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WASHINGTON John Edwards tried to cut a secret deal with President Barack Obama and perhaps Hillary Clinton during last year's primaries, offering his endorsement in exchange for the vice presidential nomination, according to a new book by Obama's campaign manager.
Edwards' camp made the offer shortly before the S.C. primary, when Obama and Clinton had split early contests and Edwards apparently believed he had "maximum leverage" to help deliver Southern white votes to whoever would give him the No.2 spot on the Democratic ticket, according to David Plouffe.
In "The Audacity to Win," Plouffe writes that Obama ruled out any deals. Obama went on to win the S.C. primary and got Edwards' endorsement in May 2008.
The campaign manager did not mention in his book that the National Enquirer had reported Edwards had had an affair with former campaign aide Rielle Hunter and that she had given birth to his child. Edwards later admitted the affair but denied he had fathered the baby.
Former Edwards adviser Joe Trippi told The Washington Post on Tuesday that he had no knowledge of Plouffe's claims. He also suggested Edwards was more interested in being attorney general than vice president.
Edwards could not be reached for comment.
Regardless of whether Obama campaign officials knew about Edwards' affair, they wanted his support heading into South Carolina. Obama had won the Iowa caucuses, but Clinton had bounced back to win the New Hampshire primary.
Though Edwards' hopes to win the nomination himself were fading fast, Plouffe said the former N.C. senator hoped to parlay support in South Carolina into a shot at the vice presidency - four years after he had been John Kerry's 2004 running mate.
"Publicly his team insisted they could resuscitate his campaign in South Carolina. But privately, it soon became clear they knew otherwise, and some time after the debate, I got a call from a senior Edwards adviser," Plouffe wrote.
Plouffe continued:
"This was the pitch: 'Listen. It's clear unless the race is shaken up, Hillary is going to win. You guys might not even win South Carolina. What would shake the race up is John ending his campaign, but not simply to endorse another candidate. All things being equal, John prefers Barack. They should announce they are joining forces and will run as a ticket. Edwards can vouch for Obama with blue-collar and Southern whites and is running on a change message.'"
The Edwards adviser told Plouffe that Obama and Edwards would be a "perfect fit" and that the pre-nomination announcement of a ticket would knock Clinton off stride, if not out of the race.
Plouffe also said Edwards' camp was going to approach Clinton. "That's not where John's heart is," the Edwards adviser told Plouffe, "but he is at a point of maximum leverage now."
Plouffe said Obama's answer was quick and firm: He would cut no deals.
If Obama won, Plouffe writes, "he did not want to be locked in to any personnel matters, and he had little interest in deciding on a vice presidential pick in the heat of the primary campaign."
Obama spoke directly with Edwards, Plouffe said, and reiterated there would be no promises or deals in exchange for an endorsement, Plouffe said.
Plouffe added that he does not know if Edwards personally sanctioned the talk of a backroom deal for the vice presidency.
