RALEIGH — At the risk of generating a somewhat jarring mental image for you, try to picture these guys together in a room: Clay Aiken, John Edwards, and the Carolina Panthers.
They were all in my mind at the same time Monday night because I was intently flipping the TV remote between some horrifying auditions on the new season of “American Idol,” the Iowa Caucus returns, and some Super Bowl preview coverage. Think about what all these Carolina fellas have in common.
Last year, Clay Aiken came from absolute obscurity, and from an initial loss in the “Idol” judging, to compete on one of the most popular television contests in the history of the medium. He actually came in second in the vote tally (remember that) but everyone knows that Aiken was the real winner of the year. His songs have topped the charts and his album made millions for himself and his label. Perhaps more importantly, Aiken prove to be a pleasant, classy, and mature young man who showed that nice guys can still prosper in a popular culture that so many have called so decadent. His was a Carolina story in many ways.
The Carolina Panthers, too, have come back from the football equivalent of a near-death experience (the 1-15 season two years ago) to win the NFC Championship Game over the Philadelphia Eagles last weekend and head to the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots. They did so not through extravagant trades or stunts but through hard work, determination, and a willingness to work with the talent available to find the right combination for success. Perhaps they, like Aiken, will fall short in the final point-count but end up as winners just for having gone so far against such long odds.
Which brings me to the impressive, perhaps even shocking, performance of Sen. John Edwards in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night. Stuck in single digits in the state for months, Edwards was able to translate a positive message, effective advertising, a calibrated center-left position in the race and on specific issues such as taxes and the war, and a lot of volunteers from North Carolina into a solid second-place showing, just a few points behind fellow Sen. John Kerry. Winning one-third of the vote in Iowa will surely help Edwards at least place in New Hampshire, refill his campaign coffers, and then go on to compete seriously in South Carolina and the other Southern and border states with early-February contests.
Remember oh so long ago, like maybe last month, when all the knowing political pundits in Washington and on the talk shows were writing off Edwards (and Kerry) and conversing about the inevitable Dean-Clark matchup? Well, keep remembering it. It will come in handy the next time you are tempted to believe what some political pundit says on some TV talk show.
Edwards came in second, sure, but in many ways he was the winner of the night. His journey was longer even than Kerry’s in terms of politics and percentages. His post-caucus speech was effective and gracious (Dean pumped his bare arms and screamed unintelligibly like a maniac, while a victorious Kerry still managed to look dour and tired). As I have long predicted, perhaps the most likely scenario for Edwards in 2004 is that he will keep on coming in second — all the way to the vice-presidential nomination.
That would also be the political equivalent of a victory for a freshman senator. But then again, what have we learned about political predictions so far this year? Perhaps Carolina will beat New England in the big game of 2004.
Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation and publisher of Carolina Journal.