"Edwards Prefers Obama To Clinton"

Chris Bowers:

Of all the attacks I have seen so far in this nearly year-long campaign, the latest one from Edwards might be the most interesting of all.

Today, John Edwards came out and said that the differences between himself and Clinton and greater than the differences between himself and Obama. Wow:

"The differences between Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) and myself are much more dramatic than the differences between Sen. Obama and myself," Edwards told reporters after receiving the endorsement of the progressive group Caucus for Priorities, which seeks a reallocation of defense dollars into social programs.

"Down the line," Edwards said, on issues such as "What we would do in Iraq? What we should be doing about Iran. What we should be doing about corrupting influences in Washington and a broken system, (there are) really big differences between Sen. Clinton and myself."

Iowa is very close, so close that even a minor deal like the one Edwards and Kucinich made in 2004 could swing the state. Even leaving potential caucus-day deals aside, if both Edwards and Obama were to start attacking Clinton instead of each other, or at least if they were to start attacking Clinton more than they were attacking each other, then Clinton would be in real trouble in Iowa. For Edwards to come out and basically say that he prefers Obama to Clinton is one of the most unusual moves I have ever seen from a presidential candidate. If Obama were to say pretty much the same thing, then Clinton would be in real trouble in Iowa. Not only would she face attacks on several fronts, but it could also exacerbate her problem as a second place choice, where she already finds herself in third.

Edwards had some criticism of Obama in that speech as well, but this basically amounts to a direct anti-Clinton assault. If Obama reciprocates, this could easily change the campaign.

Update: This apparently happened a while ago, not yesterday.

Barack Obama