2008: John Edwards officially announces

Johnedwards_1Spurred by his strong #1 showing in the first BlueOregon buzz poll, John Edwards made his presidential run official this morning. (OK, we're taking too much credit...)

In the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, his announcement:

New Orleans, in so many ways, shows the two Americas that I have talked about in the past and something that I feel very personally. And it also exemplifies something that I've learned since the last election, which is that it's great to see a problem and to understand it. It's more important to actually take action and do something about it.

And I think that's why I'm in New Orleans, is to show what's possible when we as Americans, instead of staying home and complaining about somebody else not doing what they're supposed to, we actually take responsibility and we take action. And I don't mean we take action after the next election. I mean, we take action now.

Here's the video, from CBS:

John Nichols, writing for the Nation, had this early opinion - available at CBS News:

The John Edwards who today announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination is a very different contender from the fresh-faced young senator who in 2004 bid for the party nod — and eventually secured a place on the ticket as the vice presidential nominee.

By any measure, he has a lot more to offer progressives than he did in 2004. That potential to appeal to the party's left flank is essential for Edwards, who will need an ideological base as he struggles for attention in a race where New York Senator Hillary Clinton and Illinois Senator Barack Obama have been sucking most of the air out of the contest. ...

Most indications suggest that Edwards gets it. That does not mean he is the perfect contender, nor that he is the perfect progressive. But he has grown a great deal over the past several years, and that growth has been in a serious, smart and savvy direction that progressives would be wise to note at this relatively early stage in the 2008 contest.

His website is JohnEdwards.com. At 3 p.m. today, there will be a live online town hall from Des Moines, Iowa.

Discuss.

  • urban planning overlord (unverified)
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    Edwards' main policy problem, IMHO, is his protectionist job-killing attitude toward foreign trade. Yes, job-killing, both here in the U.S. and especially in the Third World nations that most need economic development.

    Bill Clinton had it right on this issue - it's a shame too many Democrats, such as Edwards and Peter DeFazio, continue to drink the protectionist anti-globalism kool-aid.

  • Shane Dixon Kavanaugh (unverified)
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    I'm excited. Just sent $50 to the Edwards Campaign. I encourage the other Blue Oregon Edwards supporters to do the same. With talk of Universal Health Care and ending the "shame of poverty" in his announcement, Edwards is showing that he's got some serious balls and backbone. I'll be blown away if any of the other presidential contenders, with the exception of Kucinich, will be willing to run on such a bold and moral platform. I'm also digging the tone and imagery that he set for his campaign this morning: government will only work so long as the people it represents are willing to work. My hope is that Edwards stays true to his promise of a people driven, grassroots campaign.

  • T.T.M. (unverified)
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    One thing has occured to me, will the duke case cause Edwards some problems? Especially given his legal background...

  • Anonymous (unverified)
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    Bill Clinton had it right on this issue - it's a shame too many Democrats, such as Edwards and Peter DeFazio, continue to drink the protectionist anti-globalism kool-aid.

    I suppose the giant sucking sound of US jobs heading over to India is news to your hears? How about the shrinking of the American middle-class? How about the fact the we are using slave labor in the Marianas Islands to make the clothing sold at places like Walmart?

    The type of person that would believe that unbridled globalism and capitalism is a good thing is either mentally ill or quite wealthy and an opportunist.

    Quite talking about kool-aid. That is so tired.

  • urban planning voerlord (unverified)
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    I suppose the giant sucking sound of US jobs heading over to India is news to your ears? Last time I checked the U.S. had an unemployment rate lower, or at least no higher, than in the 1950's, and much less than we suffered during the 1970-1990 period. http://www.bls.gov/opub/rtaw/pdf/table59.pdf While the U.S. has suffered no increase in our "misery index," India's population of the non-poor and overall standard of living has skyrocketed. You would rather see a few more Americans working as engineers and call center employees in return for a huge increase in poverty, death, and misery for hundreds of millions of Indians?

    How about the shrinking of the American middle-class? See above answer - now apply it to the rest of the world that has benefitted from free trade.

    How about the fact the we are using slave labor in the Marianas Islands to make the clothing sold at places like Walmart? No one forces these people to work at backbreaking jobs for low pay - they do it because they want to, because the alternative is even worse, in most cases rural poverty, starvation, disease, and death. That is what you anti-globalization types will see happen if the world is stupid enough to embrace your policies.

    And John Edwards, unlike Bill Clinton, understands none of this, apparently.

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    Our unemployment's not doing too bad right now because people have taken low paying jobs with little or no benefits. Often times it's multiple part-time jobs.

    Gone are the days where a man straight out of h.s. could get a good paying job and take care of his family. Now both parents work just to put food on the table. For many, the white house with a picket fence is just that-- a dream.

    Try to afford a $250-350K house on $30K a year. It ain't happening. And if you want at least a decent sized house with a scrap of a yard, that's wht it'll cost you.

    There are many more things to look at besides just the unemployment rate. When you lose your good paying job and are faced with homelessness, no food for your kids, etc., you'll take any job you can get. Even if it only pays a pittance.

  • Anon (unverified)
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    John Edwards knows a lot about poverty, after all, he's helped throw a lot of people into it with:

    • his co-sponsorship of H-1b visas,

    • his support for illegal aliens,

    • his vote for MFN-China

    but what about stuff like iraq war and the patriot act?

    well, he voted for them too

    <h2>About the only think you can say for Edwards is, he spent so much time running for president that he didnt have time to do more damage as senator</h2>
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