What if John Edwards never had his scandals in 2008?

It's rather unlikely that both Obama and HRC would decline to run in 2008, but if that happens, yes, a scandal-free Edwards could win the nomination and if so he like any other plausible Democratic nominee would have won in November, given the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression.
 
It's rather unlikely that both Obama and HRC would decline to run in 2008, but if that happens, yes, a scandal-free Edwards could win the nomination and if so he like any other plausible Democratic nominee would have won in November, given the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression.

Not to mention public sentiment turning against the Iraq War.
 
Edwards came in second in Iowa caucus but he did not have the money to compete against Obama and Clinton nationwide and after the South Carolina primary which he needed to win his candidacy became non-viable, and this was before the scandal.
So if Obama and Clinton doesn't run then he most likely would have become President.
But with no scandal he could have gotten a cabinet post or he could have run for Senator in North Carolina in 2010 or 12.
 
Not to mention public sentiment turning against the Iraq War.

I think that Iraq was less decisive as an issue in 2008 than in 2006, and domestic issues (above all the economy) more important. This was observed even early in 2008, when the recession was just beginning (and many economists were still denying there was one...). "Part of the shift appears to stem from the reduction in violence in Iraq after President Bush’s decision to send more troops there last year." https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/us/politics/03elect.html
 
The key question is, given that Edwards identified himself as much more of a populist than Obama, what would had been the major thrust of his administration in the first two years?
 
The key question is, given that Edwards identified himself as much more of a populist than Obama, what would had been the major thrust of his administration in the first two years?

Hard to say - short campaign so not much data, and his stump speeches were more focused on pointing out the problems than laying out solutions (which is understandable, with the complexity of the economy making it hard to go into detail about fixes).
 
His Democratic opponents would have leaked the scandal if he had still been competitive heading into primary season.

Edwards would not have won the nomination.

Democrats I guess would have nominated some total nobody like Dennis Kuicich or Joe Biden. (Who was a total nobody before becoming VP.) McCain might would have won the election, despite how unpopular Bush was.
 
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Edwards admitted to the affair in August 2008, before the general election occurred. If he had seriously been nominated, he would have lost the election to McCain, and it wouldn’t have even been close. McCain probably wouldn’t have made Palin his running mate (she was a high risk-high reward gamble since McCain was so far down in the polls), so I guess we get Joe Lieberman as VP.

With that being said, I doubt Edwards would have been nominated. If his campaign had really been going anywhere, his Democrats opponents likely would have brought out the details of the scandal long before summer 2008.
 
I would add that if somehow both Obama and HRC were not to run and there were no Edwards scandals (and for all this to happen probably requires a lot of PODs!) while Edwards would be a plausible nominee he would hardly be an inevitable one. Some Democrats who didn't run in OTL might decide to do so. Maybe even Al Gore...
 
It's rather unlikely that both Obama and HRC would decline to run in 2008...
IIRC there are two or three possible points of divergence earlier on in Obama's political career that could have seen him decide that politics wasn't for him.

Edit: Apologies, I didn't mean to come across as trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs; it was more that 'didn't run' covers both their not being in a position to run as well as making a decision not to.
 
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IIRC there are two or three possible points of divergence earlier on in Obama's political career that could have seen him decide that politics wasn't for him.

Edit: Apologies, I didn't mean to come across as trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs; it was more that 'didn't run' covers both their not being in a position to run as well as making a decision not to.

But how likely is it that a single POD will prevent both HRC and Obama from running? I can think of lots of POD's that would rule out one candidacy or the other but it's hard to find one that prevents both (and presumably also butterflies away the Edwards scandal...) while leaving the basic condition of the country unchanged.
 
Easy. Clinton doesn't run for Senate in 2000, and Obama decides on getting more experience, leading to President Edwards. Or VP Edwards if Gore runs.
 
But how likely is it that a single POD will prevent both HRC and Obama from running? I can think of lots of POD's that would rule out one candidacy or the other but it's hard to find one that prevents both (and presumably also butterflies away the Edwards scandal...) while leaving the basic condition of the country unchanged.

HRC grew up in Chicago. Maybe she decides to run for the Senate in Illinois (if there was a seat up that year)or a House seat in the suburbs. Then she will inevitably have interactions with a certain community organizer and adjunct law school lecturer, so his path is altered as well. I'll leave the specific sequence of events to othersothers. That POD serves mainly to cause a stronger correlation between their careers.
 
Easy. Clinton doesn't run for Senate in 2000, and Obama decides on getting more experience, leading to President Edwards. Or VP Edwards if Gore runs.

Well, the Clinton decision not to run in 2000 and Obama's not to run in 2004 are presumably two independent decisions (I don't see how one would lead to the other). And it is doubtful that either or both of them will butterfly away the Edwards scandal. so it looks like three PODs are required...
 
Well, the Clinton decision not to run in 2000 and Obama's not to run in 2004 are presumably two independent decisions (I don't see how one would lead to the other). And it is doubtful that either or both of them will butterfly away the Edwards scandal. so it looks like three PODs are required...
Obama wouldn't run in 08, not 04. Or they both get knocked out say if Edwards wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, but yeah, a LOT of PODs.
 
OK, a friend of mine suggested this: Barack Obama travels to New York in 2006 to campaign for HRC's re-election for Senator (in a gesture of party unity). They're in the same campaign plane--which crashes, killing them both. That no doubt could shake up the schedule of John Edwards and/or Rielle Hunter that year.

BTW, Hunter eventually learned Edwards had a couple of other extramarital affairs, but she didn't find out about them until 2011, so we can assume they will not be public knowledge in 2008. But it points to a problem with "eliminate X's sex scandal" POD's--philanderers rarely stop with one transgression...
 
OK, a friend of mine suggested this: Barack Obama travels to New York in 2006 to campaign for HRC's re-election for Senator (in a gesture of party unity). They're in the same campaign plane--which crashes, killing them both. That no doubt could shake up the schedule of John Edwards and/or Rielle Hunter that year.

BTW, Hunter eventually learned Edwards had a couple of other extramarital affairs, but she didn't find out about them until 2011, so we can assume they will not be public knowledge in 2008. But it points to a problem with "eliminate X's sex scandal" POD's--philanderers rarely stop with one transgression...
Your friend actually gave me a very interesting idea... I might try a story with this. Interesting.
Also. what other affairs? I only knew of Hunter.
 
BTW, Hunter eventually learned Edwards had a couple of other extramarital affairs, but she didn't find out about them until 2011, so we can assume they will not be public knowledge in 2008. But it points to a problem with "eliminate X's sex scandal" POD's--philanderers rarely stop with one transgression...

Yeah, if not Hunter then Edwards could easily have been caught with someone else. The same goes for Gary Hart in 1987: if not Donna Rice, another affair probably would've come out later.
 
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