John Edwards - coming into focus?

John Edwards is a puzzlement.

He's a lawyer who long ago learned how to cleverly turn a phrase yet you seldom hear him give a stirring speech. He's young and attractive, yet it doesn't seem like his natural core constituency (young people) have taken much notice of him. He seems genuinely interested in big picture issues, like health care and income inequality, yet he consistently resorts to lowbrow politics.

Two recent incidents unfortunately paint a disappointing picture that gets harder and harder to look beyond.

First, there was his reaction to an attack by everyone's favorite crazy, Ann Coulter. To call Ms. Coulter a conservative is, frankly, a disservice to conservatives. She's only worthy of mention because of Edwards' reaction to her "faggot" comment. Well boo hoo John. Mean Ms Coulter doesn't like you. The Edwards campaign immediately placed a video of her ridiculous comment up on their website and appealed for $100,000 of donations to fight back. I'd hate to think what Edwards would do if Iranian crazy Ahmadinejab called him out.

Second, he's decided to withdraw from a Democrat Presidential debate in Nevada because it is cosponsored by Fox News. Fox News is a right wing news organization just as NPR is left wing. They are experts at finding and exaggerating minuscule incidents of "liberal extremism" so as to inflame their base. They are the best example going of what is wrong with American politics today.

But you don't change minds by walking away from them. The role of the President is to lead. It can be (and this time must be) filled by a person who overcomes our divisions and unites the country in order to solve problems that will end very badly unless we attack them together. But Edwards evidently decided that some free publicity showing him standing up to Fox News was the politically correct choice to make.

Maybe John Edwards isn't a puzzlement after all. Maybe he's just a regular politician.