Candidate Competition Diary!!!

Instead of everybody bashing everybody else's candidate or making grandiose but unsupported claims about their own, I'd like to hear more from supporters about their candidate's positions.  But I don't want to hear their intepretation of their candidate's positions. So here's what I'm challenging all you well-informed, true-blue candidate supporters to do:

Post a direct quote from your candidate..with a supporting link..that best articulates their position on an issue of importance to you.

You may enter more than once.

Extra points for quotes of 100 words or less.

Extra points if the quote also clearly distinguishes your candidate's position from those of the other candidates.

Tie goes to the most recent quote.

Prize...maybe a brief respite from the candidate hit and cheerleading diaries?

•  Post Clinton Quotes Here

  Reply to this comment to post a Clinton quote.  Please put the issue in the title of your comment.

  by Free Spirit on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:03:06 PM PDT

•  Post Edwards Quotes Here

  Reply to this comment to post an Edwards quote.  Please put the issue in the title of your comment.

  by Free Spirit on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:03:31 PM PDT

  •  "It's time to be patriotic about...

    something other than war."

    by gooners on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:12:24 PM PDT

    •  Oooh! Good one! n/t

      by Free Spirit on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:24:07 PM PDT

  •  My signature

    line says it.

    by TomP on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:14:29 PM PDT

  •  A revolution of values

    That’s the thing I find the most important about the sermon Dr. King delivered here that day. He did not direct his demands to the government of the United States, which was escalating the war. He issued a direct appeal to the people of the United States, calling on us to break our own silence, and to take responsibility for bringing about what he called a revolution of values.

    A revolution whose starting point is personal responsibility, of course, but whose animating force is the belief that we cannot stand idly by and wait for others to right the wrongs of the world.

    link: http://www.tpmcafe.com/...

    by grannyhelen on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:15:29 PM PDT

  •  Civil Liberties

    "We are not the country of Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo. We are not the country of secret surveillance and government behind closed doors. We are Americans, and we're better than that." -- John Edwards.

    Protecting the Constitution and Our Civil Liberties

    by LaEscapee on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:20:22 PM PDT

  •  Edwards on Health care

    "We have to stop using words like 'access to health care' when we know with certainty those words mean something less than universal care. Who are you willing to leave behind without the care he needs? Which family? Which child? We need a truly universal solution, and we need it now."
    – John Edwards

    by cwaltz on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:21:53 PM PDT

    •  Edwards on Nataline's death

      "Are you telling me that we're gonna sit at a table and negotiate with those people?  

      We're gonna take their power away and we're not gonna have this kind of problem again. "

      by cwaltz on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:24:07 PM PDT

  •  Darfur and Uganda

    "There comes a time when we must say, 'Never again.'" -- John Edwards

    Today, two neighboring nations in Africa, Sudan and Uganda, face a pivotal moment right now. The two countries contain the most critical humanitarian crises in the world. John Edwards has outlined steps the United States can take with its NATO allies to help end the genocide in Darfur and to support the peace process in Uganda. With these steps, we can turn the corner in both countries, put the region back on the road to peace and help restore America's moral leadership in the world.

    A Plan for Action in Darfur and Uganda

    by LaEscapee on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:23:17 PM PDT

  •  On his son Wade

    Wade Edwards

    "Nothing in my life has ever hit me and stripped everything away like my
    son's death. As much as anyone is, Wade is who I am."

    John Edwards
    Source:BBC  http://news.bbc.co.uk/...

    Washington Woman

    EENR

    by kevin22262 on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:24:03 PM PDT

  •  Working Families

    "I believe we cannot go on as Two Americas—one favored, the other forgotten—if we plan to stay productive, competitive and secure. I want to live in an America where we value work as well as wealth. I know that together we can build One America – a place where everyone has a fair shot at the American Dream." -- John Edwards.

    Standing Up for Working Families

    by LaEscapee on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:25:39 PM PDT

  •  On creating jobs and revamping energy dependance

    "We can turn the crisis of climate change into an opportunity for a new energy economy, right here in America – and Iowa in particular," Edwards said. "Now is the time to make sure that the economy of tomorrow is an all-aboard economy where nobody is left behind."

    His policy plan would create 150,000 jobs

    by cwaltz on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:27:10 PM PDT

  •  Terrorism

    "...we also should have a broader, deeper goal—to prevent terrorism from taking root in the first place. Millions of people around the world are sitting on the fence. On the one side are bin Laden and Al Qaeda, and on the other side is America. The question is which way they will go. If they perceive America as a bully, it will drive them in the other direction. If, on the other hand, they see us as the light, the country they want to be like, the country that's creating hope and opportunity, it will pull them to us like a magnet."

    link: http://www.johnedwards.com/...

    by grannyhelen on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:27:12 PM PDT

    •  The above quote is in the context

      of making global poverty a national security issue as part of his overall counter-terrorism strategy.

      by grannyhelen on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:29:20 PM PDT

  •  On his ambitions to be a lawyer, aged 11

    On his ambitions to be a lawyer, aged 11:

    "[To] protect innocent people from blind justice the best I can."

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/...

    Washington Woman

    EENR

    by kevin22262 on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:27:52 PM PDT

  •  Foreign Affairs

    We must do everything in our power to reclaim the United States' historic role as a beacon for the world and become, once again, a shining example for other nations to follow." -- John Edwards

    Re-engaging the World

    by LaEscapee on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:32:04 PM PDT

  •  Edwards on New Orleans devastation

    Our government's response to Hurricane Katrina has been a national shame," said Edwards. "But while our government continues to fail the people of New Orleans, the American people continue to take action to help rebuild. As president, I will make sure that our government does everything in its power to help New Orleans recover. We are not the country of the Superdome in New Orleans after Katrina. We can prove it by fulfilling our moral responsibility to get New Orleans back on its feet."

    Edwards has visited New Orleans several times to help rebuild and announced his Presidency in New Orleans. He created a 6 point plan regarding New Orleans and its failure.

    by cwaltz on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:32:42 PM PDT

  •  Edwards statement against the Bush doctrine

    Now, I want to be very clear about something. I believe very strongly that any commander-in-chief must retain the right to respond with appropriate force when there's real intelligence about an imminent threat to America.

    But there is a difference between doing everything in our power to keep America safe and a reckless, belligerent policy that actually makes us less safe. The preventive war doctrine was a stunning departure from the policy that had kept America safe during both world wars and during the Cold War. It is wrong on the merits, wrong on the morals, and wrong for America.

    link:  http://www.johnedwards.com/...

    by grannyhelen on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:37:16 PM PDT

  •  This is an election

    not an auction ~ John Edwards

    by LaEscapee on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:38:37 PM PDT

  •  Edwards on poverty

    Restoring our moral authority means leading by example and making clear that the hard challenges don't frighten us. There is no better opportunity than the challenge of poverty – the great moral issue of our time." -- John Edwards

    Edwards creates a plan for the next 30 years to eliminate poverty including revamping the calculation to determine who actually is living in poverty.

    by cwaltz on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:42:15 PM PDT

  •  The Environment

    "Our generation must be the one that says, 'we must halt global warming,'" said Edwards. "If we don't act now, it will be too late. Our generation must be the one that says 'yes' to alternative, renewable fuels and ends forever our dependence on foreign oil.

    Our generation must be the one that accepts responsibility for conserving natural resources and demands the tools to do it. And our generation must be the one that builds the New Energy Economy. It won't be easy, but it is time to ask the American people to be patriotic about something other than war".

    New Energy Economy

    by LaEscapee on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:46:14 PM PDT

  •  LGBT

    "LGBT Americans are entitled to equal respect and dignity under our laws. Discrimination is morally wrong. All Americans should have the same freedoms and the same responsibilities." -- John Edwards

    Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Americans

    by LaEscapee on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:48:55 PM PDT

  •  On Repubs Vs. Dems

    "The idea that if you replace a corporate Republican with corporate Democrats, that anything is gonna change--yeah, here's what'll change:  different people will go to the cocktail parties in Washington.... that's what this election is about. Are we gonna stand up, are we gonna rise up, are we gonna speak up, are we gonna make certain that we fight for what we believe in?"

    by goodlittlesquid on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 06:00:54 PM PDT

  •  JRE:

    "You cannot deal with them on their terms. You cannot play by their rules, sit at their table, or give them a seat at yours. They will not give up their power -- you have to take it from them."

    Presidential candidate John Edwards on corporations

    by formernadervoter on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 06:47:20 PM PDT

  •  Edwards on education

    "Teachers, not tests, are the single most important factor in successful schools," Edwards said.

    Edwards in addition to wanting to open up Pre k and revamp NCLB has a secondary education plan based on a Greene County NC plan that allows students to attend college for free if they are willing to work 10 hours per week. Greene County saw that the rates for students attending college shot up 20 percentage points.

    by cwaltz on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 07:03:03 PM PDT

    •  In response to a question on education

      No child ever learned anything from filling in bubbles on a cheap, standardized, multiple-choice test. Or, as a friend of mine likes to say, "you don't make a hog fatter by weighing it.

      by tsunami on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 07:35:47 PM PDT

  •  From the Moral Test of Our Generation Speech

    I am not holier than thou. I am not perfect by any means. But there are events in life that you learn from, and which remind you what this is really all about. Maybe I have been freed from the system and the fear that holds back politicians because I have learned there are much more important things in life than winning elections at the cost of selling your soul.

    Especially right now, when our country requires so much more of us, and needs to hear the truth from its leaders.

    It's time to tell the truth. And the truth is the system in Washington is corrupt. It is rigged by the powerful special interests to benefit they very few at the expense of the many. And as a result, the American people have lost faith in our broken system in Washington, and believe it no longer works for ordinary Americans. They're right.

    As I look across the political landscape of both parties today -- what I see are politicians too afraid to tell the truth -- good people caught in a bad system that overwhelms their good intentions and requires them to chase millions of dollars in campaign contributions in order to perpetuate their careers and continue their climb to higher office.

    And, now, as I travel across America and listen to people, I hear real concern about what's going on. For the first time in our nation's history, people are worried that we're going to be the first generation of Americans not to pass on a better life to our children.

    And it's not the fault of the American people. The American people have not changed. The American people are still the strong, courageous people they have always been. The problem is what our government has become. And, it is up to us to do something about it.

    Because Washington may not see it, but we are facing a moral crisis as great as any that has ever challenged us. And, it is this test -- this moral test -- that I have come to understand is at the heart of this campaign.

    In every instance we see an American people who are good, decent, compassionate and undeterred. And, American people who are better than the government that is supposed to serve and represent them.

    I run for president for my father who worked in a mill his entire life and never got to go to college the way I did.

    I run for president for all those who worked in that mill with my father.

    I run for president for all those who lost their jobs when that mil was shut down.

    I run for president for all the women who have come up to Elizabeth and me and told us the like Elizabeth they had breast cancer -- but unlike Elizabeth they did not have health care.

    I run for president for twenty generations of Americans who made sure that their children had a better life than they did.

    As Americans we are blessed -- for our ancestors are not dead, they occupy the corridors of our conscience. And, as long we keep the faith -- they live. And so too the America of idealism and hope that was their gift to us.

    I carry the promise of America in my heart, where my parents placed it. Like them, like you, I believe in people, hard work, and the sacred obligation of each generation to the next.

    This is our time now. It falls to use to redeem our democracy, reclaim our government and relight the promise of America for our children.

    Let us blaze a new path together, grounded in the values from which America was forged, still reaching toward the greatness of our ideals. We can do it. We can cast aside the bankrupt ways of Washington and replace them with the timeless values of the American people. We can liberate our government from the shackles of corporate money that bind it to corporate will, and restore the voices of our people to its halls.

    This is the cause of my life. This is the cause of our time. Join me. Together, we cannot fail.

    We will keep faith with those who have gone before us, strong and proud in the knowledge that we too rose up to guard the promise of America in our day, and that, because we did, America's best days still lie ahead.

    From the The Moral Test of Our Generation speech, Oct. 29, 2007.

    by tsunami on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 07:50:00 PM PDT

  •  VALUES

    "You know, we hear a lot of talk about values. Where I come from, you don't judge somebody's values based upon how they use that word in a political ad. You judge their values based upon what they've spent their life doing.

    So when a man volunteers to serve his country, the man volunteers and puts his life on the line for others, that's a man who represents real American values." July 2004

    by WAKEUPAMERICA on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 08:36:15 PM PDT

  •  great moral issue

    "Poverty is the great moral issue of our century,"

    by WAKEUPAMERICA on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 08:43:48 PM PDT

  •  Leadership

    "There's an enormous void in America of moral leadership here and abroad,"

    by WAKEUPAMERICA on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 08:46:01 PM PDT

  •  Diplomacy,Morals,and the War

    We need a post-Bush, post-9/11, post-Iraq American military that is mission-focused on protecting Americans from 21st century threats, not misused for discredited ideological pursuits. We need to recognize that we have far more powerful weapons available to us than just bombs, and we need to bring them to bear. We need to reengage the world with the full weight of our moral leadership.

    by WAKEUPAMERICA on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 08:49:06 PM PDT

  •  HIS PLANS

    i would love to post all of it here but it will be easier for you to just go here and see for yourself: http://www.johnedwards.com/...

    by WAKEUPAMERICA on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 08:52:41 PM PDT

  •  Negotiation?

    John Edwards:
    "Are you telling me that we're gonna sit at a table and negotiate with those people?"

    --reaction after hearing about Nataline's death.

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:14:35 PM PDT

  •  Poverty

    John Edwards:

    "I believe in the unlimited power of the American people to accomplish anything we set our harts and minds to achieve.  

    If we do not rest until poverty is history, it will be."

    from Ending Poverty in America
    

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:17:31 PM PDT

  •  Global warming and Energy independance

    John Edwards:

    "Our generation must be the one that says, 'we must halt global warming.' Our generation must be the one that says 'yes' to renewable fuels and ends forever our dependence on foreign oil. And our generation must be the one that builds the new energy economy. It won't be easy, but it is time to ask the American people to be patriotic about something other than war"

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:18:38 PM PDT

  •  Equality

    John Edwards:

    "I ran for the Senate and now for the White House for a simple reason: I want everyone in America, no matter who their parents are or where they were born or what the color of their skin is, to have the chance I had to work hard and build a better life"

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:19:48 PM PDT

  •  Labor

    John Edwards:

    "Let’s stand up for the working people whose labor made this country great. America was built by men and women who worked with their hands."

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:20:39 PM PDT

  •  Our generation

    John Edwards:

    "I carry the promise of America in my heart, where my parents placed it. Like them, like you, I believe in people, hard work and the sacred obligation of each generation to the next.

    "This is our time now. It falls to us to redeem our democracy, reclaim our government and relight the promise of America for our children."

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:22:53 PM PDT

  •  Negotiating for Health Care

    John Edwards:

    "We have to stop using words like ‘access to health care’ when we know those words mean something less than universal care. Who are you willing to leave behind without care? Which family? Which child? We
    need a truly universal solution, and we need it now.

    "I donʹt believe you can sit down at a table with lobbyists for drug companies and insurance companies and negotiate your way to universal care. They are dead‐set against this. Itʹs going to take a president who can take them on and beat them. Thatʹs what Iʹve been doing my whole life."

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:25:51 PM PDT

  •  Fixing the Tax code

    John Edwards:

    "Our tax code has shifted most of the burden onto the backs of working Americans. There is simply no end to the special tax breaks available to big corporations and wealthy individuals who can afford lawyers and lobbyists.

    "Itʹs time to end the Presidentʹs war on work. And itʹs time to restore fairness to a tax code that has been driven badly out of whack."

    --from Restoring Economic Fairness July 26, 2007]

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:27:29 PM PDT

  •  Middle Class value

    John Edwards:

    "It’s time for us to put our economy back in line with our values and strengthen three pillars of America’s middle class: savings, work and family."

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:28:26 PM PDT

  •  Reward work, not just Wealth

    John Edwards:

    "It’s time to stop promoting the wealth of the wealthy and start making sure that everyone has the chance to move up the economic ladder."

    btw, anyone realize just HOW much Obama steals Edwards' best lines???  plagiarism...

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:29:48 PM PDT

  •  Bad Trade Deals

    John Edwards:

    "Behind all these numbers and statistics are the faces of millions of Americans forgotten in our trade deals.

    Well, I can tell you that I will never forget them.

    I saw what happened when the mill that my dad worked in all his life, and where I worked myself when I was young, closed and the jobs went somewhere else. It wasnʹt just devastating to our community economically – it was devastating to the pride and dignity of the people who worked hard every day trying to make a better life for their kids."

    from Smart Trade that Puts Workers First August 6, 2007

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:31:35 PM PDT

  •  More on Labor

    John Edwards:

    "Let’s stand up for the working people whose labor made this country great. America was built by men and women who worked with their hands.

    And organized labor has fought for and made better the lives of every working man and woman by giving them a voice.

    Labor never stands silent where wrongs need to be righted.

    Will you stand with them?

    It is time we acknowledged that it is organized labor that has protected the American worker against mistreatment by corporate America. I am proud to stand beside organized labor.

    Will you stand with them, too? Will you walk with them and march with them?"

    from the Democratic National Committee, February 2, 2007

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:34:42 PM PDT

  •  Rural America

    John Edwards:

    "Any talk of rural recovery has to start with the economy.  Farms and small businesses have been stabbed in the heart by unfair competition. We need to help small towns and rural communities create and keep new businesses and good jobs."

    this btw, is an important issue for me.  i know, it's off everybody else's agenda...but not for me.

    we will never truly achieve sustainable agriculture if we don't take care of our rural areas.  my words, my opinion.

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:37:02 PM PDT

  •  Two Americas, in case you missed it

    "Big financial interests are writing our economic policies – and while their profits are setting records, record numbers of families are going bankrupt and losing their homes. Is it any wonder that so many hardworking, law‐abiding middle‐class Americans feel as if the economic system is stacked against them?

    "And that’s the problem of the Two Americas. It’s not that some people are doing well – Lord knows, that’s what we all want. It’s that too many people don’t even have a chance. It’s that the system that should be
    helping more people to succeed increasingly protects those who already have – and it’s doing it at the expense of everyone else."

    from Building One America, June 21, 2007

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:38:53 PM PDT

  •  Ending the War in Iraq

    John Edwards:

    "The American people voted for change last November and eleven months later we still have the status quo. Congress must be strong enough to stand up to President Bush and must pass a funding bill with a timetable for withdrawal.

    If the president vetoes that bill, Congress must send it back, again and again, as many times as it takes for the president to finally get the message that he canʹt defy the will of the American people.

    Every member of Congress who believes this war must end has the moral responsibility to use every tool available to them, including a filibuster, to send the president one simple message: No timeline, no funding. No excuses."

    from a radio address, October 3, 2007

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:41:39 PM PDT

  •  His Iraq vote, and lessons learned

    John Edwards:

    "It was a mistake to vote for the Iraq war in 2002. I was wrong and I take responsibility for that mistake. It has been hard to say these words because those who didnʹt make a mistake – the men and women of our armed forces and their families – have performed heroically and paid a dear price.

    "The truth is that Iʹve learned from my mistakes. I learned a clear lesson from the lead up to the Iraq war in 2002: if you give this president an inch, he will take a mile – and launch a war. Others apparently learned a different lesson. Instead of blocking George Bush’s new march to war, they are enabling him once again.

    "If we don’t reject the president’s dangerous policy of preventive war, which says that we should shoot first and ask questions later, we will repeat the mistakes he made in Iraq."

    i just wanna say that those who say they are without sin, deceive themselves, and are a slave to sin.

    Hillary, apologize!!!  Barack, you deceive yourself!

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:46:08 PM PDT

  •  A Stronger Military

    John Edwards:

    "We need a post‐Bush, post‐9/11, post‐Iraq American military that is mission‐focused on protecting Americans from 21st century threats, not misused for discredited ideological pursuits. We need to recognize that we have far more powerful weapons available to us than just bombs, and we need to bring them to bear. We need to reengage the world with the full weight of our moral leadership."

    remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations, May 22, 2007

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:49:30 PM PDT

  •  our Veterans and lessons from the Vietnam War

    John Edwards:

    "I believe in a sacred contract between our country and Americaʹs veterans and military families. We must stand by those who stand by us.

    When our service men and women sacrifice so much to defend our freedom and secure peace around the world, we have a moral obligation to take care of them and their families.

    "As a nation, we didn’t deal with the reintegration of veterans after the Vietnam War, leaving thousands of veterans without the care they desperately needed. For example, we cannot ignore that the true cost of war includes an incalculable mental toll.

    We need to admit our mistakes and learn from them. We can do better."

    Remarks on "Repairing Our Sacred Contract," May 25, 2007

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:51:16 PM PDT

  •  Darfur and Uganda

    John Edwards:

    "There comes a time when we must say, ‘Never again.’

    "That time is now. Right now, there is a genocide going on right now in Darfur, in Western Sudan. We need to stand up for the people of Darfur. Because if not now, when?

    "We also need to do something to stop the suffering going on everyday in Uganda. We can stop the suffering and Uganda can return to the road to peace. We need to stand up for the people of Uganda.

    Because if not now, when?"
    
    Remarks for the National Jewish Democratic Council on April 23, 2007

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:52:54 PM PDT

  •  Civil Liberties

    John Edwards:

    "We are not the country of Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo. We are not the country of secret surveillance and government behind closed doors.

    We are Americans, and we’re better than that."

    Remarks to the Democratic National Committee, February 2, 2007

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:53:47 PM PDT

  •  Equal Opportunity/Education

    John Edwards:

    "I ran for the Senate and now for the White House for a simple reason: I want everyone in America, no matter who their parents are or where they were born or what the color of their skin is, to have the chance I had to work hard and build a better life."

    Remarks on the "Road to One America," July 18, 2007

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:55:59 PM PDT

  •  Equal Opportunity for women

    John Edwards:

    "Building One America means ensuring that women can make choices in their lives with dignity and can participate in our society fully, as equals. The reality of womenʹs lives today is still something far less. They are expected to do more, and they receive less. Thatʹs not right.ʺ

    Remarks to Women Employed, May 9, 2007

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:57:58 PM PDT

  •  A Southerner in the White House

    John Edwards:

    "As someone who grew up in the segregated South, I feel a special responsibility to speak out on issues of intolerance and inequality. It hurts me to say that more than 50 years after Brown v. Board of
    Education, we still have two school systems in this country, two health care systems and two criminal justice systems. We cannot go on this way if we hope to build One America."

    actually, he's talking about equal opportunity.  i need a democratic southerner in the white house, darn it!

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 10:00:49 PM PDT

  •  Restoring America's Moral Leadership

    John Edwards:

    We must lead the world by demonstrating the power of our ideals, not by stoking fear about those who do not share them.

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 10:02:49 PM PDT

  •  Poverty, and my mantra

    John Edwards:

    "Poverty's greatest ally is pessimism.  Too many people believe that we can do nothing to fight poverty.  Instead of hearing the biblical admonition that 'the poor will always be with us' as a call to action, they hear a reason to be quiet."

    from Ending Poverty in America

    me personally, my mantra: i will not be quiet

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 10:10:50 PM PDT

  •  The Wall around Washington

    John Edwards:

    "There's a wall around Washington and we need to take it down. The American people are on the outside. And on the other side, on the inside, are the powerful, the well-connected and the very wealthy.

    "We have a choice in this election. We can keep trying to shout over that wall. We can keep trying to knock out a chink here and there, to punch little holes in it and hope our voices get through. We can settle for baby steps, half-measures and incremental change, and try to inch our way over that wall and toward a better future. Or we can be bold and knock it down."

    from DNC Fall Meeting

    i live just outside dc, and i can tell you, he's right.  and if hillary or obama thinks otherwise, they are in fact living in the never never...

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 10:36:56 PM PDT

  •  Hurricane Katrina and poverty

    John Edwards:

    "Hurricane Katrina didn't just blow away lives and dreams, it blew away the shroud that was hiding the invisible poor and, for the moment, put home grown poverty in the epicenter of the national consciousness. It was a horrifying wake-up call. How could this happen right here in our own country?
    ...

    "The lesson is that the fight against poverty is an ongoing one — for government, for communities, for all of us. I know you join me in demanding accountability and pressing government leaders to do what's necessary to get hurricane-ravaged areas back on their feet. Joining together with the beleaguered residents of the Gulf Coast, something good can come out of this tragedy. The resurrection of the Gulf Coast can herald the rebirth of a core American value that we are all one nation, moving forward together — and that no one shall be left behind."

    shall i mention here that LEVEES NOT WAR has endorsed edwards?

    http://leveesnotwar.org/...

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 10:52:03 PM PDT

  •  Poverty, and Education too

    John Edwards:

    "Restoring our moral authority means leading by example, and making clear that hard challenges don't frighten us, but call us to action.

    To me, there is no better opportunity to make this clear than the enormous challenge of helping the 37 million Americans who live in poverty.

    Maybe you've heard the phrase "it's expensive to be poor." Well, it's also expensive for America to have so many poor.

    We all pay a price when young people who could someday find the cure for AIDS or make a fuel cell work are sitting on a stoop because they didn't get the education they need.

    And don't think for a second that addressing poverty is charity – addressing poverty makes our workforce stronger and our economy stronger. "

    
    from Transformational Change For America And The World, Mar 15, 2007

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 11:00:04 PM PDT

  •  the gift of a smile

    John Edwards:

    short excerpt from My Trip to Uganda

    "I sat under a tree with three adults and lots of children. They told me the stories of what they'd been through and what their hopes were. I met a little girl, about a year old, whose mother said she had never smiled — her father was killed by the LRA. I tried to get her to smile and almost got one."

    okay, this has nothing to do with issues or platforms, but this moved me.

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 11:14:14 PM PDT

  •  Faith in politics

    John Edwards:

    "Faith is not a political strategy, and should not be a political strategy. If it is being used as a tool to garner votes, to convince people they should support one political party or the other, I think that is a huge mistake. I believe with every fiber of my being that God is not a Democrat or a Republican and does not support either party.

    If you're being asked about how you make decisions, what are the things that affect you when you make decisions, I think it's perfectly reasonable under those circumstances to give honest answers about your faith and how your faith affects your value system and what you believe and what you care about."

    from beliefnet interview, My Faith Came Roaring Back

    by kenshin on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 11:16:13 PM PDT

  •  You know, just watch this:

    http://www.youtube.com/...

    and wait for the quotes.

    by kenshin on Tue Jan 08, 2008 at 12:30:31 AM PDT

•  Post Obama Quotes Here

  Reply to this comment to post an Obama quote.  Please put the issue in the title of your comment.

  by Free Spirit on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:04:01 PM PDT

  •  Winning over Independents and Republicans

    AFP reports: Obama is also seeking to spread a message of bi-partisanship, and thus hoping to win over even Republican voters, dismayed by the fractured Republican camp.

    "I knew that we had seen Republicans in our events because they would whisper to me afterwards, shaking hands, 'Barack, I'm a Republican, but I support you,'" he said Monday.

    by jhutson on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:06:50 PM PDT

    •  "Why are we whispering?"

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

      by Mardish on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:08:06 PM PDT

  •  Restoring habeas corpus; closing Guantanamo

    CBS News reported Saturday on Senator Barack Obama's message to New Hampshire voters: "I have no doubt that we will not just win the New Hampshire primary but we will win the nomination and we will win the general election and then we will go out and start fixing health care and start fixing education and making sure college is affordable and restoring our standing in the world, we will close Guantanamo and restore habeas corpus and respect the Constitution of the U.S. if you believe we can change the world in three days time."

    by jhutson on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:10:35 PM PDT

  •  Obama supporting War

    Now, let me be clear. Let me be clear. We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be found. They must be pursued. And they must be defeated.
    Democratic National Convention in Boston July 27, 2004

    by WAKEUPAMERICA on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 08:59:44 PM PDT

  •  NOT VOTING

    http://obama.senate.gov/...

    by WAKEUPAMERICA on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 09:14:15 PM PDT

•  gravel

  The answer to that is real simple. I would legalize marijuana.

  by bubbanomics on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:04:12 PM PDT

  •  God bless. It's never sounded so good as it does

    TODAY.

    by prodigal on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:05:13 PM PDT

  •  Hey, you are quick!

    Good quote.

    by Free Spirit on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:05:35 PM PDT

  •  link to gravel quote

    is here

    by bubbanomics on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:06:49 PM PDT

  •  I just have to rec that :-)

    by grannyhelen on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:16:54 PM PDT

•  Post Other Candidate Quotes Here

  Reply to this comment to post any other candidate's quote.  Please put the candidate's name and the issue in the title of your comment.

  by Free Spirit on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:04:47 PM PDT

  •  gore ain't a candidate, but

    Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out.

    from his concession speech broke my heart.

    by bubbanomics on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:32:56 PM PDT

  •  biden on 9iu11iani

    Rudy Giuliani - I mean, think about it. Rudy Giuliani -
    there’s only three things he mentions in a sentence: a
    noun and a verb and 9/11.  I mean, there’s nothing else.

    The best quote of the campaign.

    by bubbanomics on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:47:10 PM PDT

  •  obama supporting war

    Now, let me be clear. Let me be clear. We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be found. They must be pursued. And they must be defeated.
    Democratic National Convention in Boston July 27, 2004

    by WAKEUPAMERICA on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 08:58:42 PM PDT

•  Is there a place for Republican Quotes?

  by notanumber on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:07:09 PM PDT

  •  good idea.

    by bubbanomics on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:10:01 PM PDT

  •  McCain: “Make it a hundred.”

    by bubbanomics on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:10:55 PM PDT

  •  What - you want to make me hurl?

    I don't think I could stomach another Huckabee asault on women, for example...

    by Sick Of It on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:13:11 PM PDT

  •  How about right here? n/t

    by Free Spirit on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:27:16 PM PDT

•  On the economy

  We cannot continue to allow private banks, wasteful agencies, lobbyists, corporations on welfare, and governments collecting foreign aid to dictate the size of our ballooning budget. We need a new method to prioritize our spending. It’s called the Constitution of the United States

  here

  by breezeview on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:11:32 PM PDT

•  None of the Above

  Polls keep quoting that, on the Repub side, the favorite candidate is "none of the above." The debates reinforce the front-running position of "none of the above." Yet the "debate/" beauty pageant on Disney/ABC  continued to focus on "The Beasts" who are running for Repub nomination, rather than at least having an empty chair at the debate to remind the public that the "beauty" that they really seek (None of the Above) was not physically present in the room...

  by jfdunphy on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:27:31 PM PDT

•  Immigration -

  Clinton

  Hillary strongly believes we need to do more to know who is in our country by securing our borders and ensuring that employers comply with the law against hiring and exploiting undocumented workers. She supports deploying new technology that can help stop the flow of undocumented immigrants into the country and an employer verification system that is universal, accurate, timely, and does not lead to discrimination and abuse by employers

  Obama  (the man can't encapsulate)

  Create Secure Borders
  Obama wants to preserve the integrity of our borders. He supports additional personnel, infrastructure and technology on the border and at our ports of entry.
  Improve Our Immigration System
  Obama believes we must fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill.
  Remove Incentives to Enter Illegally
  Obama will remove incentives to enter the country illegally by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.
  Bring People Out of the Shadows
  Obama supports a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.
  Work with Mexico
  Obama believes we need to do more to promote economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration.

  Edwards  (see above)

  Strengthen Our Borders
  The first step in overhauling the immigration system is to secure our borders and stop illegal trafficking. Edwards supports doubling the number of border patrol agents and investing in surveillance technology to police the borders. We also need to crack down on employers that hire undocumented immigrants. Edwards supports more vigorous workplace enforcement and increased fines for businesses that knowingly break the rules.
  Provide an Earned Path to Citizenship that Requires English
  It is unrealistic to think that we can deport more than 12 million people. Edwards believes people who are already here should have the opportunity to earn American citizenship by avoiding a criminal record, paying a fine in recognition that they came here illegally, and learning English – the surest path to success in this country.
  Preserve Family Reunification
  Our immigration policies should bring families together, not keep them apart. Edwards believes family reunification is an important value that our immigration laws should continue to respect. We should remove barriers to family reunification.
  No New Second-Class of Laborers
  America is a land of equals, not a land of first-class citizens and second-class laborers. Edwards opposes new temporary guest worker programs that do not provide adequate workplace protections and a reasonable path to citizenship. If we invite you to work in America, we should invite you to become an American with all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
  End the Backlog
  The process for background checks on legal immigrants has broken down, delaying proper applications for naturalization and jeopardizing security. The backlog of applications has doubled to nearly 330,000. Edwards will end the background check backlog for people who are already in this country and are applying to become lawful permanent residents and, eventually, citizens.

  by breezeview on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:35:07 PM PDT

•  Whoever tagged this diary...

  Thanks. I'm not a good tagger.

  by Free Spirit on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 05:42:36 PM PDT