How John Edwards Got His Groove Back

from The Nation:




EDWARDS EMPHASIZES IRAQ--AND ROCKS OUT ...After hundreds of stops in a state, it helps to bring a few well known friends along. So Monday and Tuesday activist rockers Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt joined John Edwards on the trail in Iowa.

They mostly stuck to singing and let Edwards do the talking.

After Browne and Raitt did a few songs, Edwards got straight to the point. "I wanna start with the war in Iraq," he told a large crowd at Coe College in Cedar Rapids. "We must bring this war to a close."

He mentioned a new Congressional report estimating that Iraq will cost taxpayers $2.8 trillion if the US keeps troops there for 10 years with a "Korea-like" presence. The audience erupted in boos. "Correct response," Edwards replied.

"All the Democratic candidates talk about ending the war. That's great. Do they have a specific way to do it?" He posed a few questions that were clearly directed at Hillary Clinton. "I have heard Senator Clinton say she would keep combat troops in Iraq and continue combat missions." Edwards, by contrast, would withdraw 40-50,000 troops immediately and get all combat troops out within a year.

He then assailed Hillary's vote for the Kyl-Lieberman resolution on Iran. If Bush invades the country, Edwards asked, would politicians like Senator Clinton say "if only I knew then what I know now?"

After that, Edwards broadened the discussion to domestic concerns, arguing that Democrats needed to take on corporate America and give 'em hell. "Does anyone really believe that if we trade a crowd of corporate Republicans for a crowd of corporate Democrats there's gonna be any change in Washington?" he asked rhetorically. "No!" the audience replied. "We need to shake Washington up!" he responded to loud applause. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?pid=253027

becomes president let's show the troops that we mean business when we say we support them. Lets make sure we have health care, and homes ready for them. Let's put Americans back to work again. Let unemployed Americans and our troops get these jobs. Let's not give these jobs to the halliburtons.

I had not seen this article.