Opinion: Is John Edwards flip-flopping on his interest in the #2 spot?
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During a trip to Spain earlier this month, John Edwards categorically ruled out any interest in the No. 2 spot on the Democratic ticket this time around. Been there, done that, he said in interviews published June 6 in the Spanish newspapers El Mundo and El Pais.
On Sunday, though, the former North Carolina senator -- who sought the top job this year and was Sen. John Kerry‘s choice for vice president in 2004 -- left the door open ...
... to serving as Sen. Barack Obama‘s running mate.
Asked on ABC’s ‘This Week’ whether he intended his statements to the Spanish papers to be ‘Shermanesque’ -- along the lines of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s response in 1884 of ‘If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve’ -- Edwards told host George Stephanopoulos:
‘I intended it to say that this is not a thing that I’m seeking. I think Sen. Obama, first of all, has earned the right to make this decision for himself. I think he has enormous choices available to him, really great choices available to him. And I think he’ll go through this process in a thoughtful, orderly way, and he’ll decide who he wants to be his running mate. And that’s exactly how it should be done. ‘
The discussion continued:
STEPHANOPOULOS: And you haven’t ruled it out, though, completely, even though it’s his decision? EDWARDS: Well, I’d take anything he asked me to think about seriously, but obviously this is something I’ve done and it’s not a job that I’m seeking.
Yeah, but ....
-- Leslie Hoffecker