<------- 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!
JK "This reminds me of the Christmas I spent in Cambodia"
JE "Shut up and kiss me you fool"
John Edwards and WalMart on YouTube --- http://youtube.com/watch?v=5ggjjOUSHwk
"his "two Americas" theme is illustrated by the stark reality of the federal government's ongoing neglect of Hurricane Katrina victims."
What crap! You don't hear AL or MS crying about ill treatment, do you? Yet, they were hit just as hard!
A perfect putdown, and unanswerable!
Balls across the chin, in the words of Andrew Dice Clay...
LOL! I was thinking...
I'm just a girl who can't say no.
I'm in a terrible fix!
I always say, Come on! Let's go!
Just when I oughtta say nix.
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!
Another empty suit!! Nothing to see here, move along!!
Fly me to the moooon,
And let me dance among the moonbats . . . . !!!
You forgot about the UW employee earning salary while serving time.
So basically they now admit he was a really lousy and unqualified candidate in the last go-around. Other than now carrying the official stink of being a loser, nothing else has changed.
I cant think of anything he EVER had to offer.
OK, I looked again. He's still a lightweight dork.
I don't think there's a Life Lesson that "Oklahoma!" can't teach us!
Let's see:
*Appreciate a beautiful sunrise.
*A cool "buggy" will get you the gals.
*Learn to say "No!"
*Fall Head Over Heels in love at least once in your life.
*Trick your enemy into falling on your knife - Get away with murder!
*Get along with your neighbors (even if they're Cowboys and you're a Farmer.)
*Don't dwell on lost love ('Many a New Day')
*Be adventurous! Pull up stakes and start a new state if you can!
*Learn to bake a decent pie and get the guy!
*Visit Kansas City at least once in your lifetime (I hear that everything's up to date...)
I think there were three professor-types drawing salaries while in the pokey; two pedophiles and a stalker. *SHIVER*
Political pros with behind-the-scenes access can tell you that Edwards is a man of deep character flaws, very dishonest. This info is easily available, especially from "in the know" liberals. I believe the Clinton hit men and the Osama-Obama operatives will exploit such info to the max if they eventually perceive Edwards as a genuine threat to Hilary's or BO's chances. And once they go to work on him, Edwards will probably sink like a rock.
It is going to be fun watching the 'Rats eat one another alive, isn't it? ;)
In the immortal words of Linda Ronstadt, "Just one look, that's all it took."
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