... behind Edwards.
I apologize for yet another diary about John Edwards, but since yesterday afternoon, I've been unable to stop thinking about the guy. For a year or so, I actually wondered which Democrat I would be supporting in 2008. A few seemed intriguing - Feingold is extremely principled, Warner seemed to have a strong organization, and even now, Gore seems to be himself again, staying true to his core beliefs. But after today, I realized why I was for Edwards in 2004, and why it's going to be very hard to sway my allegiance, come 2008. He's the one person remotely interested in the presidency thus far, for me, that maintains an authenticity, a credibility, and a level of audacity that is needed to move America out of its quagmire.
First of all - what other politician or person of fame would celebrate their anniversary with his wife at Wendy's every year? And pay close attention to Edwards' watch - it's a watch that you or I could pick up at our local Wal-Mart. Edwards' populism doesn't need to be faked. He doesn't need to be taken duck hunting in order to establish a connection with rural voters. He doesn't need to appear at NASCAR races to pay his dues with a specific demographic in our society. He already brings that rapport to the table. He understands people, as is evident in an excerpt from his book,
Four Trials:
During my years as an attorney, I developed a respect for juries as microcosms of our great and varied American society - where someone of sophistication and privilege sometimes sits right up beside a man who has never left the county where he was born, and who wouldn't complain about that fact for the world. Like every person in our society, every person on a jury has supreme importance. Any lawyer who forgets that is lost. When I entered public life, I felt lucky that I had already learned that lesson, and I don't forget it now. (xvii)
Let me restate it - "Every person in our society...has supreme importance." This is why Edwards doesn't need to be two-faced, why he doesn't need to speak out of two sides of his mouth. This is why Edwards could never be portrayed as a flip-flopper. When you treat everyone the same - when everyone is viewed as possessing inherent worth - you have that authenticity that commands respect.
With that philosophy, you also establish credibility. People respect you, and then they trust you. When you speak with passion from your gut, people believe you, because you've not given them a reason not to. Edwards' credibility is rock solid, and with his emphasis on poverty - a topic no typical politician would dare touch - it is getting stronger. Edwards isn't the typical politician. He's willing to speak about issues because he cares about them, not because he's looking at polls. He speaks out and advocates because it's the right thing to do, not the politically prudent thing to do. In the Democratic field right now, I see Russ Feingold doing this, and I see Al Gore doing it as well (if you consider him a candidate). That's it. In an election that will cap eight years of lying, incompetence, and well, let's just say it - destruction - what better tool to have than credibility to restore order in the White House, in the country, and around the world?
There are those who tear Edwards down because of his lack of foreign policy experience. Obviously his attempts to fill this resume gap have gone unnoticed. Edwards, in 2005, joined Jack Kemp in leading the Council on Foreign Relations' Task Force on Russia. He's visited a multitude of countries, with his trips to Israel to monitor the Middle East conflict, and his trip to India to learn about global poverty serving as examples. In his speech at the National Press Club yesterday afternoon, Edwards offered his own proposal to deal with our mess in Iraq, favoring an immediate withdrawal of 40,000 of our troops, while calling for all forces to be home in twelve to eighteen months. Granted, as profmatt noted in Kos's thread yesterday, Edwards's foreign policy resume pales in comparison to a Republican candidate's like McCain and/or Allen. It's been proven time and time again, however, that resumes don't win elections (the 2004 election comes to mind).
Perhaps the most repeated attack of Edwards is the trial lawyer bit. You know it - "John Edwards is a trial lawyer, so obviously he did not earn the money he has, and he's one of the causes for the rising medical malpractice premiums that are driving doctors out of business." The thing that many of these ignorant Republicans and enemies of Edwards can't grapple with is the fact that the man was not the typical trial lawyer. Edwards, in his prime, was stingy with the cases he took. He was not out for the money. Anyone that read his book knows that the cases which garnered him the most fame were cases that were unbelievably gruesome, involving defendants that were so grossly negligent that it turned your stomach to read about them. For example, one of Edwards's last cases involved a seven year old girl - Valerie Lakey - who, because of a defective drain cover in a swimming pool, had her intestines sucked out of her. His cases were not about making money; they were chosen to make that statement - that every person in society has supreme importance. In my opinion and as deposed senator Lauch Faircloth found out in 1998, bringing up this trail lawyer business with Edwards only shines more light on his credibility.
Finally, Edwards' audacity sets him apart from the other candidates. To this day, he is the only candidate willing to go out on a limb and set forth a "vision," as Kos terms it, for America. Edwards, with no official public office attached to his name, has the chutzpah to develop his own idea of where he wants to see America in 2026. We're confronted with so many politicians who say they care for America's future - but who has been willing to step up and provide America with a blueprint for success? Who has been courageous enough to set a goal for America in the last few years? Who has been willing to talk about an issue that is politically poisonous, mainly because it's the right thing to do? It's John Edwards, folks.
Many of you readers want Gore to be the nominee. Others might want Feingold and Clark to be there at the end. But Edwards certainly deserves a careful examination. A principled, competent, and powerful figure, John Edwards has what it takes to move the country forward and form One America.