John Edwards in New Hampshire?

Stalking the halls of the Radisson Hotel in downtown Manchester this afternoon I came across John Edwards’s campaign manager and former House Minority Whip David Bonior.  I stopped him on his way to do a “real” interview with MSNBC where I got to pick his brain about how he feels his candidate is doing here in the Granite State.

Edwards was never considered a serious contender in New Hampshire. His populist message doesn’t really bode well in the Live Free or Die State. Of course he’ll place third tonight, coming out ahead of Bill Richardson, but Edwards’ real chance to prove himself was Iowa. While he didn’t win the hawkeye state, he did beat out Hillary Clinton making it clear that he is a force to be reckoned with… just perhaps not right away.

David Bonior didn’t really talk specifically about the outcome tonight but he made it clear that the Edwards campaign is switching gears and that Obama is now the candidate they know they have to beat. “Our campaign’s message of change is working. So is Obama’s,” Bonior said, “So at some point we’ll have a debate, sooner than later, about the kind of change.”

When asked if he thinks that winning New Hampshire makes Obama the inevitable Democratic nominee, Bonior said “No, no. Obama has a long way to go. He knows that, we know that.” Bonior then went into a history lesson on Obama’s attempt at passing universal healthcare access in the Illinois state legislature where, according to Bonior, Obama brought in lobbyists from the healthcare industry who “were successful in watering the bill down so it just became a goal rather a reality to try to get universal healthcare.” He went on from there eventually saying that “(Obama’s) been very much involved with the status quo and not really moving the ball forward in Illinois… We don’t need that kind of change, leadership. We need someone who is actually going to stand up to these folks and rally the American people around real change and get this done.” Edwards, he argues, is the guy for the job. “He’s a fighter… You need someone like Teddy Roosevelt and FDR.” Lets not forget the Roosevelt’s came from wealth and rumor has it, John Edwards was the son of a mill worker.

In regards to Hillary, Bonior said that “this was supposed to be her firewall and her firewall is burning down.” Sure she is vulnerable, but I wouldn’t count her out yet.  I believe anything is possible and I agree with Bonior when he said, “it will be a fascinating race between now and the convention” and with February 5^th only a four weeks away, we still have a heck of race in front of us. CHANGE is possible.