Iowa Caucus Goer seeking pres.
candidate – unvrsl health care plan
& provn ablty to win in a red state
rqd. Honest enuf to admt Iraq war
vote was mistake; strng enuf to
stand up to spcl intrsts. No PAC or
lbyist $$ EVER. Aply by 1/3/08.
Don't worry, Iowa Caucus Goer! John Edwards has you covered.
Welcome to your Saturday night Edwards Evening News. Exciting stuff tonight, including the Iowa Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson dinner on C-SPAN right now, and a rock star on the campaign trail!
As the Edwards Extra (the campaign's newspaper) points out, John Edwards is picking up steam, not only in Iowa, but all across the country. That means this is going to be a fun EENR, so here are tonight's stories:
- John Edwards on C-SPAN at the Iowa Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson dinner tonight!
- A Rockstar on the Campaign Trail
- News Article and Diary Roundup
- Action Items
John Edwards on C-SPAN at the Iowa Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson dinner tonight!
Tonight is the big Iowa Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson dinner. John Edwards and the other candidates will be speaking, and 9,000 people are expected to attend. It's on C-SPAN RIGHT NOW! For those of you who don't have cable, like me, you can watch it online at the link.
UPDATE: Here's the YouTube of his speech.
Prior to the dinner, there was a big rally of Iowans for Edwards. John Edwards and bluegrass legend Dr. Ralph Stanley were there. Maybe you can get a feel for the good times that I'm sure were had by all by listening to this video of Dr. Ralph Stanley, and I think this proves that good music has no age.
On the way to the dinner from the rally, folks were treated to a video presentation in "Edwards Vision." This is how the campaign describes it:
And as they head to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium for the JJ Dinner, they can watch "Edwards Vision" on a screen at the corner of 5th Street and Center Street. "Edwards Vision" is a slideshow of photographs and quotations from Edwards on his vision for our country.
But here it is in living color...
Popcorn, anyone?
If you're in Iowa at this event, at some point you will probably be handed a copy of the Edwards Extra, the campaign's newspaper. Those of us online can check out our own copy here.
Pretty cool and it looks like tonight is a multimedia extravaganza.
A Rockstar on the Campaign Trail
Tonight we have a special musical treat for you. Many of us think JRE is a rock star in his own right, but last night, he was welcomed onto the stage by a friend of his who happens to be a rock star who actually plays music - John Mellencamp.
"You know, I've got a friend that I've had for about the last seven or eight years. This guy's from a small town. And he just so happens to be running for President of the United States...Ladies and gentleman John Edwards has come to see the show."
I know you are going to love this video. It had me grinning from ear to ear.
News Article and Diary Roundup
There are a whole lot of wonderful news stories and diaries making the rounds today (and a few we may have missed from earlier this week), so I won't go into much detail on any of these, but here are some links you may enjoy...
Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner Live on C-Span: Edwards speaks 1st by sgary (Daily Kos)
politicsiowa.com is reporting that John Edwards will be kicking things off at this important Iowa event, and that it is one of the last opportunitys for Iowans to see all the candidates at once, and has been used in the past to unveil new campaign themes, such as in 2003 when John Kerry debuted his "Real Deal" theme.
Why John Edwards Must Be the Democratic Nominee by Michael Fox (OpEd News)
Polled head-to-head against each of the leading Republican presidential nominees, John Edwards wins each match-up by 5 points more than Hillary Clinton. As there must be no margin for error this time, that is truly significant.
Democratic Rivals Respond to Clinton's Planted Question (CNN Political Ticker)
"That's what George Bush does," the former senator from North Carolina said. "George Bush goes to events that are staged, where people are screened, where the'yre only allowed to ask questions if the questions are favorable to George Bush and set up in his favor."
A Problem of Priorities and the 15% Sensible Solution by Jamess (Daily Kos)
Some "sensible" Business Folks in Iowa have been crunching the numbers, and they think they have a solution, to this looming crisis. The answer calls for some simple "Budget Priority" shifting...
John Edwards - National Day of Climate Change by OneCarolinaGirl (Daily Kos)
Last Saturday I was in New Orleans where Senator John Edwards worked with Habitat to help rebuild New Orleans. (Videos available soon.) Then he went to the AdEgg building where he worked to help save the earth. It was National Day of climate change and the crowd gave him thunderous applause throughout his speech. They were avidly pro-Edwards and they showed it proudly.
Update: Edwards on Clinton's Planting: "That's what George does" & Another Plant Revealed by TomP
I wonder how long this has been going on? How many questions were planted? Remember Yearly Kos? A few people who attended her session told me that it looked like the questioneers were pre-selected at her break out session. Don't know, I went to John Edwards' session. Those questions definetely came from real kossaks and Edwards took whatever was asked.
Earlier this week:
Cate Edwards Makes Her Case by Jenn Abelson (boston.com)
On Friday, Edwards will hit the college circuit again in New Hampshire with Kate Michelman, former head of the abortion rights group NARAL. Edwards plans to spend more time on the campaign trail in January, closer to the first nomination contests.
David Bonior: NH's primary must go before my home state of Michigan's by David Bonior (UnionLeader.com)
Michigan's primary would heavily favor the candidates with the most money and the most hype. Remaining on the ballot there would mean that their pledge to support the role of small states was nothing more than lip service. I believe that after eight years of George W. Bush, Americans are tired of double talk and ready for a leader who will play straight with them.
Michigan is a great state that has produced some of the finest Democrats in the nation, and no candidate has fought harder for the interests of the hard-working men and women of Michigan. John Edwards was laying out his proposal to revive the auto industry to Detroit audiences back in April, before any other candidate was highlighting Michigan issues on the campaign trail.
But as Bill Gardner prepares to announce a date for the New Hampshire primary that will protect its first-in-the-nation status, John Edwards and I believe that the best way to start off our nominating process is to have candidates make their case to voters in their living rooms, instead of through their television sets.
Action Items
We have two action items tonight that you may want to join in so that you can help put this country back on track.
- Watch Ben Cohen's BB demonstration about our nuclear arsenal and join True Majority here.
- Make a small donation to John Edwards for President here.
UPDATE:
Video of today's webcast with Kate Michelman and Cate Edwards.