The Man with the Plan

It's not enough for the candidates to tell us they want to make things better and outline a few ideas they have for getting it done. It's not enough for ME, anyway. I want to know if they know where the big problems lie, and what they plan to do to address every one of them.

That's why I support John Edwards. He has detailed plans for policies that will turn the tide against the idiocy that this Republican administration has used to carve its way into the middle class and to throw them and the poor to the wolves of Wall Street with their predatory lending, insurance scams, and pharmacological extortion.

He has a plan for managing pollution, for funding exploration into alternate energy. He knows we can't negotiate with the people who've been running things--not unless we put them in a greatly weakened position first. If they hold all the cards, there is no negotiation.

I like the way this guy thinks. His plans are detailed, simple to explain, and he has a talent for reaching people who might otherwise vote Republican because they don't understand the way Republican "values" undermine their families.

As much as I would like to see a woman President, or a Black president, I think it's a hell of an accomplishment that they're the serious contenders for the Democratic nomination. But, from everything I've heard and read, Edwards is the one with a plan to turn the nomination into a populist mandate. He can speak to the average American, the southerner, and those who've almost lost hope, and bring to their eyes a vision of a better America.

One of the things that struck me the most was the fact that he wants to make ATTORNEYS responsible for spurious litigation. That's a hell of a notion for a "trial attorney."

There are things about Hillary I don't like. I've made that pretty clear. But my reasons are entirely political. I WISH she was as much a progressive and populist candidate as John Edwards. If she was, I'd vote for her in a heartbeat.

I think Obama has promise, but I don't get the feeling he's on fire with a real plan to fix things for us at this moment in time. He's a candidate whose time has not yet come. But I think it will.

I think John, if given a chance, could and work to turn the tide and restore both honor and balance to the American ideal. With a Democratic Congress working toward real progressive goals, helped in part by John's vision, we could see a new dawn of a new New Deal that would bring back a sense of pride and hope to the American people and wash away some of the despair and disgust that's plagued us for so long.

I think John can speak to every part of the country, and reach even the reddest corners with his populist message. I think he can break down barriers and bring hope to the hopeless. And I think the Powers That Be are afraid of him in a way they're not afraid of Hillary and Obama.

He's not afraid to answer back against the spurious attacks from the Right. He is sharp, dedicated, and bold, and that's the kind of person we need representing us when the time comes for America to make the choice between the ways of the past eight years and the way forward from here.

I think John Edwards is the Man with the Plan and I, for one, would like to see it work.

My dream ticket at this point would be Edwards/Clark. I think that combination could steamroll anything the Republicans could put together.

I think it's time.

I just knew this would be an Edwards thread. Get the real deal folks, not just a copy.