When asked about his vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq, Edwards said:

I will tell you this: Making a mistake, which I did, about something that important gives you enormous strength going forward. Because now I have absolutely no hesitation standing behind my independent judgment about what needs to be done. I don't care if it's popular or unpopular. Or what the political considerations are. You probably see some element of that in everything I'm doing.

That's the kind of thing that we need to hear, a "yes, I screwed up, but here's what I took away from it" attitude from a politician that doesn't feel the need to appear infallible.

I seem to remember it's called "learning", something that real grown-ups do. Not the ersatz grown-ups that Darth, Junior, and a certain junior senator from New York are trying to portray.

I am not significant in any way other than to pray for you and your wife's health.

I'm no doctor but tell her to eat garlic and onions like apples... may not be pleasent

but could help.

John & Liz... you have my utmost support and gratitude....

sincerely and with all the love and respect in the world,

m

When he announced on election night that he and Kerry were going to insist that all the votes be counted, regardless of the MSM's projections. I was shocked, because one of the reasons I had been a Dean supporter in the primaries was that I felt he had the gumption to fight the right-wing cabal, and that Kerry didn't. So, when Edwards made that announcement, I thought. "Wow. This guy (Edwards) must be something else if he convinced Kerry not to concede to these (known) crooks." As we all know, Kerry wound up doing exactly what I thought he would, but, again, my respect for Edwards grew.

So, I'm definitely considering supporting him this time around. It's a little early yet, but I like what he's saying about poverty, health care and jobs. His stance on Iraq--maybe. I'll give him props for saying he made a mistake and that he'll listen to contrary viewpoints on any issues he'll have to decide on and will make the best decision based on all of the knowledge available to him.

But I take issue with his saying that he has no regrets about voting for the Patriot Act. I understand his point about the need for better communications between intelligence and policing agencies. But that could have been covered in a specific bill. He (along with the other members of Congress) knew what Cheyney/Rove/Bush were capable of. They had no business voting for anything that the White House called the "Patriot Act". All Cheyney/Rove/Bush needed was an in to get their authoritarian utopia started. The Patriot Act needs to be repealed.

At one point in my life I spent a couple of years in Spain. One thing I noticed was that lottery sales were done by old men. They walked the urban streets with their tickets and called out to potential buyers.

I was struck then and now that this provided money and worth to people well past normal work force ages.

Not everyone is born with the ability to keep up with computer age job requirements and I guess it's safe to say that simple manual labor jobs continue to decrease in number.

Ergo, why not, as a social policy, cut out a number of employment designations that could, yes, be done more efficiently by machines or alternate methods, and fill them with people who are only by the very nature of man and today's workplace not receiving of or contributing to America's bounty.

If I perchance to talk with a grocery store bagger or cart collection superintendant and realize that this employee is a "challenged" person, I smile.

This is what it is or should be all about.

"Hat tip", as the bloggers say, to John Edwards for mainstreaming this important topic.

John Edwards continues to demonstrate that he is a thoughtful politician, down to earth, and able to comfortably converse about things personal and public. There are no buzz words, no jargon, just straightforward plain talk, concise and understandable.

He shows what I consider to be the proper amount of introspection (learning from past mistakes) and receptivity (openness to opposing viewpoints.)

The chemisty between him and Elizabeth is transparent. They are a credible, intelligent couple, who would bring a refreshing candor to the White House.

Ad multos annos!

It's a new stimulant--this presidential candidate who actually warrants respect. He undoubtedly has mine. The point regarding an outside Washington perspective is a good one...keeping a clear head while we're allowed to indulge in the profound optimism of a thoughtful & self-motivated man occupying the Oval Office. I believe it will take someone of his integrity to restore some of same to that position.

I really tried not to say this...but isn't he a guy you'd like to have a beer with, shoot some breeze...

He's a guy you'd want to discuss policy with. It sounds like he might actually listen to your point of view, rather than just tell you what you "need to know".

I'm really starting to love John Edwards and think he could be the one for America, but one little habit he's getting which I find annoying is he often talks about how controversial his opinions are. He did it in this interview, saying he wasn't afraid to take unpopular positions and "You probably see some element of that in everything I'm doing." He did something similar in the New Hampshire town hall meeting. He suggested that illegal immigrants be required to learn English if they want to become legalized. He was met with a resounding cheer from the audience, which caught him off guard. He said "you know... usually when I say that line, it's not very popular, there are a lot of liberals who strongly disagree with that position." Like he's hitting a little to hard on the "I'm a straight talker" angle. As much as I like what he's doing, I'd much rather he just say what he wants to say and not try to couch his discussions in "look at me, I'm a straight talker" terms.