Letters to the Editor
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Stumping speech
I have to laugh at the politico language encoded in this Edwards blurb (parens added, since that's who he's referring to, even if not by name)...
"We cannot triangulate (Clinton) our way to real change. We cannot compromise (Obama) our way to real change. But we can lead (Edwards) to real change."
I like how his writer narrowed the candidates down to one-word buzzwords, in hopes that things would stick in people's heads. While I certainly object to finger-in-the-wind triangulation and running from the Democratic base in favor of courting right-moderates, I think a vital component of leadership is compromise, so I think Edwards' attack doesn't hold much resonance against Obama.
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If You Can't Part Of the Solution...
[Edwards] has tried to paint Democrats who continue to accept money from corporate lobbyists or political committees as part of the problem, not the solution.
Alas, the old saying rings true everywhere, especially politics: "If you can't be part of the solution, there's great money to be made prolonging the problem."
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John Edwards: When A Good Man Becomes Oprah
John Edwards lost me, and my '08 support, during the '04 elections. That's when he basically grabbed his ankles during the "debate" with Dick "Iron Smile" Cheney. His fawning manner, "getting in touch with his feelings" when answering, lack of a move-in-for-the-kill agility with Cheney and overall wimpiness just grated on my nerves; with his wife Elizabeth strapping on a pair of brass ones recently, his persona has been cemented: wuss.
Hillary is tough. I like her positions on the issues, her long and distinguished record and her plans for the future. Plus, she retains her feminity. Nice combination of power, strength, grace and self-assuredness. Just what I want in a President.
Sorry, John...perhaps you can organize a group hug and we'll all join you in singing "Kum Ba Yah" while doing so.
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I like Edwards, kinda
I like Edwards' agenda, but he's always seemed overly ambitious and kinda sleazy personally. Way back in 2004 I felt that way about him. He went negative against Dems, pulling a slight Nader, and eventually helped Republican memes then too.
Clinton is ok, but again she seems a bit sleazy in how she's been trying to undercut Obama in terms of fake political gotchas and avoidance of real issues. She's been swift boating and it lowers the overall discourse. I also think she'll get hammered by Republicans on a bunch of things ranging from Iraq flip-flop to Monica, and shown what real swiftboating is.
I like Obama. He's been good on issues and gone into detail, he's sincere, is practical, will have broad appeal, and is the most reform minded electable outsider. He has the courage to stick to issues rather than playing political gotcha, which is a respectable and winning strategy for 2008 if someone has the guts to see it through. As Obama said recently, lies do have power if repeated constantly. But so does the truth. A fact people cynically forget sometimes.
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Shame
Salon should be ashamed of publishing an article indicative of such lazy journalism and small mindedness as this. Don't you claim to be different from the Mainstream media? I don't think so.
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John Edwards is right, of course
While reading Michael Scherer's piece, you can't help but see that he is clearly snarking at much of what Edwards says.
"In particular, he has tried to paint Democrats who continue to accept money from corporate lobbyists or political committees as part of the problem, not the solution."
That's all you need to know. A part of the problem, and one that most people won't disagree is a part of the problem.
"...turns on his fellow Democrats" is spin.
Pointing out the truth doesn't change the fact that it's still the truth. Washington, DC is a cesspool. It's the type of place that makes Democrats and Republicans into hybrids. The longer they are there, the more alike they become.
Problem for the Democrats is they are becoming too much like Republicans, instead of the other way around.
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Somebody....
LEAD!
The rest is blah blah blah.
Tell us that every American shouldn't have to prove him or herself worthy of a doctor's attention by virtue of "winning" the great economic rat race.
Tell us that our schools should educate, not placate. That they should teach children to think, not silently sit and wait for the layoff. That they should be oasis, not pestholes.
Tell us that America should stand for good by being good, and fair, and kind, and generous, and merciful, not just strong and mean.
Tell us these things, then do them. Lead, for once, one of you. Any of you. For all our sakes. Do it.
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I'd change one thing that I just said, though
It's not so much about how "long" they've been in DC, as it is about whether being there that long has led them to adopt some of the same ways that are a part of the problem.
Someone like Ted Kennedy or John Conyers or John Kerry, for example, they've been there a long time, but they haven't become the corporate whores that many of the other Democrats in DC have become.
I guess it's a matter of your principles.
For many, being in DC for a long time corrupts them, but it's not that way for all of them.
I just wanted to clarify that.
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Then again...
...[I'm working this out mentally], I guess there is a reason that they call the DLC Democrats "NEW DEMOCRATS" Neoliberals.
The problem isn't with a lot of the pre-Clinton era Democrats, as far as being in the pockets of corporate America.
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Supporting Edwards
I voted for Edwards in the primary in 04--I've always liked him. But now, we need a candidate who can beat the Republicans. Hillary and Obama ain't it. Edwards has a shot at winning this thing, they don't, I'm sorry.
I have given to the Edwards campaign and I hope he pulls a Bill Clinton and nails it in the primary season.
He is not the perfect candidate, but he can win.
As for this article, it is a trifle--not worthy of the pixels.
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It's Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq
Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq
There is no other country on Earth. Nothing in the US matters. Just Iraq. That's why Salon is so mad at John Edwards.