Why it's all about Edwards *and* Obama

And it's not because they are two insanely attractive politicians.

They both have their flaws: Edwards subpar handling of the issue of HIV during his debate with Cheney back in '04 and Obama's leaving the door open comment with regards to military force against Iran (he made this comment well before he declared candidacy).

But lets be real about this. During the '04 Campaign, Edwards' "Two Americas" stump speech was rousing and extremely right on (think: Katrina). I also have good reason to believe that Edwards' holds a critical view of government and that it's not always going to save the day.
Take for instance the fact that he urged - according to a friend who was working with media outlets during the '04 election night coverage - Kerry to look into the shadiness of Ohio election returns. Kerry, maybe deciding that recounts and election night second guessing
were old news or maybe he just didn't believe it to be a big issue, didn't heed Edwards advice. We now know that that could've been a mistake. When Edwards does shit like this, I get turned on. Oh, and what about his stance against the war and on other issues like healthcare which are by far the most progressive outside of Dennis (The Menace) Kucinich?

I don't think I have to go too much in defense of Obama, b/c by in large, most readers of this blog are for Obama. I've been following Obama since well before his '04 speech, when he was not on anybody's radar and just known as the guy who lost a Congressional race to Former Black Panther and Congressman Bobby Rush. I like him a lot. I vibe how he's structured his campaign. I vibe his branding of hope. I vibe the energy and political creativity that has grown around him, think: Obama/Apple Ad. I vibe that his candidacy is going to give so much
respect now to people like me with Community Organizer on their resume. I just vibe him, period.

I also think that -maybe- in some ways it's easier for Edwards to be more progressive on some issues than Obama and also Clinton. But at the same time, I'm like well Edwards has the hopeful, energetic spirit of Obama, plus he has the meat of specific change that he's proposed. But then on the other than, let's keep it real, Obama's Black. And also his handling of media is so conscious and ahead of the game, that I'm like damn, he'd bring a whole new type of intelligence to the White House.

So yes, I'm on the record as supporting both Edwards and Obama. And until NY Primary Day 2008, I hope to stay this way.