‘Johnny Sunshine’ Is Back

Perhaps that front page article in the Register a week or so ago (and all of the blogospheric banter leading up to it) about the two different John Edwardses was a bit premature, as we see the Edwards campaign use the last month of the Iowa Caucuses to tie everything the former senator said in 2003 back together with what he’s said in 2007. Case in point, this new ad, set to air in Iowa:

In short, Edwards is a fighter, yes, but he’s really just fighting for the optimism that his little old lady supporters hold for “future generations,” i.e., their grandkids. It’s a powerful message that makes his relative negativity over the past few months seem reasonable and, well, sunshiney.

Expect to see the campaign fold the two messages together more and more between now and January 3.

On another note, Edwards still tops Iowa Independent’s Democratic Power Rankings.