Black Box Report

*For everyone.

**Depending on your point of view...

The bad news first: It was a sad day around the progressive blogosphere today. John Edwards is out of the presidential race, and many are mourning the loss of his voice:

John Edwards candidacy has been a daily reminder to pick up the charge of the better angels of our nature, and to speak up against those injustices that too often get shoved to the side for more monied and powerful interests.

Even bloggers who may not have been Edwards supporters are nonetheless tipping their caps to him:

It took me a long time to warm to John Edwards, and by the time I did it was almost over. But I think it was his presence in the race and his campaign that really set the tone for the whole thing, and he deserves an enormous amount of credit for any good things that may come in the next administration.

From healthcare, to cap-and-trade proposals for climate change, to reforming predatory lending practices, Edwards led the pack, and Clinton and Obama followed. And for that, Edwards - and America - won. But in the end, the rock star appeal of The Clinton Machine and Obamamania sucked all the oxuygen out of the room, and Edwards' campaign just never caught fire. And so Edwards' quest ended where it began, in New Orleans, helping those less fortunate. His campaign may be over; hopefully the causes he championed are not.

But for every cloud, there's a silver lining. While Democrats carry Edwards out on his shield, Rudy 9/11 Giuliani makes his exit, stage far, far right.

So what happened? Mere months ago, a Clinton-Giuliani Subway Series was all but guaranteed. And while Hillary still has an opportunity to see her coronation come to fruition, Rudy...well...Rudy fall down, go boom. Future political consultants will point to Rudy's "Florida Strategy" of ignoring every early primary until it's too late and say, "That. If you want to win, don't do that." But there's more to it than just lousy strategy:

Yes, his Florida or bust strategy was stupid. But it's not like he would have been more competitive had he tried harder in earlier states. He sunk lots of money into New Hampshire and it only caused his poll numbers to go down. Giuliani lost because he's a creepy weirdo, and the more you see him, the more that becomes apparent. Moreover, his entire campaign was built around the fact that he happened to be the mayor of a city that was attacked by terrorists, and even stupid people eventually realized that wasn't a particularly compelling rationale for being president. And, of course, it didn't help that his closet was overflowing with skeletons. In short, he was a really bad candidate and even a perfect "strategy" would not have secured the nomination for him.

I have to admit, even as late as Thanksgiving last year, while Rudy's Shag Fund scandal was in full swing, my biggest fear was a Giuliani presidency. I knew about all the scandals (and they were legion); I knew about Rudy's liberal social views that would be anathema to the base he was courting, and I didn't think any of it would matter. He was Rudy 9iu11iani, and after watching the politics of 9/11 woirk so effectively in 2004, I felt certain the GOP would complete their devolution and go all in on an authoritarian ego-maniac whose entire foreign policy boiled down to an itchy trigger finger. I've never been so happy to be wrong. And now Americans everywhere, except for those at FOX News (and boy, must Rupert Murdoch feel like a chump right now), can breathe a sigh of relief:

We can all be thankful for Rudy's implosion. A Giuliani administration would be like Bush's without all the good stuff.

And there, but for the grace of god, go we.