Why the South is moving toward Democrats today is an easier question to answer. One reason: With anxiety high about the economy, more voters are looking to Democrats amid a surge of populist sentiment and an embrace of activist government.

“The pool of votes available to Democrats during tough times gets bigger in the South,” says John Anzalone, a Bright political consultant who advised Democratic winners in Louisiana and Mississippi. In contrast with past downturns, he also suggested voters in the current political climate do appear more concerned about economic than cultural issues. “Those are our wheelhouse [core] issues,” he says.

Democrats have also made efforts to recruit candidates who reflect the values of local districts. Not that long ago, party leaders picked from a list of liberal stalwarts who matched national party sentiments on issues such as gun rights and abortion. Now the focus is finding candidates “who would win,” says one senior strategist.

The 2006 victory of Virginia Democrat Sen. Jim Webb, a moderate who favors gun rights, over Republican Sen. George Allen was an early sign that the strategy might work. Sen. Webb says he sees “real potential” for Democrats to make further inroads in the South, especially with white Southern conservatives. “A lot of people are re-evaluating,” he says.

“And when I say young, I mean 35 or younger. And he’ll bring out African American voters, he’ll bring out more Latino voters—People who really finally believe that maybe, just maybe, we can have something different and I expect to be the beneficiary of that.”

“I think this President has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter. It is breathtaking to me the level to which that disrespect has risen.”

John Edwards on whether infidelity disqualifies one for the presidency:

Of course. I mean, for a lot of Americans, including the family that I grew up with … it’s fundamental to how you judge people and human character: Whether you keep your word, whether you keep what is your ultimate word, which is that you love your spouse, and you’ll stay with them.

John Edwards now.

Mike was elected the democratic nominee for Tennessee State House District 52 during Thursday’s state primary contest. The general election is in November and Mike does have one independent opponent.

The campaign will pick up yard signs over the weekend. Signs and poles will be recycled.

“Bob Tuke is a great Tennessean and is going to do a great job in the U.S. Senate,” offered Congressman Jim Cooper in congratulating Tuke on his primary victory.

I despise crossover voting. As a matter of principle, I will not vote in a Democratic Primary, even if all of the Republican races are unopposed. I do not believe it is my place to have a say in who the Democratic Party should nominate since I am not a Democrat, nor do I believe Democrats should be able to have a say in nominating Republicans.

We’re lucky that our new roster of Metro Council members overwhelmingly voted in favor of Ronnie Steine’s well-timed resolution opposing Crafton’s proposal. Meanwhile, our mayor, Karl Dean, who we criticize a bit for never voicing a substantive opinion, gave a smart and moving speech against the anti-immigrant measure as well.

Sean Braisted:

What Edwards did is between he, his family, and his mistress; and I can’t really pretend to be indignant that he lied about this affair, or went into the race knowing this could surface, because, quite frankly, I never really trusted the guy in the first place.

Say Uncle:

There are two Americas, one where you’re faithful to you’re wife and one where you’re not.

Number 9:

Ask, don’t tell. No, that isn’t the way it goes. Ask, deny. No, that’s not quite it. Ask, lie your ass off.

Perfect.

R. Neal:

I suspected something like this when he dropped out so abruptly. I said to the Mrs., “somebody’s got something on him.”

Mr. Turnbow:

Mr. Two America’s better get to church ASAP!

Tiny Cat Pants:

Here’s the deal, folks. If you made a deal with your spouse not to have sex with anyone else but them for as long as they live, and if you don’t abide by that deal, you are a massive jerk.

Marc Ambinder:

According to people close to the Edwardses, Elizabeth Edwards has secured a primetime speaking role at the Democratic National Convention; John Edwards, as of this point, does not, and people close to him think he will beg off and not attend the convention so as not to distract Obama. Obama aides would not say whether either Edwards is on the schedule.

Andrew Sullivan:

Yes, cheating on your wife is bad. Cheating on her when she’s been diagnosed with incurable cancer is just caddish.

It’s tempting do describe the mood at Ground Zero as grim from the git-go. But it wasn’t grim. It was much worse than that. The mood was nonexistent. For most of the evening there was no candidate in the house and not very many supporters waiting on her arrival. The blues band on stage played to a largely indifferent mix of confused tourists who’d stopped in for ribs and to sign Freeman’s get-well banners and bored reporters with nothing to report.

The club was minimally decorated with a few banks of balloons. A sparsely laid snack table went untouched until 9:40 p.m., when speculators began to wonder if Tinker was going to be a no-show. Because she hadn’t merely lost an election, she’d run a campaign based almost solely on race and religion (with surrogates adding homophobia to the list), and she had been definitively crushed by an opponent she’d attempted to bizarrely tar as both a Jewish anti-Christian and KKK-friendly.

Throughout the evening, a small cluster of well-wishers like Judge D’Army Bailey (sipping chocolate martinis and talking about his book deal) and Pinnacle Airlines CEO Phil Trenary (describing himself as a “big Democrat”) would cluster around a television on the Club’s northeast wall to tut-tut over the returns.

“It’s a rout,” one man of Armenian descent grumbled into his cell phone. “The race isn’t even competitive.”

Davis spent time earlier in the week at the U.S. Capitol, taking part in the Republican Party’s protests over the Democrats’ refusal to vote on offshore drilling.

University of Vanderbilt  profession Bruce Oppenheimer told The Hill that Davis’ Washington appearance a few days before the primary indicated he “probably thought he was gonna win” and was “symptomatic overall of his standing.”

“Davis did not do what he needed to do to solidify his base. It’s not that he wasn’t conservative enough. It’s a safe Republican district. The question is, how well did he serve his constituency,was he in touch overall with them, did he learn how to be a successful House member,” Oppenheimer said.

John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extramarital affair with a novice filmmaker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today.

In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 44-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her.

Edwards also denied he was the father of Hunter’s baby girl, Frances Quinn, although the one-time Democratic Presidential candidate said he has not taken a paternity test.

(via Joe Lance)

Last night, I stood in front of a room of supporters and celebrated our victory in the Tennessee Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate. But it wasn’t just my victory-it was your victory. It was your hard work that made this happen.

This campaign is about more than partisan politics. While our state and our country are facing tremendous challenges, this campaign is about bringing Democrats, Republicans, and Independents together to bring about real change. It is about bringing leadership to Washington that will fight for Tennesseans, not special interests. I’m thrilled to have won. But I’m not taking a break.

Today, we’re switching gears and cranking up the intensity. My focus is now on the general election, and while we know we can pull this off, we have an enormous amount of work to do.