A diary was posted yesterday about how Edwards plays up that his Dad worked in a mill, yet he was a manager, and the family was solidly middle class.
But to me, if you read between the lines, saying "my dad worked in a mill" is reallly appealing to "normal people" and what he means is "I AM NOT AN ELITIST!!"
-I was the first in my family to go to college.
-I went to North Carolina State - not Yale.
-I went to a public high school - not prep
school.
-I went to UNC law school - not Yale or Harvard.
-I did not grow up RICH.
This is why, unlike Kerry and Dean, I don't find Edwards' populist rhetoric disingenious.
I think my party (Dems), and liberals, which I consider myself one, have an elitist problem. Many of us think that the rest of the country is as liberal as New England and the West Coast, and if you don't agree with our views, then you are just plain wrong.
I'm from the Northeast. I went to school in Vermont, and I know people look down on the South. Southerners know this too. I don't think it is a coincidence that the last three Democratic presidents have been from the South. And yes, people in the South consider Northerners Yankees, but to win the GE we need to bring as many people to the table as possible. We need to realize, as much as I wish it were the case, that this country is not as liberal as San Francisco - where I live.
With the recent shift in electoral votes, its even more important not to write of the South. So when Edwards emphasizes his roots, he is simply saying he is not a liberal northeastern elitist. And if that helps get GWB out of the white house, then he can't say it enough.