Are there three people in this debate, not two? This kind of squabbling...how many children is this going to give health care, how many people are going to get an education from this, how many kids are going to be able to go to college because of this. We have got to understand, this is not about us personally. It is about what we are trying to do for this country, and what we believe in. -- John Edwards, during last night's debate
Last night, while Barack Obama was going Wal-Mart on Hillary Clinton, and while Hillary was going Rezko on Obama, and while they were both looking for more ammunition to use in yet another personal attack, John Edwards did something extraordinary.
John Edwards stepped up and showed some leadership. He reminded his opponents that this campaign isn't about their personal lives; it's about the future of our country, and what we should do to make it a better place.
Edwards talked about the issues, and in the process he took a debate that was descending into meaninglessness and made it meaningful.
He probably gave a some of his opponents' supporters a serious case of buyer's remorse...and he showed why he still belongs in the game.
Watch for yourself:
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The good news is that even though the media has decided it's a two-person race, the media doesn't get to decide a single damn thing.
We can see where this campaign is going. There's no doubt. And for now, the only person keeping the entire campaign from going thermonuclear is John Edwards.
At the very least, voting for Edwards will help him stay in the race, not only keeping the race focussed on issues, but also earning enough delegates to exert considerable sway over the the nomination process and allowing him to keep progressive issues at the center of the debate.
At best, he could win the nomination. Just because the pundits say it's impossible doesn't mean it can't happen. There are still 47 states left to go.
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If you're reading this, you're probably an Edwards partisan, or perhaps undecided. (If you're an Obamacan or a Hillaryite, you've probably just too much time on your hands.)
We are perilously close to this campaign becoming nothing more than a personality contest. And if voters in South Carolina and other states don't support John Edwards, the campaign will become a personality contest.
If that happens, the issues we care about -- the issues America cares about -- will get pushed to the side.
For that reason, please help spread this video across the net.
People need to see with their own eyes what will happen if John Edwards gets erased from this campaign. I think if they see what the stakes are, we can begin to wake them up.
How to share this video (for non-geeks):
- Click the button labeled "Menu" on the video player.
- Underneath URL, click the button labeled "Copy to Clipboard".
- Open your favorite e-mail program. In the body of a new e-mail message paste the URL which you just copied. You'll see something like this: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-OuoLlds9o)
That's it! If you want to embed the video onto web pages or comments, simply click the copy to clipboard button underneath embed and then select paste when writing a post or diary or comment.
Campaigns have their highs and their lows. So far, Iowa has been our high point, and last weekend in Nevada was our lower point.
The vote next weekend is our next big opportunity.
I think that if Edwards does well, we'll look back at last night as the moment that put John Edwards back in the game.
Update: The front page of the Charlotte Observer captured the moment!
Update 2: I posted this diary at about 6am, a bit over 2.5 hours ago. Since that time, this video has been played almost 1,000 times. That's a damn good start to getting the word out about Edwards' debate moment!
Update 3: Now 9 hours after the diary posted, the video has been played almost 4,500 times, along with about 1,500 for an earlier first version! Given that there are many other more prominent sources of information about the moment (take, for example, the Charlotte Observer front page in the first update), I'm pretty confident this moment is going to sink in with the Democratic primary electorate!
Update 4: CNN people meter shows voters preferred Edwards as Clinton and Obama squabbled