What a great day to be a John Edwards' supporter! It's like with your own kid on awards day at school. You know they are great and have worked hard to get where they are but when their name is called out to come up on stage and receive their award, you fill with pride. People got to see last night what we have all have been seeing for a long time now and that is John Edwards is the best qualified person to become President of the United States. I have to say I was and am a very proud supporter. Everyone got to see the passion and fire in John Edwards that we all knew was there to begin with. When I put my support stamp on anyone that speaks about who I am personally and I pretty picky with that. I don't give my support to just anybody...they have to earn and John Edwards has earned it many times over.
Now on to the EENR. What really matters was the caption John finished his Hair video with last night.Those rather three small words but words that carry such a stong and powerful message. I know for me personally, it was like all my own feelings came through on that video. I was so happy to finally see it up on a national screen for others to see. We don't care about hair cuts and other such silliness the media has tried to spoon feed us for so long now. We care about Iraq and the Americans and Iraqi lives that have been lost and damaged in this quagmire. We care about universal health care. We care about all those living everyday in poverty. We care about living wages and jobs. We care about global warming. We care about every American being treated as a equal. We care about education. We care about corrupt goverment. We care about those that suffered through Katrina and are still suffering. The list is long and I won't even begin to hit on everything that we as Americans do care about but one thing most of us do not care about is how much Edwards pays for his hair cuts. Hopefully this video can begin to bring the focus to where it needs to be....on what really matters.
I have heard from one of our own here at EENR that a blogger by the name of Grannyhelen on John Edwards site may have been the very person that got the ball rolling on the "Hair" video. Here is the actual blog where the actual chatter took place. You can check it out for yourself. If so, thank you Grannyhelen and if you are ever in this neck of the woods, stop by and let us thank you in person...well as in person as it can be on a blog :-). Here is Grannyhelen's thread http://blog.johnedwards.com/...
I know you have probably watched the video but what kind of EENR reporter would I be if I didn't post it here to watch again? Personally, I can't watch it enough. Also if you have a chance stop by youtube and read all the positive comments made from the youtube watchers, please do...last I checked the video had over 45,000 hits.
John tells us here how he will take power away from Special Interest in Washington DC. This one made me jump up and down and say hell yeah! Take. Their. Power. Away. Yes, it can be done!
And this one really says who John Edwards is as a person. You can see the passion just shine through. It's so refreshing. This one made me cry for what could be one day if this man is elected as President of the United States. All of our citizens would be given a most basic right...to be offered care when they are sick and preventitive care to keep them from getting sick. So many Americans suffering from mental illness would finally have the care they need and deserve. Americans would never again be turned down by an insurance company because of a pre-existing condition. Yes, I cried and I'm proud of it.
Here we have the reviews of last night's debate. No other way of spinning this one...Edwards came out smelling like a fresh Georgia peach :D
Tracy Russo in News
7/24/2007 at 12:25 PM EST
The Politico: Edwards Finished in "First Place": "FIRST PLACE: John Edwards. Analysis: John Edwards has found a theme: He is angry and he is on your side. He is bold and he will use his boldness for you. Here was his key response, his voice rising as he went along: ‘Do you believe that compromise, triangulation will bring about big change? I don't. I think the people who are powerful in Washington -- big insurance companies, big drug companies, big oil companies -- they are not going to negotiate. They are not going to give away their power! The only way that they are going to give away their power is if we take it away from them!’"
NBC’s Chuck Todd: "Edwards Had Some Great Moments": This morning, NBC News’ Chuck Todd said about last night’s debate, "Edwards had some great moments. He was really passionate about health care – scored very well in the focus groups."
CNN: Edwards’ Response on Health Care Was "the Most Favorable" Moment of the Entire Debate: CNN’s Randi Kaye reported last night, "The biggest spike of the night went to John Edwards. He may be trailing Clinton and Obama but on health care, one of his key issues, the meter movers thought he was tops." The moment was when Edwards said, "We have got to stand up to the insurance companies and the drug companies that Barack just spoke about. It is the only way we are ever going to bring about real change. We should be outraged by these stories." Said Kaye, "Take a look at that, did you see that? The meter hit 90, all the way up to 90. That was the most favorable reading of the night." CNN’s group of viewers was comprised of undecided Democrats and non-partisan independents in New Hampshire.
Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza: "Edwards Had His Best Debate So Far." This morning on MSNBC, Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza said, "John Edwards had his best debate so far in the campaign ... I thought tonight, last night, he stood out. I thought he did quite well, he called for bold change, emphasized his life experience prepared him for that change and I think he really had a voice last night that he hadn’t had in previous debates."
Message Jury: It Was "Very Much an Edwards Night" with Plurality of a NH Focus Group Declaring Edwards the Winner: MessageJury.com’s focus group of the debate found that it was "very much an Edwards night." "A plurality of our group (four of 12) thought Sen. Edwards won the debate. And we heard a word used to describe him afterwards that any campaign would want to be associated with their candidate: ‘genuine.’ When asked, most of this group thought he was, indeed, ‘genuine.’ These two clips, related to nuclear power and the separation of church and state, show how much Edwards was on-message in this debate." Message Jury’s focus group "was a cross-section of 12 Democratic likely caucus voters in Bedford, NH, who participated in a moment-to-moment dial test of the entire debate."
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough about Edwards: This morning on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough said, "But last night John Edwards really did look like a trial attorney, in front of a jury, on top of his game. And again, I mean, a lot of Republicans may have been offended by what he said, but I thought it was - he was - he did a very good job."
Slate.com: "Edwards Pressed His Populist Case as Passionately as He Has at Any Previous Debate." This morning, Slate.com’s John Dickerson wrote, "Instead Edwards pressed his populist case as passionately as he has at any previous debate, presenting himself as the only one who would take the fight to banks, mortgage companies, insurance companies and other special interests. His genuine outrage was readily apparent which was a far more effective way of showing his passion than when he merely speaks about how passionately he cares about things. Edwards also had some strong moments of stagecraft. He turned a question about women signing up for selective service into a chance to praise the female fighter pilot who flew the first missions into Iraq and who sat with his wife. He answered a question about his faith journey on gay marriage in a way that some might find confusing but that I found thoroughly authentic."
AP: Questions Asked "Fit in Perfectly" with Edwards’ Message about Focusing on the Issues. The AP reported that videos that included the questioners’ personal heath challenges were rightly matched with Edwards’ theme. "‘We should be outraged by these stories,’ Edwards said, his voice rising as he pounded his podium. Their struggles fit in perfectly with Edwards' message of the night - there are too many important issues to focus on the $400 haircuts that he got and are dogging his campaign. Candidates were asked to produce their own YouTube-style videos, and Edwards set his to the theme from the 1968 musical ‘Hair.’ It includes serious images including several from Iraq and ends with the text: ‘What really matters? You Choose.’"
And about that video...
Slate.com: Edwards May Have Had the Best Video of the Night. Slate.com’s John Dickerson wrote about the campaign videos submitted for last night’s debate, "Edwards' team may have made the best one, a montage of pictures showing the woes both foreign and domestic and set to the theme from the musical Hair, a reference to the flap over his $400 haircut. He clearly got his message across during the evening, the key question that his candidacy faces is just how strong and big a vote he can create for himself with his stirring populist pitch."
Politico.com Also Praised Edwards’ Video: "But we awarded points to Edwards for his video in which he played the song ‘Hair’ -- a reference to the extremely expensive haircuts he charged to his campaign -- and showed pictures of the poor in America with the ending frame: ‘What really matters?’ It was a nice attack on the carping press who concentrate on the insignificant, while failing to help address America’s real problems. Oh, wait, that’s me. Never mind. Edwards needs to project strength and he is on the road to doing that."
The Nation: Edwards’ Campaign Video "Was a Classic" and Edwards Had "One of the Best Lines of the Night." Katrina vanden Heuvel wrote, "John Edwards' campaign video, scored to the iconic '60s rock opera ‘Hair’ theme song was a classic. Using self-deprecating humor to bring attention to ‘what really matters’ is always a smart idea. And as Frankgrits put it, posting a comment on my blog, Edwards--replying to a question about race and gender, had one of the best lines of the night —‘Anyone who won't vote for Hillary because she's a woman or Obama because he's black, don't bother voting for me. I don't want your vote.’"
TIME: "Edwards--Best of the Candidate Commercials" TIME’s Joel Klein wrote on "Swampland," "Edwards--Best of the candidate commercials. Very clever ‘hair’ offering, mixing gossip about his haircuts with images of Iraq and Katrina. Generally strong and gracious responses."
Here we have a email that was sent out from the campaign that I thought I would share with everyone. I think the campaign is pretty proud of John to and rightfully so. Many of you might have already recieved this but just in case...
Dear ladylib,
Something happened in last night's CNN/YouTube debate.
A stark difference between the candidates became clear. When John Edwards said what needed to be said, if we want "real change, big change, bold change...we can't trade our insiders for their insiders." And then urged all of us to stand up for what really matters.
Watch the video that everyone is talking about - and help continue last night's momentum by showing your support for John Edwards by contributing today:
www.johnedwards.com/hair
Take a look at the moment in the debate that everyone needs to see and help spread the word by sending the link on to your friends and family.
www.johnedwards.com/hair
According to CNN, viewers rated that moment the highest of all the candidates - but more importantly it has sparked thousands to join our cause.
Because if you believe this country needs fundamental change - not compromise, not triangulation, not empty rhetoric - then there is something important that all of us need to understand from John's words last night:
"The people who are powerful in Washington - big insurance companies, big drug companies, big oil companies - they are not going to negotiate. They are not going to give away their power. The only way that they're going to give away their power is if we take it away from them."
Those interests are not going to fund our campaign. Far from it - they are going to do everything they can to stop us. And, that is why if we are really ready to stand up for what matters:
Ending the war in Iraq.
Taking on the insurance companies and HMOs to fight for universal health care.
Taking on the oil industry and fundamentally changing our energy policies to end global warming.
Taking on the powerful who care about nothing but profits and greed at the expense of working people, the middle class and the poor.
And returning our government of the people to the people.
It's up to us.
Either we fund this campaign and make the difference or it falters because I guarantee you no one else will.
What really matters?
What you do now - really matters.
Contribute and spread the word about the one candidate and the one campaign that will change America.
www.johnedwards.com/hair
Thank you for everything you do,
--Joe Trippi
John Edwards for President
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Edwards on raising the mim. wage
Chapel Hill, North Carolina – As the national minimum wage rose to $5.85 per hour today, Senator John Edwards challenged all the Democratic presidential candidates to support his call to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2012.
"Half a loaf is not enough for working men and women, but that is just what Washington—including my fellow Democrats—is giving them on the minimum wage. At $5.85 per hour, the minimum wage remains a national disgrace. Even next year's scheduled increase is not enough to keep a single parent with one child working full-time out of poverty.
"I again challenge other Democratic presidential candidates to support my call for a minimum wage of $9.50 an hour by 2012 so that the minimum wage will equal half the average wage, and to support indexing it to keep up with the cost of living. It is one of the most important tools we have to lift working families out of poverty and begin to make a dent in the inequality that defines the Two Americas."
"The American people are already there. When Congress hesitated before, I was proud to be part of the effort to mobilize voters in six states to act while Washington twiddled it thumbs. It is time to stop vacillating and triangulating, and start standing up for the people who deserve fair compensation for their hard work."
Edwards Will Ride Portions of Day 4 Route on Wednesday of the RAGBRAI
Des Moines, iowa – The John Edwards for President Campaign today announced that Senator John Edwards’ will join cancer survivor and seven consecutive Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in this year’s RAGBRAI, the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. Edwards will join riders on Wednesday for a portion of the fourth day of the week long ride. starting in Hampton.
RAGBRAI is an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state and is the longest, largest and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world. Always the last full week of July, this year’s 472-mile ride begins today, Sunday the 22nd, and ends on Saturday the 28th.
"RAGBRAI is a great Iowa tradition that is renowned across the country and across the world," Edwards said. "Elizabeth and I have always admired Lance Armstrong not only for his achievements but for his commitment to the fight against cancer. I am looking forward to joining with him and so many other RAGBRAI riders to call attention to this important cause."
Edwards’ participation in RAGBRAI is the start of a two-day trip to Iowa. More details of the trip, including details and logistics of media coverage of Edwards and Armstrong’s ride will be announced tomorrow.
How You Can Take Action
Edwards has a lot on his schedule and since the diary is already long, I will just post the link if you are interested in checking out where he will be for the next few days.
http://johnedwards.com/
Ok that's it for tonight's diary and for all our new Edwards supporters, hop on the train...there is always room for more on our train.
