John Edwards works the early shift at a New York nursing home

NYT/AP: Edwards Works Nursing Home Shift
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 11, 2007

MAMARONECK, N.Y. (AP) -- Instead of his usual day of shaking hands, giving speeches and persuading wealthy donors to write hefty checks, Democratic presidential contender John Edwards got a taste Wednesday of how the other half works

Edwards toiled on the early shift at the Sarah Neuman Nursing Home in this northern suburb of New York, waking patients, serving breakfast and living -- for a few hours, anyway -- the life of a $14-per-hour health care aide.

Edwards' visit was part of the ''Walk a Day in My Shoes'' campaign organized by the politically influential Service Employees International Union. In January, SEIU announced it would invite all the 2008 presidential candidates to spend a day on the job with one of its members, most of whom work in hospitals and other health care facilities.

With organized labor one of the most powerful influences in Democratic politics, several of the party's candidates have accepted SEIU's invitation, including Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chris Dodd and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. But Edwards is the first to actually take part in a work visit....

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Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, joined Elaine Ellis, 58, a certified nursing assistant who has worked at the Sarah Neuman home for 18 years. Edwards stopped by Ellis' apartment for breakfast before heading to the nursing home, where they clocked in for the 6:30 a.m. shift.

Ellis, a Democrat who is undecided in the presidential contest, said she believes such work opportunities help illuminate for politicians the challenges facing the health care system and health care workers...(W)hile she acknowledged the event was a prime photo opportunity for Edwards, who has vigorously courted organized labor throughout his presidential bid, she said his visit will have substantive value, too....

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Edwards-Labor.html

I am sure he knows about hard work-probably one of the few politicians I could say didn't need the lesson.

How can you not like the guy. I try to keep an open mind because we haven't had a primary but I like Edwards and Obama. I don't are who heads the ticket but nation wide I think Edwards should be at the top of the ticket for desirability-but that's just my 2 cents worth.

but a textile mill is no walk in the park either (hot, sweaty, lint everywhere, heavy spools-a dream job). Thanks for the correction-trouble with being 32K memory in a 64K world (I am sure even that is wrong too).

which was his backup if he couldn't get into law school :D

Maybe Joe Biden's dad was a coal miner, or maybe it was Neil Kinnock.

is this the same Edwards from the '04 campaign, or do you think he's changed in the last 3 years? He seems more "in-touch" with people. Good campaign strategy. People want to be recognized. They want to be valued. They want someone who gets it. Edwards seems to be doing quite well in these areas. Hillary and Obama are like supernovae, I think they'll fizzle out by the time of the first primaries. But Edwards seems to be making steady quiet progress, and he just may kick their asses come voting day.