The screencap of the poll was taken at 4am PST. Click on the picture for a larger image. You can participate in the poll here. Scroll past the video.

Are people finally realizing that John Edwards is not the progressive alternative to Hillary and Obama they once thought he was? A blog on Edwards’ site recently posted a poll so visitors could vote for the Democratic candidate they support most for president. The fact that Dennis Kucinich beat Edwards in this poll suggests that the tide is indeed turning. Much like the ABC polls, which were taken down when Kucinich won, people will explain it away by saying that Kucinich supporters rallied to vote for their candidate. With the total amount of voters being so low I doubt it’s true, but the fact is that the opportunity was available for every supporter of every candidate to participate. One would expect that since it was on their candidate’s site, Edwards’ supporters would have been more aware of this poll’s existence and easily outnumbered the presence of all other supporters. It’s a rather sad day when you’re only able to muster up a little over 120 votes for yourself on your own site.

Kucinich seems to be the candidate that Americans attracted to Edwards actually want. Edwards is merely a watered-down imitation of the congressman, with stances that fall just short of progress. For example, Edwards presents himself as a peace candidate even though he voted for the Iraq War. Dennis Kucinich did not vote to authorize nor fund the war. Edwards presents himself as a pro-labor candidate whose only memories are of his father working in a mill, but refuses to cancel NAFTA. Dennis Kucinich said outright at the AFL-CIO debate that he will cancel both NAFTA and the WTO. Edwards also says he’s got the most progressive plan for universal healthcare, but we know that simply isn’t true because Kucinich is the only candidate with a plan for universal single-payer not-for-profit healthcare. In short, Kucinich is who Edwards wants to be when he grows up.

In light of the recent childish bickering between Obama and Clinton regarding diplomacy, post-YouTube/CNN debate, it’s worth noting that Dennis Kucinich met with President Assad of Syria on Sunday to diffuse tensions and talk about the role his country will play in securing the Middle East. Kucinich said he felt obligated to visit certain sites in Syria affected by Israeli occupation and the destruction of war. Does it bother anyone else that the top-tier candidates don’t feel this same sense of obligation? Much like his push to end the occupation of Iraq now and get Cheney out of the White House by means of impeachment, Kucinich is not waiting until 2008 to start forging diplomatic ties with foreign leaders. THAT is why he’s winning poll after poll.