We went to see Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne last night. And, oh yeah, John Edwards was there too.

[Tesha]

Mr. Tesha and I went to see John Edwards last night at
his end-of-the-day event in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne opened for him, playing
a set of three songs that seemed to contain at least
two that were purpose-written for the Edwards campaign
and our modern times. The set ended with Raitt going
electric and playing a real barn-burner rendition of
one of her old standbys. Standing ovations followed.

Then Edwards took the stage. And let me tell you,
can that man give a stump speech! His focus was the
need to end the corporate take-over of America and he
had me from the moment he uttered his thesis statement.

He hit all the notes that so many of us here have been
hitting since the beginning. At one point, he stated
bluntly that torture was wrong and that everyone in
America knew it was wrong, and that this wasn't what
America did. Mr. Tesha lept to his feet and was then
joined by others, giving Edwards his first standing
ovation of the night.

Afterwards, he took questions and continued hitting
all the right notes.

The only qualm we have about Edwards at this point is:
"Is he real?". But there's no question that what he's
out there saying is all that stuff Mr. Tesha and I have
thought needed to be said all along.

We'd like to support Kucinich, but if Edwards polls well
in Iowa, we'll almost certainly vote for John in NH; to
us, it's absolutely imperative that Hillary be headed-off
and last night, Edwards proved that a vote for him would
not only help do that but would probably also do a whole
lot of good for the country as well!

Consider us both moved from "mildly Edwards-negative"
to "quite-strongly Edwards-positive".

Tesha

(We took photos; if any of them turned out great, perhaps
I can post them later.)

[Libby2]

1. Woohooo lucky you!

I love Bonnie Raitt and I was thrilled to hear she is supporting Edwards.

[glowing]

2. If you ever live in the South... you will know he is real.. Just because

he does it smooth and talks like a southern gentleman.. doesn't mean he's selling you a pitch... He tried to play politics.. He tried to sit at the table.. all the food and the table were swallowed up. He's doing things differently this time.. and finally, we may get somthing done in Washington. I'll tell you when he's lying... When he was stumping for Kerry, there were times it wasn't very genuine... Trust a person who lived in New England, but married a southern gentleman.. he's real this time out. And the photo ops with his children may look nice, but when he's with them they aren't just props. After they lost their son, they had some little one's to try and ease some of the pain.. and it wasn't the easy going to have the second round of children. They are the Edwards' angels that brought light into a very dark time. Their love for them is pure and genuine.

[Tesha]

6. It's that dichotomy between...

> When he was stumping for Kerry, there were
> times it wasn't very genuine...

It's that dichotomy between what he was saying
in 2003/4 (even back into the primary days, not
just when he was the Veep candidate) that caused
us to worry whether or not the 2008 model-year
Edwards was the genuine Edwards.

But I'll take your assurances that the 2008 model
is "the real deal"; he certainly seemed to be last
night. Let's just hope he doesn't get his volume
turned down or his tone dampened by his handlers
as he moves forward.

Tesha

[glowing]

9. I think he's finally comfortable saying what he is because he really

believes in it... and you know, if he hadn't done some of the things he did, we'd look at him like Kucinich, a nice fantasy. His name got out there. And I was one of many saying, I wish it was Edwards I was voting for when Kerry was running. A bit of a childish aside.. my sis-n-law and I are big fans of his looks. We hope our own hubby's look that great when they are that old (I think my husband actually will.. he's got a boyish-young look... If we aren't with the kid, we get carded when we order a glass of wine.. guess I can still pull off a young look, or he makes me look younger--most days I think I can pull off 24 or 25--up too late and with tired eyes, my age shows.

[OneGrassRoot]

8. Yep, I second that.

I could feel Edwards' discomfort in 2004, that he wasn't passionate about some of what he was saying but was adhering to the Kerry camp's platform or approach.

All I sense this time around is a genuine passion, and I do believe the man (though I always try to keep an open mind so as not to be devastated if proven wrong).

[glowing]

10. He would have pulled off the biggest snow-job in history if it isn't genuine.

I think this is the message he always wanted to carry.. Finally, at this time in history afte the disasted Bush, he can. And the numbers about him beating all repugs in a national election is also a huge deal.. I don't want even a close match-up. We cannot afford to risk another warmonger in the office.

[Clark2008]

11. I live in the South and I think Edwards is the biggest phony running.

Regional influence has nothing to do with it. I just vetted his Senate record against the false rhetoric he is spouting about now.

:eyes:

Not all Southerners are a monolithic group of morons.

[OneGrassRoot]

12. You know, I usually don't respond....

but I'm sure we all expected to see you jump in here, and I am going to take the bait and respond.

This has nothing to do with Southerners (for the record, I'm a proud Yankee living in the South who doesn't much care for it...and, yes, I'll go back North as soon as I am financially able). I certainly am not attracted to Edwards because of his Southern accent or manner.

Many of us are aware of the difference between his time as a politician and how he voted versus his message now, and we have come to terms with it in our own way, just as any supporter of any candidate has probably had to come to terms with dichotomies in his or her own way.

No candidate is perfect.

We know you strongly dislike Edwards.

Liking him or disliking him has nothing to do with Southerners being morons.

[glowing]

15. Thanks for that... Someone who doesn't support Edwards, won't believe

him or vote for him... I always loved Southern politicing.. Its sooo cool to hear people using as much southern slang as they can through a mouth full of bbq and butter dripped on tie from corn on cobb.. I swear--half of them get into politics so they can eat all the time.

[surfermaw]

19. Thank you for the comment , If you ever lived in the South

That is exactly the way I feel, I was raised in Georgia but have been in Johns home state for more than 60 years.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. That's awesome, Tesha!

[saltpoint]

4. Tesha, this sounds like a damned good use of a winter's night.

Good for you.

Edwards' stump speeches are really smokin' these days and it sounds like Ms. Raitt and Mr. Browne were welcome additions to the mix.

Hot dog. Good report.

[Freedomofspeech]

5. I'm sooo jealous!!

[shadowknows69]

7. Sweet!

Edwards should speak up our way before super tuesday. I know our local Dem party will push Hillary to the hilt but he could win over a LOT of people in military families near one of the most deployed bases in the country.

[SammyWinstonJack]

13. Color me green with envy!

[Tesha]

14. Edwards and crew were busy in the Granite State yesterday -- also see:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2495314

[Tesha]

16. Kick for the afternoon crowd... (NT)

[Tesha]

17. Evening kick...

[surfermaw]

18. Good ...Run John Run faster , faster

[halobeam]

20. thanks for the post!!

Even if the pics don't come out "great".. I'd LOVE to see them anyway:P

[Tesha]

21. Some pictures from New Hampshire...

[Tesha]

22. Kick the pix for the evening...