Edwards For AG, Not VP

by: Chris Bowers

Fri May 16, 2008 at 14:30

I think Paul Rosenberg is one of the best writers around, and I respect his views tremendously. However, I never really agreed with his premise that Edwards should be VP, and now it looks like Edwards does not agree, either:

"No," Edwards said in no uncertain terms on NBC's the Today show when asked about the possibility. "Won't happen....It's just not something I am interested in."

As for another position in an Obama administration, specifically Attorney General, Edwards was decidedly more coy.

"I don't really want to get involved in that speculation," he said. "Right now we have to focus on getting Barack Obama elected to President of the United States, then we'll worry about those things."

Edwards seems like a great pick for VP. While there were some who thought he was overly messianic in his anti-corporate campaign rhetoric (people like positive messages), that strikes me as exactly the attitude we need from an Attorney General.

Also, shouldn't the Attorney General be an elected position? It strikes me that we should have independent law enforcement, not a toady of the executive. Given the problems with FISA and the US Attorney scandals over the past two years, really this should be a no-brainer. Perhaps we should also have an elected position at the Department of the Treasury, or the GAO, since we should have independent oversight of the books, too.  
Close Window