Edwards is my candidate too, and I agree with you that he MUST be our nominee for 2008. There really is no other viable option. Edwards is by far the most electable candidate, as shown by head to head matchups with Republicans, as you point out. He could also bring us states that we haven't won recently, increasing the electoral vote margin.

 On the issues, I also have to point out that with Clinton and Obama now supporting the Peru Free Trade Agreement expansion of NAFTA, and with ALL of the Democratic candidates who are currently sitting senators skipping out on the vote on the Mukasey nomination, I'm beginning to feel that Edwards is also the only real Democrat of the bunch, with the exception of Kucinich.

If that sounds extreme, let's look at the fact that Edwards is the only one of them who has never taken a dime from lobbyists and that he has consistently spoken out for the poor, the disenfranchised, and organized labor - things that used to be basic Democratic values, but that have gotten lost in recent years by many candidates in the shuffle to compete for big dollar donations from corporate contributors. Edwards is a real Democrat who will stand up for the people.

by A.G. St. Matthew (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 3 comments) on Friday, Nov 9, 2007 at 7:57:00 PM

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I totally agree with you Michael.

I sure hope that in the upcoming CNN debate that they ask the candidates about Trade. It will certainly give Edwards a good forum to distinguish himself from the other two frontrunners and let the voters see what the media is not telling them. 

In addition to your editorial, I read another interesting piece tonight by David Sirota. You should check it out.

 The Huey Longs of Iowa

http://www.creators.com/opinion/david-sirota/the-huey-longs-of-iowa.html

by Patty Morlan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments) on Friday, Nov 9, 2007 at 8:45:16 PM

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Edwards is my second choice.there are 4 major issues destroying america !1.the war 2 free trade agreements 3.health care.4.the deficit.Kucinich wants to end the war now not on a time table costing billions more.On Health care Edwards wants to wortk with the insurance companies which will keep rates rising,kucinich wants a single payer tax plan like the rest of the vworld happily lives under and where the government can control cost.Edwards plan doesn't control cost.Unions being reestablished are a big step but there will be nothing to organize if corporations still stay overseas that is why nafta, cafta and the others must be stopped.This is Kucinich plan.Tfhe person closest to FDR and economic freedom is Kucinich.I don"t understand why people can't get this through their thick skulls.We probably have one chance to restore economic and political freedom before Americda is totally destroyed if it isn"t alreadfy.Don"t make another mistake,it will be your last.

by liberalsrock (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 258 comments [53 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Nov 10, 2007 at 8:31:08 AM

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Edwards serves Big Business just like Clinton and Obama. Edwards is a member of the Council On Foreign Relations and the Bilderberg group. Edwards supports NAFTA and other free trade agreements and the WTO. Edwards also supports the USA Patriot Act and other legislation that violates civil rights and human rights by shredding the Bill Of Rights. Edwards also supports continuing the occupation of Iraq, economic sanctions against Iran and war against Iran.

Dennis Kucinich is the person who must be the Democratic nominee. Dennis Kucinich is the only candidate who stands for peace, human rights, and the working class.

http://www.dennis4president.com

by Ty (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 888 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Nov 10, 2007 at 9:02:18 AM

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Don't believe Edwards' new image as a progressive.  His record is one of the most conservative of the Democratic candidates.  While he feigns concern for the poor, his actual practice of ostentatious display of wealth shows where his heart is.  Edwards was Bush's chief Democratic cheerleader for the Iraq War.  Being willing to say anything in the effort to get votes, he now tries to appear more anti-war than Clinton or Obama.  Once elected, he may revert to form.

 Note where his financial support comes from - heavily weighted towards super-rich lawyers.  If you ignore his pandering to the caucus/primary voters, his record shows him as a corporatist militarist.  He is a millionaire who will support the interests of his class.

 When will progressives learn not to support candidates whose records indicate they oppose our views?  Why keep acting as if the Democratic Party is a viable alternative to the Republicans?  They are both sold out, lock, stock and barrel, to the military-industrial complex.  The two branches of the Establishment Party only appear as the only alternatives because the millions of Americans who don't agree with them keep getting taken in by the idea that you have to choose between the two candidates of the corporate elite.  But this is a lie.  Stop believing the lie!

by Bill Samuel (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 448 comments [14 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Nov 10, 2007 at 9:11:00 AM

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I like his positions on the issues and I like the guy. Everywhere I go, when I say "Edwards" whether the person is a Democrat, Republican or Independant, you get the same answer, "Oh, I like Edwards".

Dennis is getting better with my main knock on him, and that is not having the gravitas or presence or whatever it is you expect to see when you look at someone and evaluate whether they are "Presidential" but he still isnt there yet. People do not look at him and see a President. But he is getting better.

by Steven Leser (255 articles, 58 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 2148 comments [63 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Saturday, Nov 10, 2007 at 9:46:24 AM

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Special interests are deeply entrenched in Washington, and it is going to take a fighter to accomplish the changes our country needs. Edwards is a fighter. A lot of candidates say the right things. But Edwards is the one with specific plans to accomplish goals quickly. Edwards will take the troops out of Iraq, put a universal healthcare plan in place, slash wasteful government spending, create opportunities for rural communities, safeguard social security, protect the environment, eliminate unfair trade agreements, and work for the prosperity of regular Americans. Edwards is gaining momentum in the early primary states, and I think we will see him fight hard for the nomination. I support him all the way. He is fighting or us.

by bettync (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 12 comments) on Saturday, Nov 10, 2007 at 2:08:35 PM

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I chose the quote from the original article because it is something we have to deal with.
t is now time, as in 1932 for Franklin Roosevelt, to bring in a leader who not only knows how to call large corporations to the mat for their misdeeds and abuses, but is willing.....

The world economy 80 years ago and now is very different. Of course there were less developed countries then, but more than that was the problem that there was deep depression in Europe and the United States. Public unrest was blatant enough to allow a Hitler or Mussolini. In America people were desperate enough to act out. When FDR was elected he knew that Hoovervilles were just a symbol of things to come. Business was not able to create jobs. Those who had work were paid each shift because they would not trust the employer to be in business the next day. Farmers were killing their livestock because there was no market and they couldn't afford to feed them. I remember as a child going to town with a couple of freshly butchered chickens to exchange for a little sugar. Eggs were three cents a dozen if anyone would buy them. The economy was largely agrarian, and it was depressed to a standstill. So FDR had to prime the pump by starting work programs, incentive programs for businesses, and price support for crops.

At this time the economy is industrial/technological and is roaring in newly developing countries. Money is globular in nature and creates big shifts in new businesses according to where they can expand easiest. As a mature economy, Americans enjoy a higher wage rate than many other peoples. But as shifts have come about, they are losing the wages and have mortgaged their future with debt--both as individuals and as a nation. And as punditry brings up the specter of the 1930's they are forecasting that living beyond one's means may produce a scenario reminiscent of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. I do not think things will be that dire, because new economies of Asia and even Africa are not dependent upon the USA totally.

Obviously, the US has been foolishly engaged in military oversight which has not improved the lives of its citizens nor made friends with its neighbors. I believe John Edwards has some insight into the fact that poverty around the world is a part of the issue which is also affecting poverty in America. He and Jack Kemp toured Russia to understand what that country was confronting. He also went to India. And, more in a foreign policy vein, as we know he experienced Darfur. I mention this earlier effort before Katrina. He was already working with leaders in poverty studies during his U of NC appointment. To balance the expanding economies of other parts of the world with fitting our own into a world view is a diplomat's mission. There has been nothing but backsliding during the Bush years. Commerce per se looks no further than the bottom line. It is important but cannot be allowed unbridled access to resources or inhumane treatment of people.

All candidates for president should have thought through the new global demographics. They must grapple with a close-to=home example. If this country can't handle its own wage laws, including those which impact the illegal immigration question, where will it find the impetus for making that so-called level playing field? I would rather trust Edwards than any other candidate to date.

by Margaret Bassett (45 articles, 2918 quicklinks, 43 diaries, 1868 comments [100 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Nov 10, 2007 at 9:32:54 PM

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