexciting Missourian, who almost certainly was not wearing diapers in the '60s. Kerry passed over the unknown Iowan and the tested Floridian. In the end, it seems, Kerry decided that 72 percent of poll respondents can't be wrong. (Kerry names Edwards his running mate)
Kerry called Edwards around 8 a.m. ET. Edwards, The Grind can confirm, "readily" accepted his former rival's offer to join the ticket. He's expected to meet up with Kerry later today, in time for prime time TV news coverage, at Fox Chapel outside Pittsburgh for his first official event as Kerry's running mate. (A profile of John Edwards)
In an e-mail sent this morning to more than 1 million supporters, Kerry said he chose Edwards because he "understands and defends the values of America." (CNN.com Special Report: John Edwards Fact File)
"He has shown courage and conviction as a champion for middle-class Americans and those struggling to reach the middle class. In the Senate, he worked to reform our intelligence, to combat bioterrorism, and keep our military strong. John reaches across party lines and speaks to the heart of America -- hope and optimism."
"Throughout his own campaign for president, John spoke about the great divide in this country -- the 'Two Americas' -- that exist between those who are doing well today and those that are struggling to make it from day to day. And I am so proud that we're going to build one America together."
Republicans respond
Republicans have already pounced.
Bush-Cheney announced plans to launch a new 60-second TV ad in which John McCain praises President Bush and his leadership in the war on terror. (Bush-McCain ad in the works)
In the ad, first reported Sunday on CNN, McCain says Bush "has not wavered, he has not flinched from the hard choices, he was determined and remains determined to make this world a better, safer, freer place. He deserves not only our support but our admiration."
The ad will air on national cable and select local markets. (The DNC, which believes that any day we're talking about McCain is a good day for Kerry, plan to push back on this subplot. Stay tuned).
The RNC has released a statement calling Edwards a "disingenuous, unaccomplished liberal and friend to personal injury trial lawyers."
Last night, Bush campaign pollster Matt Dowd released a memo on the post-veep choice/convention bounce. In an early round of the expectations/spin game, Dowd set the bar high, saying that based on polls since 1976, they can expect to see a 15-point plus bounce for Kerry.
"We should expect the state of the race to swing wildly to his favor by early August," Dowd wrote. His "memo" points out that's an often short-lived effect.
And on Capitol Hill, the GOP-led Senate begins debate today on a measure to limit jury awards -- an issue that senior Republicans say is tailor-made to focus criticism on Edwards' record as a trial lawyer. "This is an issue John Edwards has based his career on," a senior GOP leadership aide told CNN's Steve Turnham.
The aide also said that the GOP will remind voters of every missed vote by Edwards, just as they have with Kerry. The Senate is expected to vote this afternoon on a matter not related to the class-action bill, and neither Kerry nor Edwards are expected to be there.
Also, a little Kerry-Edwards trivia that's sure to start making the rounds today.
Kerry's choice gives the Senator two new links to the former president who shares his home state and his initials. This is the first time since John Kennedy chose Lyndon Baines Johnson that two incumbent Senators have run on the same ticket, and the first time since 1960 that a nominee has chosen a former rival.
Edwards is the first North Carolinian to run on a national ticket since William Alexander Graham, the unsuccessful Whig vice presidential candidate in 1852.
Kerry's choice
So, why did Kerry choose Edwards? Well, according to a campaign "mission statement," Kerry instructed his top aides to help him select a VP nominee who would:
1) Have a "distinguished record of leadership" and service to America. Someone who had proven himself or herself as an effective leader, with sound judgment on the key issues of national security, economic prosperity and social justice.
2) Be committed to Kerry's "core vision" for building an America that's stronger at home and respected in the world."
3) Inspire confidence in voters from all parts of our country and from all walks of life. And that confidence had to come from his or her ideas, leadership and ability to campaign effectively.
4) Be compatible with Kerry on "every level" and share his "values" and his optimistic vision for building a stronger America.
5) Be ready, at any moment, to assume the "awesome" responsibility of serving as president.
That's all well and good. But we have to wonder whether the choice is sitting well with all Democrats. The gubernatorial host of today's announcement, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, for example, had some interesting observations about Edwards yesterday. Speaking with the crowd at a Bill Clinton book signing in New York, he talked about why Edwards didn't win the nomination, saying, "The truth of the matter is his youthful good looks worked against him. He doesn't look 50, he looks mid-30s."
"Sure, we should be so lucky, but the word experts would use is 'gravitas,'" Rendell added. "Did he look like he was ready to be president? Did he have in his resume enough in his background to have him deal with terrorism or these things? I think when people look at John Edwards they say he's a terrific, bright young Senator, he'll be something some day, but I don't think they see it now."
Two Democratic sources tell CNN that in designing the rollout plan, Kerry VP search director Jim Johnson brought in a number of prominent Democratic operatives not involved in ay-to-day Kerry operations.
Since April, this group has had meetings with Jim Johnson every Monday morning to help craft a detailed rollout plan -- one that the campaign ultimately accepted and tinkered with only in the decision to add the Kerry E-mail notification to supporters. The plan called for a solo announcement by Kerry, and then a later joint appearance followed by joint campaign travel, as well as a series of media interviews.
Among those in the group who advised Johnson on an announcement strategy were Doug Sosnik, a former top Clinton White House aid; veteran Democratic pollster Peter Hart; and Democratic communications advisers Laura Nichols, a former top Gephardt aide; Kiki Moore McLean, who worked for Senator Joseph Lieberman when he was Al Gore's' running mate and also was close to the Clinton White House political operation; and Jenny Backus, a former Democratic National Committee and Democratic Sentatorial Campaign Committee spokeswoman who is now a private consultant.
Edward's background
Finally this morning, a little background on the new VP nominee, compiled by our crack team of political researchers
When Johnny Reid Edwards was born in 1953, his parents could not afford to pay the hospital bill, so his father took out a $50 loan at 100 percent interest to satisfy hospital officials. Edwards' first home was a three-room rental with a coal fireplace, but at one point in his childhood, the family briefly lived in a public housing project. Edwards' grandparents had been sharecroppers, but left that profession to work in the Carolinas' textile mills, which guaranteed a regular paycheck.
On the stump, John Edwards is fond of telling voters that he believes America is a country where "the son of a mill worker can go toe-to-toe against the son of a president of the United States." He rarely notes that his father eventually became part of management at a North Carolina textile mill. Still, Edwards' father felt that his lack of a college education kept him from advancing at work, and Edwards values education.
In high school, Edwards was not known as a stellar student, instead focusing on the four sports in which he lettered -- football, basketball, track and tennis. When a hoped-for football scholarship did not materialize during his freshman year at Clemson University, Edwards transferred after one semester to the more-affordable North Carolina State University, where he took his studies seriously and eventually graduated in three years with a 3.8 grade-point average.
Edwards, whose parents were Republicans, was not very politically active in college or law school. He sat out much of the student protest against the Vietnam War. Edwards registered for the draft in college and received a high lottery number. By the time he graduated in 1974, the draft had been abolished.
As an 11-year-old, Edwards wrote in an essay that he wanted to enter the legal profession to "protect innocent people from blind justice the best I can." In college, he majored in textiles, but that was planned as a fallback in case he didn't get into law school. Once enrolled in law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Edwards met fellow student Elizabeth Anania, and upon graduation, the two were wed a few days after taking the bar exam.
After law school, Edwards and his new wife both won clerkships with federal judges and then moved to Nashville to work for different law firms. Soon they were back in North Carolina, where Edwards took a job as a litigator with a small law firm over a more lucrative offer to practice corporate law. Before long Edwards was shattering records with multimillion-dollar jury awards and Elizabeth Anania (who kept her maiden name) settled into life as a bankruptcy lawyer and suburban mother. By the time Edwards gave up his practice to run for the Senate, he had handled cases that won at least $205 million for his clients.
Turning tragedy into triumph
In April 1996, the couple's 16 year-old-son was driving to the family beach house when his Jeep Cherokee flipped over, killing Wade Edwards but only injuring the passenger. In mourning, the family became active in a local Methodist church. Edwards quit working for months. His wife changed her last name to Edwards and quit her bankruptcy practice. With the help of hormone shots, she also had two more children, a daughter at 48 and a son at 50. A year-and-a-half later, Edwards was elected to the Senate in his first-ever bid for elective office. While he declines to link the two events, some associates believe the tragedy made him want to contribute to society in greater ways.
After defeating an incumbent Republican in a tight 1998 race with $6 million of his own money, Edwards made his way onto Al Gore's short list of vice-presidential nominees in 2000. Some reports say the final choice came down to Edwards and Joe Lieberman, with Gore finally deciding Edwards was too inexperienced.
In 2001, Edwards focused in the Senate on hammering out a compromise with Republican John McCain and Democrat Edward Kennedy on a so-called patient's bill of rights. The legislation passed the Senate but stalled in the House. The same year, Edwards became the subject of speculation about presidential ambitions and did little to brush off the talk.
Edwards faced questions about serving as the Democratic candidate for the number two spot even before he ended his presidential campaign. Throughout the primaries, Edwards consistently denied any interest in running for vice president. On March 1, the day before he lost every Super Tuesday primary and caucus and subsequently dropped out of the race, Edwards again said he was not angling for the vice presidency, telling the Associated Press: "Oh, no. Oh, no, no. Far from it."
Despite running a campaign based on his sunny optimism, Edwards did offer some criticism of Kerry while the two competed for the nomination. He characterized Kerry as "somebody who spent most of [his] life in politics." Edwards also contrasted his working-class roots with Kerry's patrician upbringing, saying, "This is something that crowd in Washington just doesn't get." Kerry also had critical words of Edwards, saying just before Super Tuesday that the North Carolina senator was "less experienced on key issues" of the general election.
When Edwards dropped out of the race on March 3, he told supporters that "John Kerry has what it takes right here to be president of the United States," adding: "I will do everything I have in my power to help him." When asked if he wants to be Kerry's running mate, or would accept an offer, Edwards demurs. Usually, Edwards says he does not want to engage in speculation, that the decision is up to Kerry, and that he will do "whatever I can" to help Kerry become president.
Since losing the nomination, Edwards formed the One America Committee. The committee's stated purpose was to provide money and logistical support as Edwards stumped for Democratic candidates across the country, but its unstated mission was to help the North Carolina senator emerge as the most attractive choice for vice president and to have a campaign up and running if he were selected as Kerry's running mate.
In a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted in late June, 72 percent of respondents said they would be "enthusiastic or satisfied" if Kerry chose Edwards as his running mate.
