Daily Democrat: A positive discussion about John Edwards

[Skinner]

In an effort to provide for some enlightening discussion, rather than partisan flaming, the administrators have decided to post regular threads about the candidates for the Democratic nomination which are reserved for positive discussion only. These threads will be called the "Daily Democrat".

Currently, we intend to post two Daily Democrat discussion threads per day. If a particular thread becomes too long, then the moderators will open additional threads as necessary. These discussion threads will be allowed to stay open until the next two Daily Democrat threads are opened at some point the following day.

THE RULES

The rules for these Daily Democrat candidate threads are as follows. (For the purposes of these rules, the candidate who is the subject of the thread is referred to as the "Daily Democrat".)

1. You are welcome to post anything positive about the Daily Democrat. You can explain why you support that person. You can dispel myths about that candidate. You can discuss that person's positions on various issues. Whatever.

2. You are allowed to favorably compare the Daily Democrat to other candidates, provided that you are not unnecessarily inflammatory or antagonistic to the other candidates.

3. You may not post attacks of any kind against the Daily Democrat. Furthermore, you cannot post criticism and try to pass it off as a compliment ("I enthusiastically support candidate X because he ruined his state's economy!")

4. You may not discuss the supporters of any candidate (that goes for the the Daily Democrat, or any other candidate).

5. Undecided voters are encouraged to ask questions about the Daily Democrat in order to better inform their choice. Note that criticism disguised as a question will not be allowed.

6. You may not start another discussion thread for the purposes of responding to comments made in the "Daily Democrat" thread. Sorry -- you just have to suck it up and let the positive discussion continue uninterrupted.

7. I will not babysit the Daily Democrat thread, because I believe it will not be necessary. It is the responsibility of every member to know and follow the rules. Deliberate disruption of the Daily Democrat thread, or efforts by opponents to influence the Daily Democrat thread, will result in the banning of the individual(s) responsible.

8. I reserve the right to change the rules as necessary to make this work.

TIMING

We will discuss two Daily Democrats per day, and cycle through the list of presidential candidates in modified alphabetical order.

12/13 - Wesley Clark ...... and ... Dennis Kucinich
12/14 - NO DAILY DEMOCRAT THREAD
12/15 - Howard Dean ....... and ... Joe Lieberman
12/16 - John Edwards ...... and ... Carol Moseley Braun
12/17 - Dick Gephardt ..... and ... Al Sharpton
12/18 - John Kerry ........ and ... Wesley Clark
12/19 - Dennis Kucinich ... and ... Howard Dean
12/20 - Joe Lieberman ..... and ... John Edwards
12/21 - Carol Moseley Braun and ... Dick Gephardt
12/22 - Al Sharpton ....... and ... John Kerry
12/23 - Wesley Clark ...... and ... Dennis Kucinich
12/24 - Etc...

LET'S GET STARTED

Here's your chance for some positive discussion of John Edwards! Who wants to start it off?

[economic justice]

1. Edwards should be applauded

Senator Edwards has attempted to keep his campaign above the fray more than any other candidate (including my candidate, Wesley Clark). Edwards' proposals that I especially like is his 100% commitment to bettering education.

I like John Edwards. I think his presence in the race has been positive and could surprise us all.

[chimpymustgo]

2. This smart, handsome, compassionate, appealing Southern liberal

is a star of the Democratic party. Watching him in debates, and especially in town hall meetings is a delight, because of his distinct ability to connect and communicate with people.

He's got a great message - and a great demeanor to get it across.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

3. He's bright and young

and if he is Kerry's VP we can look forward to 16 years of Democratic administrations.

[DjTj]

11. He's 50.

...So he's not THAT young, but I agree that we could look forward to 16 years of Democrats in office if Edwards were the VP for any of the candidates.

But why wait. We could have 8 really great years if we just put Edwards in the President spot. He could spend his post-Presidential years as a great influence inside the party.

[stevedeshazer]

14. LOL!

Believe me, 50 looks younger all the time.

Sincerely,

Grampa

[DjTj]

15. He's actually more popular among older voters...

...than younger voters. According to this SC poll that a Dean supporter posted:

http://www.surveyusa.com/2003_Elections/SC031216DemPrimary.pdf

The front page also states that "Edwards does well with females." :loveya:

[maddezmom]

18. of course he does...he's a cutie

:)

[Cheswick2.0]

4. My step mother has worked 3 events with him in NH

She says he now knows her name. She also says he comes across in person much stronger than on TV and that he was clear and confident in every answer to any question she heard him asked.
She thinks if all the voters met him in person he would be the candidate.

[UrbScotty]

5. He is awesome, y'all.

I, too was born in North Carolina.

[rumguy]

6. He's a hell of a trial lawyer

A great communicator...

I would relish the thought of Edwards up against Bush in a debate.

[rumguy]

7. Notice how he stays above the fray?

It's almost impossible to hate this guy. That could be useful in a gen. election.

[DjTj]

8. His campaign controls its own destiny...

...because it is not based on bashing Bush or bashing Dean.

While Gore's endorsement and Saddam's capture have forced many candidates to shift and clarify their positions, John Edwards didn't have to change his message at all in the past week.

For the general election, his criticisms of Bush are based in fundamental philosophical differences: shifting the tax burden from work to wealth, the heavy influence of corporate interests, and ignoring international cooperation. There is nothing that can happen between now and next November that will force Edwards to change his message.

For the primaries, his campaign has a strategy that doesn't run straight up against Dean. The reality now is that the other 8 candidates are vying to become the alternative to Dean in the primaries, and there is still a clear route for John Edwards to do so by placing 3rd or 4th in Iowa and NH and winning South Carolina. Although still an uphill battle, the polls still support the possibility of this course of events. All the action around Dean doesn't affect Edwards' plan at all.

I love his platform too, and perhaps I'll post separately about that, but I think his campaign has also been run very well, putting him within striking distance of the nomination and in very good position for beating Bush. And, he can do this without resorting to the candidate-bashing that is so common on DU.

[stevedeshazer]

9. John Edwards has a great future

Giving up his Senate seat against long odds in the primary race says a lot about his confidence. He'll land on his feet somewhere if he loses. Every time I have heard him speak, I've been impressed with his grasp of issues, and I believe the guy when he says he stands for us regular folks.

I'm far from NC, but maybe someone closer to the situation can tell us whether he might be governor sometime? He's young, maybe a successful stint as a governor would supply the so-called 'gravitas' that the pundits say he lacks.

[maddezmom]

10. Self-made man

Reminds me a lot of my dad. I'll be happy to vote and throw all my support behind him if he wins the primary race.

[Desertrose]

12. Saw him at the Phx debate

and he was very personable.

Bunch of us DK'ers were in the hotel lobby and we heard this friendly voice sayin "Hi y'all. How ya'll doing?"

I hollered "Hi John! we're good.How are you?"

We kinda went back and forth as he made his way to the elevators...

I think he's got major class....I could definitely live with John Edwards as VP to DK....or even as the nominee. We could do a lot worse thats for sure.

Peace
DR

[billyf65]

13. John Edwards could win

It will be a tough row to hoe. But his ability to connect with people is uncanny.

[VOX]

16. Gore came within a whisker of asking Edwards to be his VP candidate...

in 2000, and I wish he had!

John Edwards is one of the Democratic Party's rising stars. He has an excellent record on the issues, and has a warmth that allows him to connect with an audience.

Last year, the word was that Rove really feared Edwards more than any other candidate at that time. And you can see why -- the man is intelligent, presentable, well-spoken, considerate, thoughtful and compassionate.

Look for Edwards to do great things -- he's got "it."

[arewethereyet]

17. theres something about that accent that works

so long as you have the brains and passion to back it up. Edwards really does have it all and face it, southern accents win !

[mb7588a]

19. I talked with one of Reid's interns today

who met and talked with Edwards for several minutes. He said it was quite an experience. They talked about his education and where they were from and general small talk etc. I don't know how the two of them ended up talking, but that's life on the Hill I guess?

Edwards is young, but only politically. He reminds me of Clinton when he campaigns.

I think in any of the Dems's admins he would be a perfect VP or Attorney General. He'd also be a fantastic nominee.

[Woodstock]

20. He comes off as sincere & he's also attractive

He's probably the best looking of the candidates. He speaks well - I've always found his speeches to be engaging and interesting. He has the Clinton touch in this respect.

[DjTj]

21. Edwards gets an "A" for foreign policy...

...in the TNR Primary:

http://www.tnr.com/primary/index.mhtml?pid=1086


12.16.03

EDWARDS GETS IT RIGHT
by Michael Crowley

After I wrote an item today praising Howard Dean for the section on WMD proliferation in his Monday foreign policy speech, a very smart nonproliferation expert called my attention to another, far less publicized speech given yesterday by John Edwards.

It turns out that while Dean touched on the subject fairly briefly, Edwards devoted almost his entire speech to ways of protecting America from a terrorist nuke, anthrax spray, or nerve gas bomb. And having looked over his plan, I'd say it's even more impressive than Dean's (leading me to retroactively bump Dean's grade down a notch, from "A" to "B"). Let us count the ways.

Like Dean, Edwards would dramatically boost funding for the shortchanged Nunn-Lugar program, which secures and dismantles nukes in the former Soviet Union (and, hopefully soon, elsewhere: Edwards wisely suggested yesterday that the program might be expanded to help increase nuclear security in a nation like Pakistan). But Edwards went father, also calling for new international standards to govern the storage and handling of nuclear materials, standards backed up by the threat of surprise inspections and economic sanctions. Edwards also said he'd be sure to hire more intelligence analysts with WMD specialties.

Perhaps most impressively, Edwards promised to appoint what you might call a "nonproliferation czar"--a senior official to oversee the government's many diffuse anti-WMD programs, and one who reports directly to the president. (From my own reporting on counterproliferation I know that many of the best experts in the field have long pleaded with the Bush administration to create such a post.)

Dean did outdo Edwards in one category: he specifically called for a whopping increase in the global fund to secure WMD proposed by the G-8 nations last year, from $20 billion to $60 billion over the next decade; Edwards emphasized the importance of making sure that money pledged to the fund is actually delivered, but didn't talk dollar figures. No matter. To judge by the throroughness of his speech and accompanying plan, there's no question that Edwards "gets" this issue as well as anyone.



I would've started a new thread, but since it came at the expense of Dean I didn't want it to become flame-bait.

[littlejoe]

22. Edwards would make a great White House staffer.