Edwards and leadership

My allegiance to a Democratic presidential candidate is still very much up for grabs. So much could happen in the months before even the first primary votes are cast that I think it's wayyy premature to pick a horse. With that said, I thought Edwards' announcement this week was fairly remarkable.

Part of what he said, in essence, was that he's not interested in waiting to lead, and he doesn't view this as an audition to be a leader, but rather as a kind of trial period of leadership. Compared to Barack Obama's "I have tons of leadership potential" and Hillary's "Who needs leadership when you have infrastructure" impressions, the idea that Edwards would risk immediately calling people to action is both risky and impressive. He's basically saying, I'm going to lead now, and if people follow, great." The monthly action days, the focus on progressive issues, even the metaphor of him literally picking up a shovel and getting to work in New Orleans -- it all points to what could be a very innovative campaign.

There's plenty of time for others to distinguish themselves as well, of course; hopefully they'll all be as interesting. I'd be similarly entertained if Obama announced on Oprah, for example. Would everyone in the audience get Obama-related prizes??

. . . and as I look around for more info on this, I see that Michel Markman has beaten me to essentially the same point. Worth reading.