There has been some discussion on Kerry as a candidate and I thought I would throw my two cents worth in, as well as discuss Edwards. Perhaps then I can start to put some closure on this election (although I too, hold a small but strong hope out for something to come of the ongoing examination of the voting irregularities, if not, at least a reformation of out electoral system.
I have been reading Daily Kos since near the beginning of his blog, but I have never written anything before. It was only after the election that I started to pay attention to the diaries, and that is because they were the ones with the information on the voting irregularities. Since then, it is what I go to first, and I have read a lot of them, including all the comments, which are enormously fascinating. I have a lot of thoughts on this election, John Kerry as the Democratic candidate, and whether I think he should run again. I don't. Like many readers here, he was not my first choice, I had a lot of reservations about him, and I was concerned that the number one reason the majority were " going" with him was " elect ability". Not where he stood on issues, how he captivated an audience, or that his message was special and got through to people. Just that he seemed the right choice because of 20 some years in public service (I guess that was the reason). I worried through the period up to the election (and breathed a sigh of relief when he picked John Edwards as VP) but I did get a semi-feel for him as a person and found that he was a likeable person, and I think he would have done a far better job as President than Bush could ever hope to. I began to respect him, and I know that he worked hard. That said, he made some very glaring mistakes, and never could fix them. He never used Edwards correctly; never let him run with his message, or to fight back, until the very end. Why couldn't Kerry explain about the 87 billion dollar vote? Drove me nuts, it wasn't hard to explain the 20 billion dollar blank check he wasn't handing Bush. But he didn't, and it bit him in the ass over and over again. Saying he would go into Iraq knowing what he knew today-that was crazy, why would anyone go in there now?? Even Bush couldn't have. He never seemed to have a firm stance, and maybe because of that, he let Rove drive the boat ( no pun intended here, was just thinking of the Swift boat debacle and how that wasn't handled so great either). Kerry was almost always on the defensive, except when he was attacking Bush on Iraq, and he only found his way there because people finally responded to that, but he had no real message except to go after Bush, and in the end it wasn't enough. Bush went into Iraq on a fear message and he won the election on a fear message, and I guess a fear message wins over no message. After the 2000 election, I watched Gore fight for the votes in Florida, and heard his concession speech (a great one at that) and I would have supported his run in 2004-he earned it. Kerry `s concession speech this month, and the time after, seem so anti-climatic and devoid of any real connection to all the people who had supported him. I understand that they said there weren't the votes in Ohio to wait awhile, and that if he wanted to run again in 2008, that he had to" preserve" his presidential bearing, but I don't buy it. I would have respected him more if he had done things differently. What??? -I don't know exactly- I just know that what he has done doesn't resonate well with me. Something with some spunk perhaps, or something innovative but not.....nothing. And sitting on all that leftover money that could have helped another Democratic candidate, that doesn't resonate well either. I know he needed to keep some for legal fees , but not all of it. Maybe he is still fighting in Ohio, but leaving us all to wonder in the manner that he is, is perplexing.
Which brings me to Edwards and 2008. I have heard some in here speak ill of his chances to run again, and I would like to speak to that point. Edwards was always my first choice in the primaries. I remember channel surfing one afternoon, resting on C-span and Edwards was speaking to an audience during the primaries. I had only planned on watching for a sec, but was absolutely captivated and stayed for the entire speech. It wasn't hard at all to listen to. That, I think, is a huge plus in a candidate. He had a very distinct message, that spoke to a lot of America, and his compassion felt very genuine. Another huge plus. He was the only one to really speak of poverty in this country, and made it appealing to want to help these people, (poverty is an important issue to me personally). Towards the end of the primaries, he was the only one left besides Kerry and was fast catching up to him. Edwards seemed the real closer. His wife, Elizabeth, makes a very appealing potential first lady, to a broad spectrum of people. She is intelligent, gracious, compassionate, approachable and without airs. To those who mistakenly think that John Edwards was the "Breck"boy, and too nice to fight, I think they didn't hear him nail Ashcroft during the Senate hearings on the Patriot Act. During the debate with Cheney, he made Cheney look him in the eye when he told Cheney that he was wrong. Edwards is a fighter, and he can take the gloves off with the best of them (my belief). However, when he does it, it's not offensive, and I think people are left impressed with his approach. Edwards also has balls and guts. One thing people might not know about the now (somewhat) infamous case he took and won with the pool drain and the young girl that had her intestines sucked out, was that Edwards was the only lawyer to think he could win against the large company he had to go up against. The parents went to several good lawyers first, but none of them would take the case because they didn't think they could win. Edwards took it and won-big. I am from Raleigh, and know a lawyer that knows the inside info on this case. He is a fighter. I have heard that he wanted to fight for Ohio , or at least wait awhile and see what the situation was. Edwards also had the best articulated plan. I heard all the policy wonks say that they were the most impressed with his website. His Two Americas speech was concise and hit home. The fact that he was a trial lawyer proved not to be a detriment , Rove could never make mud stick to Edwards on that factor. Clinton won, in large part, because he could reach people, was a charismatic speaker and was quick on his feet. Edwards has all of that and deserves a chance in 2008. Thanks to those of you who stayed with this diary to the end, my apologies for the length, perhaps I should have made this 2 diaries, but it all just poured out. Pent up thoughts, emotions and all that.