GET POLITICAL with VIC LIVINGSTON (Opinion) Edwards Sex Scandal Could Thwart Hillary Coup

• Affair raises memories of the blue dress and the Bill Factor

• But Hillary could anoint Al Gore if Obama sputters

Today's sad news about John Edwards' cheatin' heart could prove to be both good news and bad news for Hillary Clinton -- and the blowback could be very bad news for Barack Obama.

Let's explain: The Edwards affair raises anew the seamy memories of Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton. Superdelegates who may have been toying with the idea of abandoning a fading Obama in favor of Hillary are surely to take pause: Do we really want all THAT flung back in our faces? (Pardon the mental picture).

But it also could be good news for Hillary. If she realizes there is no way she can win the nomination, then she could concentrate on the more important task at hand -- ensuring that the Dems go with a winner in the general.

Should Hillary put a Dem victory first, and assuming that Obama continues to falter in the face of a newly aggressive John McCain, she could anoint Al Gore the nominee by simply pledging her support, and her delegates, to the former vice president.

Surely that move would win additional support for Gore among delegates disillusioned with Obama's campaign performance -- and his vacillation on core issues such as civil liberties and domestic surveillance; wider application of the death penalty;  gun control; and most recently, offshore drilling.

A Hillary delegate toss to Gore probably would ensure that Obama is not the Dem nominee; some previously undeclared superdelegates who have pledged support to Obama probably would welcome an excuse to go in another direction.

The fact that Gore refused to enter the contest earlier and fight for the nomination could give pause to some superdelegates. But most supers probably would be willing to overlook Gore's unwillingness to fight because he looks like a sure winner, especially when compared to Obama's sputtering performance of late in the tracking polls.

Bottom line: While the Edwards affair doesn't appear to be directly connected to Obama's quest for the presidency, when you start connecting the dots, another picture appears.

And that picture could be a portrait of the once and future President of the United States: Al Gore.

But would the cautious (some might say timid) Gore go along with it?

The Hillary-Obama drama marches on... perhaps prodded in a new direction by John Edwards' indiscretions.

BUT DOES THE ELECTION REALLY MATTER WHEN
GOVT-SUPPORTED "VIGILANTE JUSTICE" SQUADS
TARGET AMERICANS OUTSIDE THE BOUNDS OF LAW?

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/get-political-vic-livingston-opinion-expose-state-supported-vigilante-squads-doing-domestic-terrorism