One Person Who Won't Be Serving In An Edwards Administration

is one of the architects of his sharper populism, Joe Trippi.

Edwards says that anyone who's ever served as a lobbyist for a foreign country or agent would be forbidden from serving as a political appointee in his administration.

Trippi worked for a guy who was paid $200,000 by then Nigerian vice president Atiku Abubakar for help creating a telephone-based get-out-the-vote system in the country's 2006 elections. Trippi was duly registered with the State Department.

(Note: Trippi never lobbied on behalf of a foreign government...)

Incidentally, Trippi tells me he's thinking of working with the Nigerians on a text-messaging campaign to distribute information about HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases... which is a good thing.

Comments

I don't really know Joe, having only met him in person once, but he doesn't strike me as the type to jump into an Administration job.

If Edwards pulls this whole thing off, wouldn't it be just as comfortable to fall into Carville's role from the 90s - the brilliant and goofball strategist. Write books, appear on TV, have a couple gigs at some non-profits, and rake in a ton of money, with relatively little obligation while being a public but unofficial face for your guy in the White House?

Seems more suited to Joe's personality than being a domestic policy advisor.

Posted by Matt Singer | December 30, 2007 2:05 PM

"If Edwards pulls this whole thing off, wouldn't it be just as comfortable to fall into Carville's role from the 90s - the brilliant and goofball strategist. Write books, appear on TV, have a couple gigs at some non-profits, and rake in a ton of money, with relatively little obligation while being a public but unofficial face for your guy in the White House?"

Yup.

Posted by Petey | December 30, 2007 2:11 PM

Makes the pledge even better. Now if he can just find a pledge that would keep Mudcat away from the fine china.

Posted by David Mizner | December 30, 2007 2:40 PM

"If Edwards pulls this whole thing off..."

Y'all understand we're actually going to win this thing, right?

Posted by Petey | December 30, 2007 3:47 PM

"Y'all understand we're actually going to win this thing, right?"

Affirmative. Petey, did you see this nugget from the ARG poll in New Hampshire?

"The other finding is that Edwards leads among independents with 38%, Obama has 23% and just 17% for Clinton."

The bounce is waiting to happen.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Posted by David Mizner | December 30, 2007 4:32 PM

Edwards keeps flip flopping. All the time.
I like the guy but, he keeps changing his mind and it makes it hard to trust him. Right now I dont'.
I also worry that the media is building up this false surge for him to push his numbers up for Hillary. She is not going to win Iowa and wants Edwards to take it if she doesn't and she has many friends in the media.
Strikes me as suspicious that they suddenly in the past week generated this out of left field surge for him and ignore some troubling things that are coming out about him.
Ben Smith said he is getting mellon money but, it's suspicious as her atty has power of atty over her and she never gave to politicians before.
She is now 97.
And the dealings with his campaign and the 527s.
They are not talking about it on the msm. But, after it was suspected Hillary most likely would not get Iowa, Edwards has this surge suddenly created.
I smell a rat.

Posted by vwcat | December 30, 2007 11:09 PM

Forgot, Edwards now says 5 years so Trippi can work for him. He changed his tune again.

Posted by vwcat | December 30, 2007 11:12 PM

Am I missing something, or are we not allowed to comment on the extensive memo posting this morning about Edwards' campaign finance practices. I don't see a comment field.

Posted by RKA | December 31, 2007 9:08 AM

It's an open question whether one of the presidential candidates should register as a ForeignAgent, but, oddly enough!, no one in the MSM has asked him about that. Has he received legal advice that he doesn't need to register? Or, does he just know that no "reporter" is going to ask him about it and thus even if he does have to register it doesn't matter? It'd be great if regular citizens would do the job the MSM refuses to do and go out and ask him.

And, another candidate served as (at the least) a useful idiot for representatives of foreign political parties and those linked to a foreign government: tinyurl.com/33om4g

Posted by TLB | December 31, 2007 12:20 PM

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Posted by whrv ditzs | April 16, 2008 11:08 PM