Arguing for Edwards

A neighbor pointed out that Edwards is the only Democratic candidate with the will and experience to take on big corporate money. It's what he's done for a living.

Lambert makes the same case while addressing Obama's weaknesses. A must-read.

The creature we've created in the form of the public corporation has to be brought back under the control of its creators.

Technology -- whether political, scientific or legal -- may be used for good or for evil. There are enough cautionary tales set in the public consciousness about all three to give us pause: Terminator, Resident Evil, Aliens.

The age-old question is who is to be slave and who the master? Is government by the people or by the corporation in our future? Corporate interests are designed to serve their own interests, not ours. While extolling the benefits of globalization, unfettered markets and the global consumer paradise that awaits, in the end, are they really that likely To Serve Man?

Edwards seems to be the only one of the current Democratic crop likely to reprise Teddy Roosevelt and bring our creations to heel again.

Suffering the vapors

In today's New York Times, Ann Coulter finally drew condemnation from prominent members of her party -- John McCain, Rudy Guliani and Mitt Romney -- for her non-comment comment on John Edwards this week at CPAC.

Glenn Greenwald yesterday got his hackles up over reporters (like Howard Kurtz) who get the vapors over the "angry left" after comment trolling liberal blogs for noxious anonymous comments by posters from the lefty fringe. Meanwhile, prominent, nationally known conservative standard bearers get get a pass on offensive comments wildly cheered by conservative movement faithful. (For a sample, see a small collection archived here).

The people feigning upset over those matters are either active participants in, or passive aiders and abetters of, a political movement that, at its very core -- not at its fringes -- knowingly and continuously embraces the most wretched and obvious bigotry and bloodthirsty authoritarianism.

Strong stuff.

[h/t Digby]

****

And in the Jose Padilla case, the highest profile prosecution in the GWOT, the government revealed that it has lost a critical piece of evidence, a DVD “of the last interrogation of Padilla while in military custody.”

The dog ate their homework, too.

[h/t Glenn Greenwald]

But if you’re strong and good

Presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards appeared alongside Rep. Heath Shuler at an event in an Asheville, NC home this afternoon. Maybe fifty people. Informal, though nearly all the men wore ties. Edwards did not. And I did not remember to take notes.

This was the third time I’ve met him. Edwards just keeps getting better. A mutual friend who has known him “longer than Elizabeth” said he’s obviously more comfortable these days. We’re seeing more of what he’s really like, she thinks.

One national campaign under his belt already, John Edwards in 2007 is not as flavor of the week as Barack Obama is (or as Edwards -- another one-term senator -- once was himself), but seems more grounded in what he believes and more certain of what he wants to do if given the chance to be president.

Edwards has been doing his presidential homework these last couple of years. He was relaxed. He spoke about the underlying political divisions behind the Sunni/Shiite strife in Iraq. The Maliki government must make the tough political decision to work towards reconciliation or there will be no stability in Iraq. No matter how many troops we put at risk on the streets of Baghdad propping him up and paying for Iraqi discord with American blood. The Iranians and the Syrians have an interest in a stable Iraq, and we should engage them in the process.

As the sole superpower, Edwards explained, people look to us to ensure stability in a violent world. The U.S. must reclaim its leadership role. What we’ve seen in the last six years is that power alone doesn’t make a country a leader. If anything, power alone breeds distrust. But if you’re strong and good, people will respect you, listen to you, and follow you. That’s leadership.

He was on his message, of course, and there was nothing new: universal health care coverage, energy transformation, conservation, and leading the world in addressing global warming. Edwards said calmly that it’s time for Americans to be patriotic about something other than war.

Maybe it was just the living room setting, but it didn’t feel like a speech. It felt like something he believes. And it was refreshing to hear a politician speak who doesn’t sound as if he’s trying to sell you something.

Afterwards, I mentioned to my friend the “slick lawyer” image Edwards will have to overcome to persuade many voters. I’ve met more than a few with a visceral distrust for him: a doctor who hates him for litigating malpractice cases, and blames him for her malpractice insurance rates; a mother who believes (has been told) that his rags-to-riches personal history is a sham. Neither has met him, or wants to. He’s a lawyer. Always a lawyer when seen at a distance.

A friend once said about Bruce Springsteen, “Don’t buy his records. You have to see him in concert. If you see him live you’ll get it.” He was right.

And that is John Edwards’ challenge, getting those who don’t buy his record to come to see him live or watch him on TV. Activists and policy wonks look at a candidate’s positions. Normal Americans want to know about the man. Communicating the man, convincing a national jury, a national audience, that’s the trick.