Missing the Edwards Message
29 December 2006 5:15 am by Taylor Marsh
Missing the Edwards Message –updated below/with videos/YouTube–
cross-posted on Huffington Post
| Taken Monday, Aug. 29, 2005. Meanwhile… KATRINA HITS LOUISIANA, THREATENS NEW ORLEANS AND BILOXI GET IT? |
How cynical can we possibly get?
Or maybe it\’s just dense.
You don\’t have to be an Edwards fan or be convinced he\’s the one for \’08 to
get that the latest reviews on Edwards\’ presidential announcement are not only
way off base, but missing the point entirely. Or maybe it\’s just that the spending
gluttony of splashy campaign starts has jaded us all into believing that if
you don\’t flaunt it you don\’t got it, if you\’ll pardon the slang. If that\’s the case, then public funding
for campaigns, which will make presidential runs less glamorous as well as less expensive, are a non starter.
Between Harry Shearer\’s Edwards
Uses New Orleans as a Backdrop, and Michelle Pilecki\’s The
Media Disconnect of Edwards\’ New Orleans Photo Op, you\’ve got to wonder
if these two people understand what was going on yesterday. Sorry to pick on them, because they\’re not the only ones. Fox ran an old Bill O\’Reilly interview with Edwards featuring questions that would be insulting for the local dog catcher.
It\’s called an announcement for president not John Edwards solves the problems
of NOLA that George W. Bush and his Administration continue to ignore.
I know this may be tough, but try to follow along.
A Democratic candidate for president goes down to the Lower 9th Ward of NOLA
to announce his candidacy and people are complaining that he didn\’t clean up
the mess while he was down there.
People, come on, when was the last time we ever saw a candidate for president
announce his intentions so, er… modestly?
No podium. No pomp. No pandemonium. Just John Edwards in jeans and a shirt,
no tie or jacket, announcing from the devastation of NOLA that he gets it and
wants to represent people who\’ve been devastated by government incompetence.
He showed up in NOLA to prove his intentions are real. But that wasn\’t good
enough, as people piled on.
Where are the solutions?
Hey, don\’t forget about the levees!
Was it \”a moment\”?
That southern drawl!
Is the \”two America\” theme relevant or just some tired old sentiment
that\’s so yesterday\’s news?
Though I will say his web team wasn\’t exactly prepared for the day\’s events.
But take a look around at where Edwards was when he made his announcement. It\’s
hardly old news that there are two Americas, especially if you\’re one of the
people still trying to get back to square one after Katrina. To recount: there
is the George W. Bush – John McCain and Escalatin\’ Joe Lieberman America, and the America John Edwards took
the time to film during his presidential announcement.
I know we\’re all critics when politicians run for office, especially the presidency,
but this is getting ridiculous. I\’m becoming more convinced that the American
people are getting the president they deserve, because what people choose to
talk about has nothing to do with the message being sent. If we want things to change, at some point we will
have to give the brave souls who take on the run for the presidency a little slack, even if we eventually end up delighting that they
hung themselves with it in the end.
For the American people to get our government and the people who populate it to
change, we will have to give them an opening to prove that they can.
The only way Republicans can continue to win is if Americans continue to
distrust government; the less faith voters have in government, the more they
will support the type of cynical candidates who attack government and suggest
tax cuts as the only prudent policy. Accordingly, if the Democrats can increase
the number of Americans who believe in the government\’s capacity to do good
above 50 percent, they will achieve as permanent a majority status as can
exist in today\’s political environment and progressivism will once again become
the dominant political philosophy it once was decades ago.
I sure as hell can\’t tell you if John Edwards is the man for the
Democratic Party in 2008, but I know one thing for sure. He\’s the first
candidate to show up like a real human being and dressed like your average American,
while standing amidst the tragedy of a city and region that is still not close
to being fixed, among people who have been completely forgotten by the current
president and many other Americans who just spent Christmas shopping, eating
and drinking in houses that are whole and lives that remain untouched by Katrina
or the Iraq war.
If we want better leaders then we should look to ourselves and our cynical
outlook on anyone daring to take the plunge.
John Edwards announced his presidential campaign launch from the devastation
of NOLA and all he got was a bunch of people bitching that he didn\’t create
a miracle while he was at it.
Cue the clucking.
Image alert!
UPDATE (11:05 a.m. – 12.30.06): Edwards \”Hardball\” appreance now up on YouTube, here and here.
UPDATE (4:16 p.m.): Edwards was on \”Hardball\” and here are the videos, Part I and Part II. Enjoy, give feedback, discuss.
UPDATE (11:15 a.m.): I had one of those awake in the middle of the nighters, where I didn\’t get back to sleep until around 7:00 a.m. this morning. So I\’m just catching up on what happened this morning. Please make sure you read Christy\’s posts on poverty, Part I and Part II. A critical issue that Edwards\’ candidacy will no doubt bring focus to going forward. By the way, John Edwards will be on \”Hardball\” later today.
