Clinton v. Obama; Edwards' trump card unnoticed

I didn't watch the recent YouTube debate, and have only cursorily attended to evaluations. (I want to know [a] who's electable, [b] who's competent, and [c] what their leading values are-- all programs offered as campaign promises can only be starting gambits, anyway, although they help to answer my three questions.)

But I have been amused a bit by the kerfuffle between Hillary and Obama over (shudder) talking to evil dictators and regimes, such as Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, Kim Jong Il (after, that is, the hoped-for electoral demise of our very own current evil Regime). Surely you don't just talk to them without a plan, Sen. Obama? Well, duh.

But Greg Sargent at TPM Cafe points out that John Edwards' contribution to the debate has been completely eclipsed by the bogus debate between his better-heeled rivals. Edwards said he would talk to them with appropriate preparation, and then added:

But I think this is just a piece of a bigger question, which is, what do we actually do? What should the president of the United States do to restore America's moral leadership in the world. It's not enough just to [meet] with bad leaders. In addition to that, the world needs to hear from the president of the United States about who we are, what it is we represent.

Not that I suppose Hillary or Obama would dissent, but Edwards said it. And the media didn't really care.