Why doesn't the Super Hornet have canards?

Henry J Cobb wrote:
Why does the Super Hornet have leading edge root extensions (LERXs)
instead of adjustable canards?

Is it an area-rule thing or did they worry about changing the shape
too much to get past Congress?

It's just a matter of finding the optimium location for the canards. The
standard US position is that their ideal position is on someone else's
aircraft.

Simply, the Super Hornet has no need of canards. They would just complicate
the design without offering any obvious advantage. They certianly woudl
have driven up development costs and complicated the RCS reduction effort
(more moving fins means more hard to conceal flat surfaces).

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"Our country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right, when
wrong to be put right." - Senator Carl Schurz, 1872