Posted on 02/17/2004 6:35:45 AM PST by xsysmgr
By the time he reaches the end of his now-famous "Two Americas" stump speech, Sen. John Edwards has told crowds about an America in which a small group of rich people enjoy lives of untold luxury while everybody else can't get health care, can't pay the rent, can't buy a house, and in many cases, can't get enough to eat.
It's an ugly picture. But Edwards, who left his $3.8 million Georgetown home to chase the Democratic nomination for president, offers people hope. And the hope is this: "I can't change this country alone, but I know that you and I can change this country together. The reason I know that you and I can change America together is I believe in you, and you deserve a president who actually believes in YOU!"
As Edwards speaks, members of the audience might reasonably be expected to turn to one another and say, "What the hell does that mean?" But they don't. In fact, Edwards' crowds, from Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina to those voting for him in today's primary in Wisconsin, love it. "I believe in you" is one of the candidate's biggest applause lines.
The point is not to make sense, but to show audiences that John Edwards cares deeply about them. In the same way that television consultants advise local news departments to put the words "you" or "your" in every promotion — "Working 4 You!", "Seven On Your Side!" — so Edwards wants you to know that he is working for you.
At one event in South Carolina, after a TV anchorman asked whether Edwards had become so rich and successful as a trial lawyer that he might find it difficult to relate to poor people, Edwards turned to the audience — made up of, among others, poverty activists from around the country — and said, "I grew up the way you grew up. I come from the same place. I spent 20 years in courtrooms fighting for YOU!"
He fought against big corporations, Edwards said, against big insurance companies, against the powerful — all for YOU! The audience, which had earlier been wary of Edwards' wealth, ate it up. Now, in Wisconsin, Edwards is blasting NAFTA and free trade — for YOU!
As phony as it sounds, Edwards "Working 4 YOU!" appeal is undeniably effective with a large number of Democratic voters.
Last week, exit pollsters asked voters in Virginia, "Which one candidate quality mattered most in deciding how you voted today?" The most important quality, cited by 26 percent of those polled, was "He can defeat George W. Bush." Among those people, Kerry destroyed Edwards, 63 percent to 22 percent. But the second-most important quality, cited by 20 percent of those polled, was "He cares about people like me." Among those people, Edwards handily defeated Kerry, 42 percent to 30 percent.
Democratic voters in Tennessee also ranked "he cares" as the second-most important candidate quality. Among them, Edwards beat Kerry 40 percent to 29 percent. And in South Carolina, where Democratic voters ranked "he cares" as the most important candidate quality, Edwards trounced Kerry 57 percent to 19 percent.
It's not a trivial issue. In each of those southern states, "he cares" was chosen as the most important candidate quality by one-fifth to one quarter of the Democratic electorate. In other states, the number was smaller but still significant.
The "I care about you" strategy explains some of the otherwise curious omissions in Edwards' "Two Americas" speech. Edwards says nothing, for example, about what is surely one of the most pressing issues facing America today, which is whether the war in Iraq will end in success or failure. He also says nothing about his record in the Senate. If Edwards thinks anything he has done in government has qualified him to be president, he doesn't say so.
In the place of such details, Edwards tells audiences he believes in them.
Now, clearly that isn't enough to win the Democratic nomination. So far, Edwards has lost all but one of the Democratic primaries and caucuses, including three of four southern primaries. His campaign is dead, and he's still acting as if he's got John Kerry right where he wants him.
But Edwards' "I care" appeal is the real secret of his value as a possible running mate for the presumptive nominee Kerry. Of course Edwards would give the ticket some regional balance. But the most important thing he would give Kerry is emotional balance.
Kerry could tell you until he is blue in the face that he cares about you, and you'd still find it hard to believe him. Do a Nexis database search for "John Kerry" and "aloof" and you'll get hundreds of hits.
That's where Edwards comes in. While Kerry handles the actual issues — his stump speech is more detailed, more specific, and more boring than Edwards' — Edwards could take care of the audience's emotions. Edwards could tell crowds, in a way that Kerry could not, that "John Kerry believes in you, and you deserve a president who actually believes in YOU!"
Who wouldn't believe that?
— Byron York is also a columnist for The Hill, where a version of this first appeared.
There are actually Three Americas. The rich, the poor, and the leftwing parasitic morons who buy Edward's ambulance-chasing crapola.
There's one for scum-sucking bottom-feeding lawyers..
Then there's the rest of us - aka, victims of lawyers.
If John Edwards cares about me, he will cut taxes so the economy will flourish.If John Edwards cares about me, he will work to reform tort law so doctors can afford to stay in practice to treat me.
If John Edwards cares about me, he knows what time zone I live in . . .
We've already we're already well into our empire stage, it's only a matter of one dirty nuke in a major metropolis to put us under the yoke of a ceaser. Maybe Bush will be the first to be crowned. Maybe during Kerry's administration. Either way, it isn't "great" to lose the Republic.
Blow-dried Johnny has the credentials to be a top-notch weather boy (or news reader). He really is in the wrong line of work.
By the way, I'm wondering - since he decries the "two Americas" so much, do you think Johnny would let me have one of his three multi-million dollar houses, just so I could see what life is like in his America? I'll take the beach house, Johnny.
True not only of Johnny Edwards, but Kerry, Kennedy, the entire boatload of multi-millionaire Dems in Congress, the Hollywood elite and George Soros. It's easier for them to demand that George W. Bush take our money and spend it on the non-existent starving children in America - and curse him for his sadistic cruelty toward same - than to offer any help from their own coffers.
I live in Wisconsin also, but in my township the only thing on the ballot is the Presidential Primary, no local races, referendums, etc...
I can not decide if I want to go vote for Dean, happily vote for President Bush, or just skip the whole thing.
It's funny because I very rarely watch network TV, but I was this morning, and I got to see 3 Dem commercials for the first time. I was only listening and not watching, but all of a sudden a John Edwards commercial was on. The thing that struck me the most was how incredibly annoying his voice was!!!! I love a southern drawl, but he has a whining, grating edge to his voice that sent chills up my spine. It's funny because I never noticed it before.
BTW, did you know Kerry was a Vietnam Veteran?
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