Edwards the Unready

Ethelred the Unready was an English King at the turn of the first millenium, A.D. His particular appellation - "the unready" - derives from the Anglo-Saxon Unraed, which means "without counsel", "ill-advised" or "indecisive". Ethelred earned that title because of his inabiity to deal effectively with the foreign threats to his lands. The more I read of John Edwards, the more he seems to me a reincarnation of this ill famed monarch.

John Edwards has an "if elected" interview in the NYT today. It is a long interview, much of it on Iraq and Iran, that more than amply demonstrates Edwards's incredible cynicism, superficiality, and general unreadiness to lead this nation against the threats we face. Among his many deep thoughts:

The continued occupation of Iraq undermines everything America has to do to reestablish ourselves as a country that should be followed, that should be a leader.

. . . As we begin to redeploy out of Iraq we would be intensely involved at a high level in the political process between Sunni and Shia. We would be intensely involved in the diplomatic process with other countries in that region of the world. And simultaneously with that we should be building an international consensus that I believe can be constructed . . .

We know form the N.I.E. report that it appears [Iran] stopped making nuclear weapons program in 2003. If we did not verify that they have stopped and will continue to not pursue nuclear weapons and if we continue to have verification of that then we will help them with their economy, us and the Europeans. . .

Edwards also talks about maintaining a quick reaction force in the Middle East, though it is completely clear that this military genuis hasn't the faintest clue of the purpose of a QRF. At any rate, and in sum, like Ethelred in his day, Edwards seems completely unprepared to deal with the numerous foreign policy threats that face our nation.

I will not go through the trouble - nor risk the near fatal rise in blood pressure that will inevitably ensue - to deconstruct the idiocy, only a portion of which is quoted above, unless, by the hand of some God with a very malignant sense of humor, Edwards comes out of Iowa and New Hampshire appearing as if he has any chance at all of winning the Democratic nomination for President. Regardless, you can read the NYT interview here.