Download Download (h/t BillW)

Many media narratives were furthered on This Week with George Stephanopoulous this morning. Stephanopoulos accused Democratic presidential contender John Edwards of tag-teaming with Barack Obama to knock Hillary off her presumed place as Democratic front-runner. Um, George, isn't that what the contenders are supposed to do?

And once again, the bogeyman of trial lawyers raises its ugly head. Despite Edwards' repeated pledge that no lobbyists will serve in his White House, the fact that the Trial Lawyers of America donated to his campaign pops up (note: Edwards and his wife were both successful trial lawyers; I'm not sure why that would be a surprise to anyone). According to the Center for Public Integrity, the Trial Lawyers are 85th on the list of top lobbying organizations, and well behind George Stephanopoulos's own employers, Walt Disney Co.

What didn't seem to play into Stephanopoulos's questioning is just how effective John Edwards' championing of the middle class is playing with the electorate. At last night's debate, Edwards scored the highest of all candidates with the focus group in talking about how out of balance the economy is against the middle class. Why talk about what really matters to the people when you can distract with overinflated hyperbole about special interests?