But the media says he can't win...

Hell, even Stewart, Colbert and Olbermann don't give him any play.

Ever the pragmatist, how can I justify 'wasting' my vote on the candidate I consider the best and easily the most progressive? As South Carolina focus group members have shown us, it's clearly not enough to win on the issues, to dominate debates, to crush all potential Republican candidates in head-head polling or to single-handedly herd the other Democratic candidates to the left against their will. These things are secondary considerations.

Why, I just heard on for the 6,781st time that he's just not 'viable'. I guess that tears it...he mustn't be 'viable'. WTF can I be thinking to even consider throwing away my vote on the 3rd wheel in what I'm repeatedly told is a 2-person race? I suppose I'll just have to join the millions of Americans who see him as our best hope and vote for someone else then. It's admittedly taken a while for this narrative to drill its way into my head, but I'm slow like that.

Obama and Clinton will clearly make for much more sensational journalistic fodder, and isn't that really what it's about? Shouldn't that ultimately be the criteria that I use to make my decisions? Just think of the months of Clinton dynasty angst or "People say Obama may be a closet Muslim" stories that I'd be screwing the 24-hour media out of. It truly wouldn't be fair...they've got a lot of programming hours to fill and Edwards just isn't that controversial outside of corporate boardrooms and RNC offices.

Hernceforth, I'll be joining all of those who believe that John Edwards would do the most to fight for the issues that matter most to us... poverty, our corrupt corporatocracy, health care, food safety, civil liberties, education, the environment, worker's rights, global trade inequities, engagement with the global community...and vote for the other guy. Because as I said, I'm a pragmatist...and like all of other pragmatists in America who would otherwise cast a vote for John Edwards in their state primary, I think it would really suck to just waste millions of votes like that on someone so clearly non-viable.