<------- Caption this!
Posted on 01/02/2007 12:48:44 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
The John Edwards who last week announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination is a very different contender from the fresh-faced young senator who in 2004 bid for the party nod and eventually secured a place on the fall ticket as the vice presidential nominee.
By any measure, Edwards has a lot more to offer progressives than he did in 2004. That potential to appeal to the party's left flank is essential for the former senator, who will need an ideological base as he struggles for attention in a race where while Edwards runs strong in polls from early battleground states such as Iowa and South Carolina New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama continue to suck most of the air out of the contest.
Edwards struggled to develop a message in 2004. After stumbling frequently and many assumed fatally in 2003, he finally developed the "two Americas" stump speech that identified him as a candidate who was serious about broadening the national debate to include discussion of the dangerously wide gap between the rich and poor in America.
Even as he improved as a candidate in 2004, however, Edwards remained a vague and frequently ill-defined contender. He condemned President Bush's management of the war in Iraq, and was particularly critical of the war profiteering that had been allowed by the White House. But Edwards never really took a clear stand on the war.
Edwards talked tough about the need to protect American farmers. But he developed an initial "farm plan" that seemed to be more sympathetic to big agribusiness than working farmers.
Edwards tried to portray himself as a champion of labor. But he never really developed a coherent, let alone effective, message on the central issue for unions and their members: trade policies that favor multinational corporations and Wall Street over working Americans and Main Street.
Despite his flaws, Edwards did well enough in 2004 to merit another look in 2008. And he has given progressives many of whom migrated to the Edwards camp late in the 2004 race in hopes of blocking the candidacy of an even more flawed contender, John Kerry reason to be impressed.
For one thing, instead of announcing on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," he went to New Orleans, where his "two Americas" theme is illustrated by the stark reality of the federal government's ongoing neglect of Hurricane Katrina victims.
And he has answered the old "Where's the beef?" question of his critics with comprehensive plans for providing universal health care and equal access to education.
Edwards is also more focused not to mention more right about the war. He has acknowledged that he was wrong to vote in 2002 to authorize President Bush to attack Iraq. He wants to begin bringing U.S. troops home from the quagmire quickly and he is steadfastly opposed to the construction of permanent bases in the Middle East country.
On the trade and agriculture issues, he has shown perhaps the greatest evidence of growth. In addition to taking tough stances against individual trade pacts, he has hired as his campaign manager former Congressman David Bonior, the Michigan Democrat who for years was the leading House foe of the corporation-friendly trade policies favored by the last two administrations.
Most indications are that Edwards now gets it. That does not mean he is the perfect contender, nor that he is the perfect progressive. But he has grown a great deal over the past several years, and that growth has been in a serious, smart and savvy direction that progressives would be wise to note at this relatively early stage in the 2008 competition.
<------- Caption this!
You.....are.....soooo....beautiful..........to me!
Where is my %$#&$* playstation 3 from Wal-Mart?
Hey, you "progressives" better watch out, you're gonna break this little guys' heart!
"See, my hair does move."
or
"I feel pretty, oh so pretty..."
Gotta keep this jerk out of office. Unions will have a hay day if it ever happens. My short experience with DC area unions showed me firsthand just how incompetent the local labor force is, and I imagine it's like that in any metro area. Yes, I know it's not all of them, but many are ex cons, fools, and degenerates with only about 10% worth hiring.
Sorry, I didn't realize you had already used that caption line, great minds think alike.
Edwards make me miss the poll tax. Stupid people shouldn't be allowed to vote.
"There's a bright golden haze on the meadow, there's a bright golden haze on the meadow. The corn is as high as an elephant's eye...an' it looks like it climbin' clear up to the sky!"
"Hey Burger Flipper!! I said a TRIPLE Cheeseburger for the Mrs."
It's a free for all, and the line doesn't have a copyright! :)
"Yes, I know it's not all of them, but many are ex cons, fools, and degenerates with only about 10% worth hiring."
Thanks to the strong Teacher's Union in our state, we had FORTY-FOUR FELONS on the University of Wisconsin payroll! One woman was a convicted embezzler...working in the budget office! Yeesh.
"You can forgive me for running along side John Kerry after I said I wouldn't, can't you?"
There.
LOL!
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