The John Edwards Landslide

Back in October, I wrote that it was critical that Democrats select a surefire winner in our Presidential primary.   At that time I made the case fore John Edwards’ win-ability.   My prognostication has now been made official in the form of this week’s CNN poll, which pitted Clinton, Obama, and Edwards individually and Head-to head with each major Republican contender. 

Once again, in every one of those match-ups, Edwards wins by the largest margin against any of the Republicans.  And what could be more valuable a statement in the 2008 general election than a landslide?  

Remember, after the 2004 election, George Bush made his bloviating statement about his perceived “political capital” – which, of course he squandered on a 60-city tour to sell his dead-on-arrival Social Security privatization scheme.  That, with a 2-point “win”   

But, given (as in CNN’s Edwards vs. Huckabee race) a 25-point true landslide, the political capital would be palpable and spendable.  Edwards, winning with a foreseeable 65% of the vote, would be coming in with that sort of long-unseen approval rating that would enable him to embark on populist policies with the actual backing of the populace (unlike the elitist policies of Bush ineptly attempted to be served to his handpicked audiences – and even they didn’t bite!).   

Much has been written about Edwards as the worst nightmare of the corporate crowd.  Just this week, on Bill Moyers’ Journal, Dr. Ronald Walters (director of Jesse Jackson’s Presidential bids) pointed out that only Edwards, of the three leading contenders, is speaking of poverty and universal healthcare; this from a leading Black academic who clearly sees Obama as not having policies that serve the larger Black community, those in the middle and lower middle classes and the poor.   

Only Edwards (again, of the three leading contenders) has eschewed PAC and corporate donations.   Clinton, Obama and Edwards all have law degrees.  Clinton used hers, aside from early-career service on the congressional committee investigating Richard Nixon, as a partner in a law firm representing corporate clients; Obama was an Associate Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard (this is the resume item I like best about him, as I think he may best be equipped to assess the damage done by Bush and his Republican Congresses); but only Edwards used his to take on corporations which have fought regulation and responsibility to consumers.  Only Edwards is proposing immediate universal healthcare. 

An extremely conservative acquaintance of mine wrote me - in answer to my advocacy of universal healthcare - that she is utterly opposed to it, and prefers health savings accounts, the party line of the Republicans.  As it happens, this middle aged woman is a well-employed professional with a decent insurance plan provided by her employer.   What she is not considering is that with her pre-existing conditions (obesity and a documented  heart condition), should she lose her job, for whatever reason, she will be uninsurable, and her savings – even if they amount to a few hundred thousand dollars – won’t get her through one hospital stay, and she will be left with no savings and a ton of debt.  When I suggested to this woman that even GM and Ford are now some of the top advocates for universal healthcare (without it, they will be building all their cars in Canada), she dismissed them as seeking “corporate welfare.”  So which is it - Corporate welfare or public welfare?  In fact, it’s neither.  It seems to me that right now the biggest welfare recipients in the country are the health insurance companies themselves.  In fact, they’ve figured out how to bypass the government and take their’s directly. 

Edwards seeks to put a stop to this nonsense.  Additionally, he has made it clear that the mistakes he has made, legislatively, are mistakes from which he has learned, and he is opposed to “free” trade expansion.   

The media have been focused almost exclusively on Clinton and Obama, whether it’s the Oprahpalooza tour or the obscene cocaine red herring.  Nevertheless, the public is hearing the message from Edwards, no thanks to Clear Channel, News Corp,, Disney, Time Warner, and Viacom and General Electric, and Tribune Corp (the 7 companies that control 90% of what you see, hear and read).   

I happen to really like Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Dennis Kucinich.  I think that Sen. Joseph Biden would make a terrific diplomat (clearly he’s got charisma and humor that are vital, and have been woefully lacking in those spheres).  But none of those guys is going to win a single electoral vote.  Sorry, my liberal brethren and sisteren, they’re just not, so it’s time to wake up and decide to not waste your vote.   

Primaries are less than two months away in most states.  It’s time to decide to be responsible with your primary vote.  Unfortunately for the idealist, the gender/race thing is not what matters, really.  What matters is bringing in a 21st century FDR.  Vote for Edwards.  And see the Democratic landslide in November.

Michael Fox is not connected to the Edwards campaign - or any other.