Will Edwards cancel himself out?
After you are done enjoying Mark Steyn's piece on John Edwards' two Americas (see the post below), savor this dissection of the same spiel by David Gelernter:
"Last week, I heard an admiring TV pundit explain, to general agreement from his fellows, that Edwards' 'two Americas speech' is his No. 1 asset, followed closely by his self-made-man, up-from-the-working-class life story. The problem is, they cancel each other out. . . .
"Edwards' life story shows that his message is false. If your story is 'poor boy makes good,' your message can't possibly be 'this is a two-part nation where poor boys are prevented from making good.' Exactly how dumb are the voters supposed to be? And if the real, implicit message is different — 'Sure, you can get over the barricade, but it's so tough that only geniuses like John Edwards can make it' — I doubt this version will play any better."
It occurs to me that Kerry's very selection of Edwards is also plagued by a contradiction. Edwards is thought to add two things to the ticket: charisma and ideological balance. But, to date, the charisma has come from the two Americas speech, and that immoderate speech undermines the degree to which Edwards balances the ticket. It is possible to be a charismatic moderate. John McCain and Rudy Giuliani come to mind. But not John Edwards. He's a populist class warrior or he's just another pretty face.
