Says all there is to say about Edwards, I guess. Big egos need big stroking.

"some of those close to the Edwardses have been annoyed that Obama has continued to ridicule him for once saying his biggest weakness is that he has a powerful response to seeing pain in others."

As a former Edwards supporter, I'd be very disappointed if he endorses Clinton and even more so if it's for this silly reason.

I actually liked John Edwards for awhile. Then I read Feingold's statements about him, and looked into his record. Yeah. Not the crusader for justice and peace he now claims to be. I've thought lately that he and Mitt have quite a number of similar personal attributes. Both are sort of plastic and pampered, and were able and willing to completely manufacture a new identity in their campaign for President. If politics ultimately doesn't work out for them, they should run on a ticket together as President and Vice President of The Association of American Used Car Salesmen.

"More effectively courted" - is it really all about stroking Mr I-feel-pretty's ego? After all Sen. Edwards said about corporate influence, for him to be even THINKING of endorsing Clinton Inc is a sad joke. (DO check what Sen. Feingold, who is neutral in this race, has stated re Edwards: he campaigned against every single one of his own votes in the senate!) He might be willing to expose any thing he ever campaigned on as a total sham in order to get AG (maybe he sold out cheap for Labor), but it might be too late - too late for him as well as Sen. CLinton. And on the substance: A good fighter wins - tossing around harsh words and boxing gloves is not enough....

I dont blame BO for not selling his soul for JE endorsement...IMO JE endorsement would have caried way more buzz had he done it before the Potomac Primaries...
JE is seriously overplaying the affect of his endorsement...WHat states would his endorsment help win? NONE! Everyday that passes the JE endorsement looses fizzle!!!
BO has the momentum, the press coverage and the money. He is playing his cards right by being semi interested in JE endorsement...As i see it, JE knows his political career is over and he is looking for a job...BO doesnt need him, he needs BO!

Zumper:

Why must everything be a conspiracy? There's been no mention of the ARG poll because they've been consistently wide of the mark this season, they refuse to detail their methodology or release their questions or crosstabs, and they have the worst reputation of any major polling firm in America.

But if you insist of bringing it to our attention, the least you can do is note that the six-point lead in this ARG poll is down from a nine-point last week. So what the poll actually shows is a tight race getting tighter - which, of course, is what every other poll has shown!

I'd submit that they're all wide of the mark, because they haven't adjusted their methodology to account for the fact that Wisconsin uses a single ballot and has no party registration. But even if you think there's some real value in the polling, it's quite reasonable to dismiss ARG as an outlier here.

Could anyone take Edwards seriously if, in spite of clearly having more in common both tone and content-wise with Obama, he endorses Clinton because "she courted him more effectively" ?
What kind of credibility would he have ?

Golden Boy Obama. He does no wrong ... except that he keeps funding the war, supported the bankruptcy building, and didn't seem to mind disenfranchising Florida and Michigan a year ago, but suddenly has concerns about the "people's right to vote" now that he's in the running. SSDD, "my friends".

BREAKING NEWS.................OBAMA'S PERFECT

John Edwards is worried that Barack Obama lacks sufficient experience? The entirety of Edwards' career in public service lasted six years. And he's concerned about his toughness? His readiness?

I hate to resort to armchair psychology, but it strikes me that there's more than a little resentment at play here. Edwards spent four years setting himself up as the voice of change, the alternative to Hillary. Then, he woke up one morning and found his role usurped. Obama had stolen the mantle of the challenger, coopted many of his policy positions, and outstripped him as a rhetorician and avatar of hopes and dreams.

The questions he's raising about Barack not only echo the talking points that Hillary and the GOP are distributing - more importantly, they echo the charges leveled against Edwards, both in 2004 and this cycle. He's not tough enough. He's not ready. He's inexperienced.

I can almost see John Edwards lying awake in bed at night, replaying the campaign over and over in his head, and thinking: Why should only I have to answer those questions? How come Obama isn't dismissed as just another pretty face? All charisma, no substance? A johnny-come-lately to the national political scene? Why should he get a free pass? Why him, and not me?

Meanwhile, Hillary and her people are peppering him with calls, flattering his vanity, assuring him that he's a leader of the present and the future. They may even have made promises or intimations of future appointive office. But Barack is sitting confidently on the sidelines, convinced that the increasing inevitability of his own nomination, coupled with the near-congruence of their bases of support and policy positions, will ultimately lead Edwards into his camp. It's nice to be needed. It hardly surprises me that Edwards is feeling the pull toward Hillary.

But, like I said before, I don't think it will ultimately matter. I still think that we're watching Alex Rodriguez negotiate for a contract - discontent with his options, looking for something better, but ultimately stuck with the only choice that he can possibly make. Edwards may dither, he may wait, but ultimately, he'll endorse Obama.

The comments here are filled with praise for Obama's presumed purity for not kissing up to Edwards or making quid pro quo deals to get his endorsement. Guess what? Politics is all about getting things done, not preening in self-satisfaction. People without healthcare don't care what a president has to do to get Congress to pass UNIVERSAL coverage. Does it mean he has to kiss up to people, promise to support their pet projects? You bet. If you think the great Democratic presidents like FDR didn't stroke peoples' egos in order to get things done, you need to open a history book.

This is the problem with many of Obama's followers-- they demonize Hillary Clinton simply for practicing politics. Making a deal with Edwards? Unheard of. She'll do anything to be president!

If Obama didn't have the wind at his back, he'd be knocking on Edward's door too. And there'd be nothing wrong with that.

Lord have mercy. What a bunch of snarling, yapping poodles you Obama fans are. In a story which merely hints that Edwards might endorse She-Who-Is-Not-Obama, you run around in circles, leaving little piddles of petulance. With apologies to Jesse Jackson, who coined this saying about himself: if Hillary walked on water today, you folks would be screaming tomorrow that Hillary can't swim. Lighten freaking up.

Who?

I think the devil of Edwards' political opportunism and the angel of this populist campaign platform are waging a little battle in his head.

Do the Edwardses see a correlation between effectively courting him for his endorsement and the kind of toughness he says he wants to see with regard to his issues?

Not saying it's not there but...

Why doesn't he just hold a silent auction if effective courting is what he wants to see?

Endorsing Hillary would be better for Edwards' presidential aspirations. I don't think presidential aspirations will consciously guide Edwards' choice of who to endorse (if he does endorse), but he is an ambitous and smart guy, and certain considerations are surely floating around in his subconscious:

1. The polls and the CW agree that Obama is more likely to beat McCain.

2. If a Democrat wins the general, the next contested Democratic primary race is 2016, when most people will have forgotten that Edwards ever existed.

3. If McCain beats Hillary in the general, the 2012 primary race can be Edwards-Obama, without the distracting "Hillary v. Obama" narrative that gets Edwards pushed out of the spotlight.

Again, I doubt that these are conscious considerations for Edwards, but they may nonetheless affect his perception of who is "courting him most effectively."

If this report is accurate, then it would confirm the similar problems the Kerry campaign had with Edwards trying to be the tail that wagged the dog, instead of following the path that the Kerry camp wanted him to, as the VP candidate.

In my opinion Edwards has lost his moment: the voters, from before super Tuesday on have been having to make up their own minds between Clinton and Obama. So his endorsement is worth diminishing returns.

The delegates will do whatever they want, so Edwards loses there as well. Why should we care about him any more?

The couple has been impressed with Clinton, who has more effectively courted them since the 2004 vice presidential nominee dropped out, people who talk to the Edwardses say. Obama has been less attentive, they say,

I liked Edwards, and would have gladly supported him. But it's disappointing to see him letting a decision like this be influenced by how "attentive" the other candidates have been in "courting" him.

Edwards correctly sees that behind the irrational exuberance of his fans is a candidate who lacks the experience and toughness to actually get anything done. His weak performance in the debates is the best preview of what his administration would be like - and Edwards knows it. The only question is whether Edwards still has the presence of mind not to be swept up in the historic blunder the party is about to commit.

I could give a flying crap who John Edwards endorses, personally. Is he really sitting back judging how well Obama or Clinton kisses his ass as opposed to who he thinks would do a better job or have a better chance of getting elected? Well, that would just reinforce my already low-ish opinion of the guy. But, I've also read sources saying that Elizabeth is trying to convince John to support Obama. I doubt that anyone knows what they're talking about on the issue, seeing as none of them have talked to Edwards, or anyone they can name who is at all close to him. That one adviser of his said he was waiting to see the results of TX and OH. That's the closest thing to a valid source I've seen, so I have to guess he's waiting to see if Clinton can make a comeback in any valid way, or if Obama is just gonna rule it from here on out. Which would also indicate to me that he doesn't really have much of a preference between the two, and if he does have one its mildly towards Clinton, all that rhetoric about the "status quo" aside, apparently.

What does courting have to do with who would be the best President. If Edwards is this easily bought, then his endorsement means nothing. He claimed to be all about change and social justice. These are Obama themes. Hillary is DLC all the way and soooooo corporate. If he endorses Hillary, he has obviously sold out to the highest bidder. No very admirable.

John Edwards is a 54 year old man. If he's making decisions based on who is sending him nicer boxes of chocolates in the past 8 weeks instead of looking at the respective records of Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama then he's a damn fool.

Mark Halperin titters like an eighth-grade gossip doesn't mean you should repeat what his 'sources' tell him.

I don't think Edwards gives a damn about being courted. He cares about his agenda, which really isn't too bad, all things considered.
No way in hell will he "give" his delegates to Clinton.
I think he's trying to time it properly. And Obama knows it. They'll both hold it close to the vest while they maneuver. And why not?
Wouldn't it be better if the delegates were held until they could counter possible super delegate ensnarement? If this turns out to be a brokered convention, Edwards will have some influence that really matters.
I don't think he's tickled with old school dirty tricks politics, but he's hardly a babe in toyland. He's screwed the pooch a few times and that, no doubt, makes him doubly cautious in conning the water now.
What vote does he regret the most? The one "the Clinton people" led foolish Dems into.
This is a principled guy. He will stand up for the only candidate who offers any hope of shaking off the conventional "game" of "hardball" moving and shaking in the beltway.