More thoughts on John Edwards for President
It wasn't so long ago, I was voicing my doubts about a John Edwards candidacy. I wasn't sure whether he had the pragmatism to fix the foreign policy messes made by George W. Bush. And between Hillary the establishment favorite, Obama the fresh face, and Biden the senior statesman, there seemed to be little ownable space left for Edwards.
Today he announced a Presidential campaign that appears to be as much about movement-building as it is about winning the White House. Ezra Klein and Atrios both have commentary. The former writes:
"This campaign," Edwards promised, "will be a grassroots, ground-up campaign where we ask the people to take action." As part of that, there'll be monthly Days of Action, the first on January 27th, which will exhort volunteers and supporters to enter their communities and work on a particular issue. "Americans," Edwards kept saying," have to be patriotic about something besides war," and that means taking individual initiative to ease poverty, conserve energy, and create the Good Society even without holding office. The announcement was striking for sounding less like a campaign for the presidency and more like a telethon. His campaign would certainly like to lead in the polls, but Edwards seemed more interested in leading a movement.
Klein's post reminded me of something I wrote about Edwards when I saw him at a luncheon back in March:
Most of his speech focused on poverty. He talked about the immorality of a culture that subsidizes oil companies while cancelling school lunch programs. And he talked about the face of poverty that he has seen traveling across the country over the last year. He also offered several concrete proposals on how to end poverty, like mixed-income communities and easier access to financial aid. I kept thinking, "This doesn't sound like someone who is running for President in 2008. This sounds like someone who has found his life's calling and who has dedicated himself to it. It sounds like someone who understands the promise of self-determination and is terrified to see it slipping away."
Can Edwards' crusade catch fire in the America of 2006, where the President ended the year with a speech begging Americans to "go shopping more"?
Today he announced a Presidential campaign that appears to be as much about movement-building as it is about winning the White House. Ezra Klein and Atrios both have commentary. The former writes:
"This campaign," Edwards promised, "will be a grassroots, ground-up campaign where we ask the people to take action." As part of that, there'll be monthly Days of Action, the first on January 27th, which will exhort volunteers and supporters to enter their communities and work on a particular issue. "Americans," Edwards kept saying," have to be patriotic about something besides war," and that means taking individual initiative to ease poverty, conserve energy, and create the Good Society even without holding office. The announcement was striking for sounding less like a campaign for the presidency and more like a telethon. His campaign would certainly like to lead in the polls, but Edwards seemed more interested in leading a movement.
Klein's post reminded me of something I wrote about Edwards when I saw him at a luncheon back in March:
Most of his speech focused on poverty. He talked about the immorality of a culture that subsidizes oil companies while cancelling school lunch programs. And he talked about the face of poverty that he has seen traveling across the country over the last year. He also offered several concrete proposals on how to end poverty, like mixed-income communities and easier access to financial aid. I kept thinking, "This doesn't sound like someone who is running for President in 2008. This sounds like someone who has found his life's calling and who has dedicated himself to it. It sounds like someone who understands the promise of self-determination and is terrified to see it slipping away."
Can Edwards' crusade catch fire in the America of 2006, where the President ended the year with a speech begging Americans to "go shopping more"?
Labels: George W. Bush, John Edwards, President 2008
7 Comments:
Cesar Chavez said it this way. I think the answer to your question is YES!
"The poor, you know, have a way of solving problems...they have a tremendous capacity for suffering. And so when you build a vehicle to get something done, as we've done here in the strike and the boycott, then they continue to suffer - and maybe a little bit more - but the suffering becomes less important because they see a chance of progress; sometimes progress itself. They've been suffering all their live.s It's a question of suffering with some kind of hope now. That's better than suffering with no hope at all." - Cesar Chavez
Join the Denver chapter of Edwards' One Corp right here.
See Edwards' live-blog on Daily Kos right here.
Read The Washington Post's story on the announcement right here.
Watch out, we may have another Robert F. Kennedy on our hands! I watched the interview that Edwards did with the insipid Matt Lauer on The Today Show yesterday morning. Playing devil's advocate, Lauer put it to Edwards that despite his advocacy for the poor, he, Edwards, is a "have", who's just built a three-million-dollar home. Edwards's reply, that he came up from poverty (or at least a lower-middle-class economic status), but not by himself, was a good one. But there are many who actually subscribe to the argument that Lauer put forth, the idea that one who advocates for the poor is a hypocrite if he himself is better off than those for whom he advocates. This assertion is fallacious at best. To them the answer should be: No liberal I know has ever taken a vow of poverty. There were few families in this country at the time who were richer than the Kennedys. But Robert still found it in himself to put forward this idea: "I believe that, as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil."
Great article on Edwards' unorthodox strategy on Politcal Wire.
Article listing Edwards' inner circle at The Fix.
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