Spring Break
John Edwards for President
Isia Jasiewicz (ijasiewi@)
Issue date: 1/8/08 Section: Opinion
What the Democratic Party needs in order to win in 2008 is simple: white Southerners. The Democrats only need to secure a few battleground states to have the presidency in the bag, and some Southern red states - Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee - have recently proven themselves surprisingly open to Democrats in polls and state elections. Who better to win the white Southern vote than a white Southerner?
John Edwards is the kind of candidate who will propel the Democrats to victory. He's charming, intelligent, and experienced. His family is picture-perfect despite their hardships, and his daughter Cate even went to Princeton. Best of all, he is the happy medium between Barack Obama's electric personality and Hillary Clinton's impressive credentials. Obama, charming though he may be, only has a few years in the Senate under his belt. Clinton's political history won't necessarily be enough to help overcome the strong personal dislike many voters harbor against her. Edwards, on the other hand, is the perfect storm. His Kennedy-esque demeanor gives him great personal appeal, and his experience in the Senate and on the campaign trail will serve him well.
Edwards' platform is Democratic, but moderate enough to dissuade Republicans from using "liberal" as a swear word against him. Edwards' campaign centers on the notion of "One America." In his 2004 stump speech at the Democratic National Convention, Edwards proclaimed that America is divided into two nations: "one, for all of those people who have lived the American dream and don't have to worry, and another for most Americans, everybody else who struggles to make ends meet every single day." To unite America, Edwards vows to create a mandatory universal health care plan and to make higher education available to all.
Such a populist platform calls attention to the too often ignored reality of poverty in America. Edwards repeatedly reminds us of the fact that 37 million Americans live in poverty. Of course, critics of Edwards will point out his $400 haircuts, but everyone has their indulgences. It is better for Edwards to spend a little too much on a haircut and advocate progressive economic reform than for him to spend his money and on helping the rich through further tax cuts.
John Edwards is the kind of candidate who will propel the Democrats to victory. He's charming, intelligent, and experienced. His family is picture-perfect despite their hardships, and his daughter Cate even went to Princeton. Best of all, he is the happy medium between Barack Obama's electric personality and Hillary Clinton's impressive credentials. Obama, charming though he may be, only has a few years in the Senate under his belt. Clinton's political history won't necessarily be enough to help overcome the strong personal dislike many voters harbor against her. Edwards, on the other hand, is the perfect storm. His Kennedy-esque demeanor gives him great personal appeal, and his experience in the Senate and on the campaign trail will serve him well.
Edwards' platform is Democratic, but moderate enough to dissuade Republicans from using "liberal" as a swear word against him. Edwards' campaign centers on the notion of "One America." In his 2004 stump speech at the Democratic National Convention, Edwards proclaimed that America is divided into two nations: "one, for all of those people who have lived the American dream and don't have to worry, and another for most Americans, everybody else who struggles to make ends meet every single day." To unite America, Edwards vows to create a mandatory universal health care plan and to make higher education available to all.
Such a populist platform calls attention to the too often ignored reality of poverty in America. Edwards repeatedly reminds us of the fact that 37 million Americans live in poverty. Of course, critics of Edwards will point out his $400 haircuts, but everyone has their indulgences. It is better for Edwards to spend a little too much on a haircut and advocate progressive economic reform than for him to spend his money and on helping the rich through further tax cuts.
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