Not much to add to this news. Have at it.

John Edwards said Tuesday that if he were asked to accept the vice presidential slot or a cabinet position in a potential Barack Obama administration, he would "seriously consider" whatever the Illinois senator asked him to do.

It has been widely reported that the former North Carolina senator is on Obama's vice presidential shortlist. On Tuesday, NPR interviewer Guy Raz called the former Democratic presidential candidate's presence on the list an "open secret," and asked Edwards whether he'd weigh accepting a vice presidential offer, or might take himself out of consideration as Virginia Senator Jim Webb had done Monday.

"I'm glad to hear that's an open secret because I didn't know it," joked Edwards of his rumored consideration as Obama's running mate.

"My answer to that is, I've run for vice president, I've run for president twice. I would do anything that I felt I could do to serve this country but I think it's a huge presumption for me or anybody else to suggest what Senator Obama may decide," he said.

For many Obama supporters, the number one reason given for their support during the primary season was his stance against the Iraq war. That was the defining difference between him and the other top two candidates, Clinton and Edwards. Despite Edward's apology for that vote, his judgement was considered forever tainted by not seeing what was so obvious to so many of us and trusting that Bush would do as he promised and go to war as a last resort.

As an Edwards supporter, I defended his vote on the war, though I too had questions about his judgement--certainly it wasn't a vote I would have made. My brother, an ardent Obama supporter, said it was that one vote that made it impossible for him to support Edwards. I countered that Obama's opposition to the war did not put him at political risk, and his subsequent votes in favor of funding made him as complicit as Clinton, Edwards, or any other Senator who voted in favor of the war resolution.

I think if anything has become obvious during the last couple of weeks, it's that we can now be fairly certain how Obama would have voted on the war resolution had he actually been in the Senate. The path he has chosen on FISA, the death penalty, campaign finance, and gun control shows that political opportunism and expediency would have trumped any moral convictions he had about the war. That doesn't make him worse than the other candidates who supported the war, it makes him the same, which is exactly what so many of his supporters said he wasn't.

Although I reside in a body controlled by both x and y chromosomes, and I obviously possess male genitalia, in my adult life I have always considered myself in solidarity with feminists and feminist ideals. I have chosen a profession in which women outnumber men by huge proportions- I'm not just a teacher, but a special education teacher. I am one of those men who has deep and genuine friendships with females as well as males. I feel that I can accurately identify sexism or misogyny when I see them and I am repulsed by both. I could go on, but hopefully you get the point.

I am hoping that if I take the time to spell out my process for deciding to support Obama for president, I may be able to help reduce the tendency of those who have opposed Obama's nomination to simplify their characterizations of Obama supporters as X-label, or y-label. I have become alarmed at how the incidents of sexism, especially in the media, have turned off so many Clinton supporters to the point that they may actually be willing to support McCain over the Democratic nominee.

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I was a county Chair for Edwards in 2004 and 2008. When he suspended his campaign, I wrote this. I hope by seeing the race through a devoted 3rd party member (though I will admit, once the math made clear who the nominee was, I have "encouraged" us to close ranks) might help you see the strengths and weakness of both candidates (though both got better through this process).

Hats off to Jack and Jill politics ( a very insightful and progressive blog) for addressing this issue.  David Gergen mentioned this last night during CNN's election coverage and I just wanted to amplify it here.

I like John Edwards. I voted for him in South Carolina and during a rally in Greenville I got to talk to him personally as well as ask him questions during a Press Avail. I don't mind that he endorsed Barack Obama, that's his business. I would rather he endorsed Mike Gravel, but after all, he's a Democrat and probably feels a sense of obligation. I will say this, if he doesn't run on the Vice Presidential spot, I believe he could probably be the finest Attorney General that this nation has ever seen. If ever we needed a fine Attorney General, we need one now.

Could you imagine what Edward's could do to turn back the draconian measures taken against the American people's civil liberties and reverse the harm this administration has done to our Constitution? Edwards is a smart attorney. More than that, I have been following him for eight years now and I believe that he truly cares what kind of world his kids are going to grow up in. I asked him in Greenville, SC on a cold rainy night back in February if he was going to bring back the civil liberties that Bushco had taken away. I asked him if he was going to talk about them. He told me that he always talks about them. That night I heard him talk about them.

I'm for Mike Gravel. If he doesn't capture the Libertarian spot, which knowing the Libertarian party and the complete lack of center it has, is anyone's guess, I guess I'll throw my choice over to Obama, if Edwards joins hid administration as either Vice President, or preferably Attorney General. We must do something to turn this tide towards fascism.

Meanwhile Bush is raising hell in Israel. He told the crowd in the Knesset that they might only have six million people, but they have another 304 million supporters in the US. He might be surprised at the real number. I have no animosity towards Israel, but the government they have in power needs to go. Israel must sooner or later realize that they must live in peace with their neighbors. Karma is a funny thing, one day you are top dog, and the next day...well you get it. Let's hope that the majority of sane Israeli's get back control of their government. At the same time, let's hope that we do too.

After listening to Barack Obama's speech I was touched by his message of power of the people and specifically all Democratic ideals that can drive this country to a new set of change.  He talked about that it is not about John or Barack or Hillary it is about each of us who will ultimately change this country...

Lots of folks are dissecting the importance of John Edwards' endorsement of Barack Obama tonight, particularly with respect to white working class voters.