Edwards loses his mind

I’ll be generous and assume that at one point, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards had a mind and only recently lost it somewhere among the fluffy bunnies and rhododendrons. Whether its preexistence can be established or not, though, a weekend speech in New Hampshire made it clear it has indeed been misplaced. Perhaps permanently.

Fading to the middle of the Democratic field quickly and well behind Hillary, Barack and even Al Gore, who’s not running (yet), Edwards has adopted the political strategy that led Walter Mondale carry only his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia against Ronald Reagan in 1984: Promise everything to everyone and screw even the first thought of how to pay for it. After all, the rich won’t be paying their fair share even after they’re all penniless and we’re all unemployed, right? It’s just and endless well of money from those types, right?

So let’s promise free health care, free college, free Internet… heck, let’s just give away a bunch of iPod Touch units and a free PlayStation 3 while we’re at it to every American. Oh, and no work requirement, either. Can’t have folks being productive on the government dole, can we? No siree.

Fortunately, I suspect that (just barely) most Americans have just enough IQ points to see past this one, even if the drive-by media doesn’t. (Including the Concord (NH) Monitor that ran the original piece on Edwards speech.) Of course, that’s to be expected from the zittohead crowd.

Edwards: Running like a loser

At the middle of the Democratic pack and fading fast, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has decided to take the Walter Mondale approach and promise everything to everyone, from free college for everyone to free health care to a new LCD TV in every living room.

OK, maybe not the free HDTV. But just about.

According to the Concord (NH) Monitor, Edwards is running in stark contrast to Bill Clinton’s “the era of big government is over” motto, proposing an expansion of government unlike anything since FDR.

His loser proposal includes proposals such as asking the Fed to underwrite universal pre-kindergarten, create matching savings accounts for low-income people, mandate a minimum wage of $9.50 and provide a million new Section 8 housing vouchers for the poor. He also pledged to start a government-funded public higher education program called “College for Everyone.”

Want to get the college vote, Johnny boy? Try offering a free PS3 for everyone who votes for you. Folks sell their vote pretty cheaply these days… never mind who pays for it.