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Edwards Hits Airwaves In Iowa, South Carolina
The Edwards campaign hasn't sent these out yet, but we have 'em, so take a look: Two new ads set to hit the airwaves in Iowa and South Carolina today. The South Carolina one is a biographical spot, emphasizing his past as the son of a millworker:
...and the Iowa one, less about biography than about lofty promises of future change, focusses on what Edwards calls the "great moral test of our generation," i.e., reforming the corrupt D.C. system:
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and he says all this with a straight face, all the while socking away the millions he made off of Fortress Hedge funds JUST LAST YEAR that routinely ripped off the mortgage under class ... how many faces does this guy have?
November 26, 2007 10:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't know about these harsher criticisms of Edwards based off things like the Fortress engagement. However, it is precisely because I agree with Edwards on the necessity of reforming our government to make it more open and more democratic that I am supporting Barack Obama. Going back to Illinois, Obama has been a consistent proponent of reform who has also delivered concrete results in terms of legislation passed. Obama just simply has the best experience on this issue and the strongest track record.
Hillary, of course, is very weak on the issue of open government. Her health task force, though I certainly agree with the goals more in her case, was a model for the closed process of the Cheney energy task force. For all her talk of "having a conversation" she's witholding her judgment on crucial issues until it's studied by a commission of DC insiders. That kind of politics cuts the public out of the conversation.
November 26, 2007 10:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
Edwards is the one candidate that joins opening up the political system with real ecnomic reform.
November 26, 2007 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
AJ. That's not quite true. All of the candidates have proposed some fairly progressive policy reforms on issues from tax policy to education and health care. Hillary and Obama have proposed a carbon credit auction system with no giveaways of pollution permits. Edwards' plan includes some handouts, but is also very strong overall.
A question worth debating is which candidate will be most successful in getting various reforms passed. What are their priorities? On a DK thread I asked Elizabeth Edwards about priorities and she replied that Edwards can "walk and chew gum at the same time". That's a bit of a dismissive cliche. We know that Obama's priority is political process reform. Achieving that first lays a foundation for decades of more effective government. Edwards has said that he will begin his presidency by introducing possibly unconstitutional legislation to take away Congress's health insurance. I think that it is reasonable to worry whether Edwards' strategy might backfire and make Congress more difficult to work with on a progressive agenda.
November 26, 2007 11:34 AM | Reply | Permalink