John Edwards rulez, man. I’ve been on the guy’s “bandwagon” — if that’s what you want to call it — since early 2001, long before members of the media had mentioned him in a Presidential context. I was one of the first “true believers,” and I have a feeling that I’d better explain myself quickly.
Senator John Edwards (D-North Carolina) is, by most Dem accounts, a good looking fellow. A trial lawyer by trade, he is very articulate and comes across as a personable, accessible human being. He knows the issues and he plays well to the cameras when speaking about them. That being said, of all the candidates in the Dem field, he has the two qualities most important to a Dem nominee post-Clinton: he is an incredible fundraiser and he splendidly lies with a smile. He was the only one Democrat, I figured, that the White House had legitimate reason to fear.
I was certain Edwards was the Dems’ man, and I became moreso until — well, until the candidates started campaigning and the press keeping track of appearances and polls. Soon, Edwards — with all his campaign cash — was a non-entity. What would happen?
This from the FOXNEWS.com: Edwards’ Strategy is to Strike Late. On Wednesday, he began a 39-stop, 24-town bus trip in New Hampshire, borrowing a strategy, Fox reports, from the ultimate maverick, John McCain. After this, he’s doing 100 town hall meetings prior to the primary. Remember McCain’s Straight Talk Express bus? Edwards has is own bus: Real Solutions Express.
Fox points out that Edwards began his latest onslaught of campaigning in Nashua, where JFK began his Presidential campaign in 1960. When I started talking about Edwards, I noted that several prominent Democrat fundraisers in the Senator’s home State of North Carolina had called their Senator: “The next Bobby Kennedy.” Several months after this, JFK’s brother — Senator Ted Kennedy — corrected this statement. It was incorrect to compare John Edwards and his brother Bobby, Ted said, for Edwards was more like his brother John. (The younger, more drunken Kennedy has since backed the campaign of another JFK, his fellow Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry.)
Edwards meant to do it:
He argues that trailing in the polls at this point is actually part of his strategy to wait until the real voting gets closer. Aides say rivals like Dean risk peaking too soon, and with the first caucus still more than four months away, Edwards has a way to go before crunch time.
“I think crunch time is when it always is — a month before the primary, because hopefully people are starting to pay attention now,” Edwards said.
While Edwards claims he has deliberately waited to kick his campaign into high gear, he has already started airing TV commercials, only the second candidate to do so.
Keep an eye on Edwards. Let’s see what John-Boy can pull off. And remember, per a tort lawyer’s ad, Edwards will not accept a fee unless he collects money for YOU!
