Edwards Misses Key Endorsement
After the Des Moines Register endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, John Edwards said he has “a fundamental difference” with the newspaper’s editorial board. The Register‘s endorsement is perhaps the most prized endorsement of the Democratic race. It is one of the few newspaper endorsements that is still considered to carry significant clout, and the paper’s endorsement of Edwards during his 2004 run helped boost him to a second-place finish in Iowa. Back then, the paper called him “one of those rare, naturally gifted politicians who doesn’t need a long record of public service to inspire confidence in his abilities” and whose “life has been one of accomplishing the unexpected, amid flashes of brilliance.”
This time around, the Register‘s editorial board, which is mostly composed of members who were not on the board four years ago, feels differently. On Sunday, the board wrote that Clinton’s experience makes her best prepared to take on the nation’s challenges. At a campaign stop, asked by reporters about the endorsement, Edwards said:
Congratulations to Sen. Clinton. I had their endorsement four years ago. I think it’s one of the things that caucus-goers will consider. But it’s pretty obvious from reading the discussion in the endorsement that I have a fundamental difference with them. ... I think if you don’t have a president who has the fight and the backbone to stand up against corporate power and corporate greed, nothing is going to change in this country, and that’s the difference I have with them. I understand, I respect their view. I have a different view.
