Bagging for Biden (or The Next Best Thing)

Where does the Biden devotee land after his candidate's run has ended?

Obama? Clinton? Edwards?

My rebound reaction was Obama. That was aided by an Andrew Sullivan essay in last month's Atlantic that painted the Senator in transcendant terms, not so much in terms of his policy or leadership credentials, but largely in terms of his iconic value as the new face of America in the world. It's a compelling case.

But after watching the CNN debate the other night, I began to feel pulled towards John Edwards. Edwards is a guy who's southern drawl populism has always annoyed me. When he went on a "poverty tour" early last year, I found it hard to not view it in cynical terms. The same goes for his first-in-the-field candidacy announcement from the ninth ward of New Orleans. But after watching the two frontrunners bludgeon one another on Monday night while Wolf Blitzer tried to not completely ignore Edwards changed my view a bit.

When he did get a chance to speak he talked about his universal health care plan and explained why his is universal and Obama's is not (for what it's worth, Obama explained why his isn't universal quite well). Then he talked about poverty, both that or rural America and urban America, that of veterans and that of single moms. And for the first time, he caught my attention.

Since that time I've watched his appearance on Letterman:


I've also just finished watching the tail end of a town hall event in South Carolina in which he fielded questions from participants. And all I can say at this point is that I'm leaning.

I'm leeeeaning.

My absentee ballot arrived in the mail this week for the Feb. 5th Super Tuesday primary. I gotta punch that thing and get it in the mail soon.