The Wall Street Journal has a piece today (not available free online) that takes a look at John Edwards? efforts to keep his name circulating now that he?s out of office. It dutifully mentions his ?job? at the UNC-Chapel Hill law school, as well as criticism of the same.
What I found interesting was a mention of some polling done by a political scientist at the University of Texas. He happens to be a Republican and Bush guy, and was curious about whether John Kerry or John Edwards had the most positive impact on the poll numbers for the ticket. Examining jumps in support just after visits by each to specific media markets, the scholar calculated that Kerry?s visits were worth an average of about .169 of a percentage point while Edwards were worth more than twice as much, .389 of a point.
That probably says more about Kerry?s lack of appeal than about Edwards? appeal, but it comports with what both Rs and Ds of my acquaintance were saying after the fact: the Democrats picked the wrong strategy and the wrong standard-bearer.
