Who's Afraid of John Edwards?

[sunny]

Each discussion about oppression and injustice anywhere leads to a dicsussion about oppression and injustice everywhere.

This is a complicated and difficult subject, isn't it though?

No two ways about it.

FYI, the NE editor is standing by the story:

http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/2 ... ild-story/

[FourthBase]

Who's afraid of Jon Edwards? Obama.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071222/ap_po/obama_edwards

[Hugo Farnsworth]

I am 55 years old. Let's see, i remember an even dozen presidential elections. Lucky 13 coming up.

Always some big domestic and/or foreign crisis, always which savior to pick. Always issues that did not matter, while the ones that did were moved to the hinterlands. Always a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Folks, we really need a second political party in this country.

[chiggerbit]

Hillary and Billary are in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa tonight, kicking off the last leg of their Iowa campaign. Anybody wanna bet on whether she's signaling that Tom Vilsask will be her vp? Mt. Pleasant is Vilsack's "adopted" hometown. Local news sure is playing up the event. I don't know--Hillary and Tom are two cold-blooded individuals. Trying to remember where I saw that pic of Tom, trying hard to smile and look warm and fuzzy.

[chiggerbit]

Maybe I'm wrong, but there seems to be something weird between the eyes and the smile here. But I have never been able to shed the feeling that this man is cold and calculating.

[judasdisney]

Hillary and Billary are in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa tonight, kicking off the last leg of their Iowa campaign. Anybody wanna bet on whether she's signaling that Tom Vilsask will be her vp? Mt. Pleasant is Vilsack's "adopted" hometown. Local news sure is playing up the event. I don't know--Hillary and Tom are two cold-blooded individuals. Trying to remember where I saw that pic of Tom, trying hard to smile and look warm and fuzzy.

Clinton/Clark

[chiggerbit]

Clinton/Clark

I don't know, Clark can be a loose cannon at times. More likely he will be Sec of Defense or something.

[FourthBase]

If Edwards is legit, but the snot thing becomes a touchstone moment...
Then I'm going to start wiping snot on everyone I know.

[sunny]

chigger, that photo of Vilsack reminds me of Newt Gingrich. Even though Newtie often endeavors to smile and be warm and fuzzy, his eyes always look as though he had just tied a virgin to the railroad tracks.

[sijepuis+]

** Thanks, Chlamor, Gouda and Alice. **

Edwards voted for both the Patriot Act and the invasion of Iraq, remember?!

John Edwards 2008: What’s not to like

Regarding national security, Edwards has built a record as a moderate. He voted in favor of the Patriot Act, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the Iraq war resolution, but did not maintain as high a profile in pushing these through to passage as did fellow candidates Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Conn., and Rep. Richard Gephardt, Mo. Edwards’ subsequent criticisms of Attorney General John Ashcroft and President Bush caused the most serious flaps of his campaign, since he supported the initiatives he now criticizes the two men for handling.

I have friends in the US who are just as hot on Edwards as many are here, but the fact of the matter is: he's 'bought and paid for'.

Alice's quote of Edwards' fawning support for Sharon was new to me. What a disgrace.

[FourthBase]

Oh well, fuck him and his nasty-ass booger-wiping self.

[chiggerbit]

Sunny said it well, sijepuis+:

I think Edwards has a Kennedy like willingness to learn, grow, and change

How to explain Edwards? He was a Senator for such a short time, like one term, I believe, a man who had spent most of his life as an attorney. I think he came to politics a bit naively. Ok, a LOT naively. The thing about Edwards that gives me hope is that he's a fast learner who isn't afraid to admit when he's made mistakes. He seems to have a heart AND a brain, seems to be able to analyze and process subtleties quickly, and as far as I can see, is the only one who has tried to make a point that something needs to be done about the devastation of Katrina. He's also still a candidate who has potential to win, although it is limited. If he doesn't win in Iowa, I think he's toast.

My big problem with Obama is that he's too "ivory tower", spends too much time trying to intellectualize and ends up with a scattered thinking process that fails to look beneath the surface and nail the real dynamics of the issues. Still, I could vote for him, but I won't for Hillary.


Of all the leading candidates, which one DO you like, sijepuis+?

[FourthBase]

How to explain Edwards? He was a Senator for such a short time, like one term, I believe, a man who had spent most of his life as an attorney. I think he came to politics a bit naively. Ok, a LOT naively. The thing about Edwards that gives me hope is that he's a fast learner who isn't afraid to admit when he's made mistakes. He seems to have a heart AND a brain, seems to be able to analyze and process subtleties quickly, and as far as I can see, is the only one who has tried to make a point that something needs to be done about the devastation of Katrina.

Sigh, I hope you're right.

I'll take back my sad middle finger to Edwards for now.
I just want to believe that there's somebody truly good and electable.

[sunny]

During the '60 campaign, Kennedy portrayed himself as a more ardent cold warrior than Nixon. We can count ourselves blessed that Kennedy was pres during the Cuban Missile crisis, for who could doubt Nixon would have blown Cuba off the map, as Lemnitzer and others wanted him to do? Who knows what would have happened after that. Secretly, he did everything he was capable of doing to undermine the Cold War, especially as it pertained tryingto the Vietnam conflict.

Israel? I don't have statements made by Kennedy on the issue during the campaign at my fingertips right now, but you can bet it was the usual praise and platitudes. YET, after the election JFK was bound and goddamned determined that Israel should not and would not, as long as he was president, obtain nuclear capability and accordingly, he made numerous threats as to what could happen if they persisted in seeking a nuclear weapon.

There is a wealth of of information out there documenting Kennedy's progressively deeper understanding of the issues and forces at work in the world. He was not able, for practical political reasons that we all wish didn't exist but do, to expressly articulate these to the American people. To me, as chiggerbit emphasized above, Edwards is the only candidate who shows the potential to be the same sort of president. I listen for the "dog whistle" messages the candidates send out, and to me Edwards is signaling a willingness to challenge the dark forces.

[chiggerbit]

One point that Edwards makes that impresses me is his insistance that lobbies don't belong at the table. Hillary insists that they need to be included in, for instance, the health insurance topic. Edwards understands, at a deeper level than do the other two, that once power is given away it is not easily taken back. You can't just ask nicely, negotiate for it back, it must be taken back. You can listen to their input, but you don't let them negotiate. This is a subtle distinction that tells me that Edwards gets it with regards to the dynamics of power and human nature.