Why John Edwards should NEVER be President

I doubt John Edwards ever had a hope of getting the vote of any of our Mod-Blog posters, but he has been getting a slightly better percentage of votes than Ron Paul in this year's primary process. This piece lays out the argument for why even die-hard Democrats probably should walk away from the Other John.

Edwards has made much of his renunciation of his Iraq War vote. But he has not stopped there. His entire campaign has been an orgy of regret and renunciation.

-- As senator, he voted in 2001 for a bankruptcy bill that he now denounces.
-- As senator, he voted for storing nuclear waste in Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Twice. He is now fiercely opposed.
-- As senator, he voted for the Bush-Kennedy No Child Left Behind education reform. He now campaigns against it, promising to have it "radically overhauled."
-- As senator, he voted for the Patriot Act, calling it "a good bill ... and I am pleased to support it." He now attacks it.
-- As senator, he voted to give China normalized trade relations. Need I say? He now campaigns against liberalized trade with China as a sellout of the middle class to the great multinational agents of greed, etc.

Breathtaking. People can change their minds about something. But everything? The man served one term in the Senate. He left not a single substantial piece of legislation to his name, only an astonishing string of votes on trade, education, civil liberties, energy, bankruptcy and, of course, war that now he not only renounces but inveighs against.

America is forgiving of politicians who change their mind. Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat. Hillary Clinton was a Young Republican. Mitt Romney was once Pro-Choice. But can we really accept a man who is running on a platform 180 degrees opposite of his own record? And should the Democrats be afraid that such a man might be "kingmaker" at a divided Democratic convention?