Thursday, January 04, 2007

We All Noticed Him, Parker

To me, this column embodies what it is that’s wrong with reporting from so-called “mainstream” corporate news organizations.

Apparently, it is more important for writer Kathleen Parker to do everything in her power to sound insufferably clever in lieu of performing actual research and conducting interviews concerning the subject of her column. The smug condescension and attempt to question the legitimacy of John Edwards and his motives is what the reader remembers the most from this nonsense, not any factual content whatsoever, as well as Parker propagating the narrative that Edwards is a rich man who is pretending to care about the poor (I mean, he made his fortune as a trial lawyer, so how can he be honest, right?).

And somehow I think the fact that other people died at approximately the same time as Edwards’s announcement of his candidacy makes a difference to Parker and maybe a few other people, but somehow I don’t think it’s a factor worth noting to the vast majority of individuals who will support Edwards for substantial, legitimate reasons, including me.

And as you can see, I found this tripe of a column by Parker at the Washington Post Writers Group site, home of legitimate professionals such as Marie Cocco. And believe it or not, you could actually buy this nonsense if you wanted to, which to me is an utterly inconceivable waste of money.

I’ll tell you what; I’ll let you read this recent correspondence from Edwards so you can decide about him for yourself.

Dear Friend,

I'm on a plane from Iowa to New Hampshire.

We've had a great day, starting in New Orleans early this morning. People are responding to our call to action - more than 120 new One Corps chapters were started today alone, and more than 41,000 people watched our online town hall meeting in Des Moines, Iowa tonight.

The momentum and energy are extraordinary. But what's most important about the momentum is that it's directed at changing and transforming America - not in the future, but now.

Now we need to keep this momentum going, and the only way to do that is with your help. Anything you can contribute will make a huge difference.

Click here.

So much is at stake .... ending the shame of 37 million Americans in poverty and strengthening the middle class, guaranteeing universal health care, ending America's addiction to oil, and restoring America's moral leadership in the world. Our ability to change America depends on you.

Keep checking our website and blog for updates from our tour today and tomorrow -- including our live town hall from New Hampshire at 12:30 PM ET -- and if you haven't already done so,
please join One Corps today.

And from both Elizabeth and me, have a safe and Happy New Year.

Your friend,

John
And once more, here is a link to the video announcing his candidacy.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

John Edwards knows a lot about poverty, after all, he’s helped throw a lot of people into it with:

- his co-sponsorship of H-1b visas,

- his support for illegal aliens,

- his vote for MFN-China

but what about stuff like iraq war and the patriot act?

well, he voted for them too

About the only thing you can say for Edwards is, he spent so much time running for president that he didnt have time to do more damage as senator

You’ve got to ask yourself - ‘what did he do, with the power he had, when he had it?

doomsy said...

He had a lot of company regarding the votes you mentioned. Does that automatically mean that anyone else who did the same thing shouldn't be allowed to run for president?

Of all the Democratic candidates, he's come around as best as he can so far in my mind. He still has work to do, but on the issues that matter to me, I don't see anyone else any better.