The Radicalization of John Edwards

March 9, 2007 — -- On Thursday, ailing Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards rejected an offer to engage in a nationally televised debate with front-runners Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Sponsors of the debate would include the Democratic Party of Nevada, the Democratic Party of Arizona, the Democratic Party of Colorado, the Democratic Party of Montana, the Democratic Party of New Mexico, and the Western Majority Project, a liberal political action committee. Why would Edwards, who is currently running 25 percentage points behind Clinton and 13 points behind Obama, turn down such a rare opportunity to directly confront his opponents? Why would the television candidate of all television candidates turn down a chance to look pretty on national television?

Edwards rejected the invitation because Fox News is co-sponsoring the debate.

Really. Seriously. No joke.

"There were a number of factors and Fox was one of those," explained the Edwards campaign. "We're already planning to participate in a jam-packed schedule of debates across this country. … We can't attend every single debate and forum."

Edwards is running scared. Because he's running scared, he's running left. Soon he'll be infringing on Dennis "I've Got No Strings" Kucinich territory.

Edwards hopes to gain votes by outflanking Clinton and Obama. If he can solidify the netroots crowd -- the Daily Kosians who despise Fox News' conservative bias more than Al Jazeera's pro-terrorist bias -- he may precipitate a groundswell of Huffington Post support. Edwards remembers the lusty ovation Bill Clinton received after Clinton's spittle-flecked tirade against Fox News interviewer Chris Wallace. Edwards wants to duplicate Clinton's "conservative media bias" routine.

It's an interesting strategy, particularly for a candidate whose radical, quasi-Marxist "two Americas" nonsense is undermined by his own gaudy lifestyle. Edwards cannot credibly play the radical. Edwards cannot play the role of outsider –