John Edwards appeared late this afternoon on the campus of the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire to a packed room of supporters and many newsies (plus a few plucky Deaniacs; no Kerry backers were seen by me there) and gave his standard stump speech, leavened with a few new zingers about Bush and the economy. He really does look great in person and speaks powerfully, especially when the subject touches on what Edwards calls the 'other America' that isn't as blessed as the one Bush likes to talk about. It may be campaign boilerplate to some by now, but when Edwards said it the crowd there responded with honest support. It doesn't hurt that Eau Claire is the sort of factory town that has seen some difficult times in the not-so-distant past.
There were times when Edwards did seem glib though, and he certainly wasn't going into details about the all things he would do as President. However, my impression was that he's more than smart enough to fill in those blanks that will need to be filled in come next November to win. But make no mistake about it, Edwards is running on the economy, not the war in Iraq, and he made a strong case about why he should be President on that basis.
There were plenty of young people in the room, which isn't surprising given that the event took place on a college campus. There were also lots of middle-aged and older folks there as well. I didn't choose to stay long given that I had an hour drive back to my home, but Edwards was quite busy doing the sort of press-the-flesh thing with a long line of supporters there and if he was tired after a long day of campaigning it didn't show at all. His optimism in the face of loads of cynicism about politics is a more potent message than many may realize, and he conveys it well.
I will vote for Edwards tomorrow in my own Wisconsin precinct, and I hope he does better than expected. I'm under no illusions about his relatively slim chances to win the nomination at this point, but he isn't done quite yet! And even if Edwards loses, his campaign with it's upbeat message has already helped to make the Democrats winners come November. We are going to beat Bush, no doubt about it.