Former John Edwards adviser Joe Trippi is pushing back against David Plouffe’s claim that the Edwards camp tried to strike deals on the vice presidency during the 2008 Democratic primary.
As we reported last night, Plouffe charges in his new book “The Audacity to Win” that a “senior Edwards adviser” suggested Edwards would drop out and that he and Obama could team up as a joint ticket.
Trippi told the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent he wasn’t aware of the pitch. He also suggested Edwards, who was later mired by scandal due to an affair, was more interested in being attorney general than the No. 2 slot.
Sargent reports:
“Edwards was pretty clear to me that VP didn’t appeal to him and that he was more interested and thought he could do more as AG,” Trippi emailed.
Trippi also contested the assertion that the Edwards camp thought Hillary would win South Carolina and go on to victory, arguing that “it was clear that Obama was going to crush everyone in South Carolina and then run a series of victories.”
Plouffe isn’t completely clear on whether Edwards himself was behind the alleged offer of a deal. So it’s always possible that another top Edwards adviser — Jonathan Prince, for instance — made some kind of suggestion along these lines.
Late update: Mystery solved. Sargent talked to an Edwards adviser who says Plouffe’s account is “entirely accurate.”
