Opinion: Edwards leaves no doubt what he’s about
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John Edwards no doubt benefited in today’s debate from being next to last among the six Democratic presidential candidates present in answering what, if elected, he would aim to accomplish in year one. Still, when he got his chance, the son of a mill worker used it to drive home the unvarnished populism that has defined his second White House run.
After noting with a wry grin that those preceding him had made ‘an awful lot of promises’ -- and quickly listing a few of his own -- he homed in on his core message:
‘None of those things are going to happen unless we have a president of the United States who calls on the American people to join together to take this democracy and take this country back. Because what’s happening in America today is absolutely clear: We have a small group of entrenched interests, corporate powers, corporate greed, the most wealthy people in America who are controlling what’s happening in the democracy, and we have to take it back.’
Of late, he’s been delivering that class manifesto with less anger than previously. But win or lose, Edwards cannot be accused of mincing his words. And somewhere, the ghost of William Jennings Bryan must be smiling.
MSNBC, focusing on Edwards’ unswerving adherence to his theme, counted the number of times he mentioned the word ‘corporate’ (as in, ‘corporate power’ or ‘corporate greed’). The result: 13
The debate was notable for its lack of vitriol, as The Times’ Janet Hook and Joe Mathews report. As with the similar forum Wednesday featuring the Republican candidates, it lacked memorable -- or meaningful -- exchanges.
Indeed, the question about first-year goals underscored the coalescence among these six on specifics: All would wind down the war in Iraq, all would strive for sweeping healthcare reforms, all would restore what they decry as infringements on constitutional rights by President Bush.
The absence of the two outliers in the Democratic race -- Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel -- made those similarities all the more evident.
-- Don Frederick