Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Two Primaries

Oh, the curse of videotape and open microphones!

Here's another embarrassing moment captured for the nation to dissect and ridicule.

This one isn't just an uttered expletive. This one exposes an attempt to undermine the democratic process, at least that's how Dennis Kucinich sees it.

Kucinich isn't happy about the scheming by Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

He also feels personally betrayed by his "friends."

Watch and listen.

Kucinich responded to the revelation:

"This is a serious matter and I'm calling him on it," Kucinich, an Ohio congressman, said in a telephone interview Friday. "Whispering, trying to rig an election, then denying what's going on and making excuses. It all reflects a consistent lack of integrity."

Here are some of the whispers that have Kucinich's undies in a bundle:

"We should try to have a more serious and a smaller group," Edwards said, and Clinton agreed.

"Our guys should talk," Clinton said, complaining the format had "trivialized" the discussion.

As if this matter wasn't embarrassing enough, Clinton and Edwards couldn't agree on the substance and significance of their private moment gone public when asked about it later.

Both Edwards and Clinton were asked about the exchange Friday, and offered different explanations.

In New Hampshire, Clinton seemed to lay responsibility on Edwards.

"I think he has some ideas about what he'd like to do," she said, adding she liked participating in the forums.

For his part, Edwards told reporters in Iowa that he wasn't in favor of barring anyone from future gatherings. Rather, he said he wanted to see them separated into two groups of four each, chosen randomly.

"The result would be that we would have a much more serious discussion and people would actually be able to see what the differences are between us," he said.

Kucinich called Edwards' explanation "disturbing" and said he planned to contact Edwards and Clinton immediately to demand an apology.

"I accept their offer to participate in a debate with just the two of them," Kucinich said. "John should be happy with this, since he wants a small group."

What can you say about this?

It's an example of strategizing and posturing and cutting deals.

In short, it's politics.

And, it's amusing.

It also reveals the hypocrisy of Clinton and Edwards.

I thought "count every vote" was the Dems' rallying cry.

Perhaps that should be replaced with "DON'T count every candidate."

And what about Edwards and his "two Americas"?

He should change his slogan to "two primaries."

Actually, Clinton and Edwards attempt to squeeze Kucinich out of the action backfired.

When was the last time Kucinich received so much attention?