Inside Politics

Edwards vs. Dixie

Sen. John Edwards, in an interview last week, made it clear that he has no interest in winning the votes of guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks.

Mr. Edwards, a North Carolina Democrat who is seeking his party’s presidential nomination, told WorldNetDaily (www.WorldNetDaily.com) that the Confederate flag should be banned from any public place. It was less clear whether Mr. Edwards, as president, would fight to have all Confederate-related symbols removed from public places, such as the Confederate memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.

When asked whether all Confederate war memorials, such as the one outside the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., are divisive and should be removed, Mr. Edwards at first sounded confused.

“I don’t know what that question means,” Mr. Edwards said.

The reporter then mentioned “statues, grave sites and so forth. Do you believe they are all divisive like that war memorial in Columbia?”

“Are you talking about private property?” Mr. Edwards asked. “On private property, people can put whatever they want on private property. … My answer is that the Confederate flag, which is a symbol of oppression to a lot of Americans, is a divisive symbol and should not be flown in a place like it’s being flown in South Carolina, in front of the state Capitol. It shouldn’t be flown on public grounds like that. That’s my position and I stand by it.”

Sharpton’s adviser

Republican political operative Roger Stone has been acting as an unpaid consultant to Democratic presidential candidate the Rev. Al Sharpton, the New York Times reports.

Mr. Stone, who in the past worked for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, “had a hand in some of Mr. Sharpton’s most effective attacks on Howard Dean,” reporter Michael Slackman said, citing aides to Mr. Sharpton.

Mr. Stone told the reporter: “Frankly, there has not been a candidate with this much charisma since Ronald Reagan. He is a natural talent. Who else could do the funky chicken on television and get away with it? I don’t share his politics. Let’s be very clear, if you check the [Federal Election Commission] records, you will see I am supporting George W. Bush. I am a Reagan Republican.”

Mr. Sharpton said he talks to Mr. Stone from time to time, but does not consider him an adviser. However, Sharpton aides told the reporter that Mr. Stone has advised the candidate before national debates, and had a hand in Mr. Sharpton forcing Mr. Dean to admit that no blacks or Hispanics had served in his Cabinet during the 11 years Mr. Dean was governor of Vermont.

Vetting Kerry

“Even before Howard Dean’s campaign began to fall apart, President Bush’s underlings were paying attention to Dean’s rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination,” Fred Barnes writes in the Weekly Standard.

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