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John Nichols: John Edwards deserves another look

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ulysses Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-24-07 08:55 PM
Original message
John Nichols: John Edwards deserves another look
http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/column/nichols/index.php?ntid=113280

By any measure, Edwards has a lot more to offer progressives than he did in 2004. That potential to appeal to the party's left flank is essential for the former senator, who will need an ideological base as he struggles for attention in a race where while Edwards runs strong in polls from early battleground states such as Iowa and South Carolina New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama continue to suck most of the air out of the contest.

(snippage)

Most indications are that Edwards now gets it. That does not mean he is the perfect contender, nor that he is the perfect progressive. But he has grown a great deal over the past several years, and that growth has been in a serious, smart and savvy direction that progressives would be wise to note at this relatively early stage in the 2008 competition.


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burythehatchet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-24-07 08:58 PM
Response to Original message
1. Hey
Hope you're well. Just spoke to Cat and your name came up.

I was very disappointed with Edwards' comments in Israel. Don't know if you've seen that yet. He was way up on my list until then.
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ulysses Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-24-07 09:00 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. hey, old friend
I missed the comments, yeah. What was the gist?

I think Ms Uly called Cat - I need to get reconnected with y'all when I can dig myself out from under work shit.
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burythehatchet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-24-07 09:03 PM
Response to Reply #2
4. The part about Israel should join NATO was appalling.
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ulysses Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-24-07 09:14 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. I'm pretty agnostic on the ME
I don't know that Israel needs to be in NATO, true.

All are well here - sorry we missed the Graveyard. :(
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salin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-24-07 09:01 PM
Response to Original message
3. My peace-nik quaker mother,
in the last presidential primaries - who reflexively was concerned about anyone who voted for the war... heard some of his populist (economic) messages and said that she felt that much of what he said resonated and that he was "promising." Her (and my) primary vote didn't matter (May primaries mean NOTHING) so in terms of primaries it didn't mean much. But her positive response, even after knowing about his IWR vote (which was very important to her) really struck me - per his message's resonance. I am a long way from backing any candidate - but her early response to Edwards really sticks with me.
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ulysses Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-24-07 09:18 PM
Response to Reply #3
8. the jury's definitely still out
but I've gotten a lot more interested in Edwards in the last year or so. Your mom's response makes me wonder if this isn't the right tree after all. :hi:
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salin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-24-07 09:57 PM
Response to Reply #8
9. Guess we just have to keep listening, critiquing
and see where things end up. Seriously, I was quite surprised by my Mother's response and after hearing him, her openness. It leaves me willing to keep my ears open.

Hope all is well with you and that joy is finding your family through the eyes of your youngster and the wonder in looking at the world without our adult cynicism. :D :hi:
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ClassWarrior Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-24-07 10:00 PM
Response to Reply #8
10. That's been my experience too. He seems to have...
...done a lot of soul-searching since 2004.

NGU.


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zulchzulu Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-24-07 09:03 PM
Response to Original message
5. John liked John in 2004...
I've talked to him about it. He and I have discussed this in various spots in Madison. I still don't get it...oh well...the primaries are a year away...lots can happen.
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FrenchieCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-24-07 09:04 PM
Response to Original message
6. This part shows that Edwards has developed ...but the question
becomes one of sincerity....and that question was not answered in that article that you posted, which also includes this....

Even as he improved as a candidate in 2004, however, Edwards remained a vague and frequently ill-defined contender. He condemned President Bush's management of the war in Iraq, and was particularly critical of the war profiteering that had been allowed by the White House. But Edwards never really took a clear stand on the war.

Edwards talked tough about the need to protect American farmers. But he developed an initial "farm plan" that seemed to be more sympathetic to big agribusiness than working farmers.

Edwards tried to portray himself as a champion of labor. But he never really developed a coherent, let alone effective, message on the central issue for unions and their members: trade policies that favor multinational corporations and Wall Street over working Americans and Main Street.


and goes with the sentiments here...


Although as a senator, Edwards initially championed the Iraq War, co-sponsored the infamous Iraq War Resolution along with a cadre of conservative Senators, and stood stoically by his vote for three years, he eventually apologized for his mistake stating that he had been misled by the Bush administration. The corporate press has yet to highlight this earlier lack of judgment as a question of competence (considering their own collective misjudgment, they may not), and prefer to focus on his November 2005 apology, which some rationalize as enough to earn him a promotion to leader of the free world.

Edwards is more often lauded for his poverty stance which he has worked to his political advantage with progressive voters. However, one is hard-pressed to locate a single piece of poverty legislation (besides the standard fare of raising the minimum wage) that Edwards championed in his six years in the senate. Ever since his “Two America” speech was widely praised by the media during last primary season; the poverty issue has become synonymous with the failed ’04 Vice Presidential candidate from North Carolina.

By concentrating on cultivating organized labor, Edwards has enamored himself to voters who want to see the shrinking power of unions reversed. When the issue of his 2004 electoral loss (including his own southern state) comes up, his supporters quickly retort, “no one votes for Vice President”.
http://www.rapidfire-silverbullets.com/2007/01/2008_candidatestoo_much_of_a_g.html
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nicknameless Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 05:30 AM
Response to Original message
11. Edwards is a war-monger. First it was IWR and now saber-rattling about Iran.
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