Could it be a Democratic conspiracy?

Earlier this week, several news networks reported a conversation between Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards in which the two spoke of lessening the numbers of candidates invited to participate in presidential forums.

The conversation was picked up by an open microphone after a NAACP forum in Detroit on Thursday, in which all eight Democratic candidates were in attendance.

As Clinton and Edwards exchanged greetings, Edwards was heard telling Clinton that by fall, “We should try to have a more serious and a smaller group.”

Clinton agreed with Edwards saying that she felt that the debates were being “trivialized” by too many candidates crowding the stage.

Candidate Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic Congressman from Ohio, responded angrily to the Clinton-Edwards exchange on Friday.

“Candidates, no matter how important or influential they perceive themselves to be, do not have and should not have the power to determine who is allowed to speak to the American public and who is not,” Kucinich said in a statement released by his campaign.

Kucinich, who typically polls in the single digits felt obviously felt that the comments made by Clinton and Edwards were directed at him.

“Imperial candidates are as repugnant to the American people and to our democracy as an imperial president,” said Kucinich, adding that his campaign would take steps to stop any effort to limit participation in the forums.

When asked about Kucinich’s response during a campaign stop in Iowa, Edwards insisted that what he had said to Clinton had been misinterpreted. Edwards said he was not in favor of barring any of the candidates to participate from future events, but rather wanted to see them separated into two groups of four.

It’s almost as if Clinton and Edwards have formed a “Survivor”-esque alliance.

Good for you Dennis, this kind of sneaky, shady behavior will ultimately not contribute anything positive to the advancement of any political cause.

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