EDITORIAL- Too bad John Edwards is just too nice

Nice guys finish last. This is what some Democrats are thinking about vice presidential… Nice guys finish last. This is what some Democrats are thinking about vice presidential candidate John Edwards.

According to those Democrats, he is not mean enough. According to these Democrats, a vice presidential nominee traditionally acts as his campaign’s hit man. He throws the verbal punches so his running mate can always take the moral high road. When Edwards takes his jabs at President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney, he just can’t seem to shake his nice-guy, Southern-gentleman image.

While Cheney suggests that voting for Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., could incite a disastrous terrorist attack, Edwards does less to associate Bush and Cheney with evil. He seems to say that the two should have done better during their term. Some Democrats argue that Edwards’ refusal to throw those types of verbal grenades at the Republican camp is costing him headlines and media coverage.

Edwards will never play the mean game as well as Cheney. He is a nice guy. During the primaries, he refused to speak ill of fellow Democrats. This was probably part of his appeal to Kerry as a running mate.

So Edwards was chosen as Kerry’s running mate because he was nice, and now that the pair is behind in the polls, he should be meaner? That makes no sense. Now Kerry and Edwards can share criticism for wavering — Kerry on some of the issues, and Edwards with his very nature.

If people decide not to vote for Kerry, it might be because they do not want to vote for Kerry. It will have little to do with how nice Edwards is. In the end, voters choose who they feel is the most desirable candidate.

The Democrats shouldn’t be so concerned with making Edwards a scapegoat for current ratings. And if there is going to be a tactical change in the campaign, it should be to write better speeches for Edwards and to find positive topics for him to discuss. Basically, the Democrats should come together as a party and create a comprehensive platform, playing up who they are and what they stand for. This shouldn’t become the tournament of bullies in which he who slanders the most wins the spoils.

Many people are tired of the current tone in Washington, D.C. What ever happened to civil politics? There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a polite and courteous vice president.

Besides, if the Democrats wanted a vice presidential candidate who would voluntarily go head-to-head with Cheney, they should have chosen Al Sharpton.