So to try and determine what exactly went on, I first read this blog post from Dick Polman of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Aside from noting that John Edwards was asked a question about gay marriage, I could detect no other mention of Edwards in Polman’s summary.
Polman’s post, aside from that, belabored the point that Hillary Clinton didn’t define “liberal” in a way that satisfied him somehow, and also noted again that she is somehow emerging as an anti-war hawk in the eyes of our august corporate media despite the fact that she mistakenly voted to authorize the war (though she had a lot of company, including Edwards, who owed up to it long ago). Polman also praised the YouTube questions for the most part, though he issued this patronizing warning directed at the questioners: “If the Internet is indeed today’s version of the Wild West, then give it a sheriff” (Polman was quite rightly taken to task for that condescending slight by a commenter).
And this also made me laugh…
“…everybody was asked why the quality of the balloting process varies so much from state to state, in an era when a Starbucks latte tastes exactly the same regardless of locale…”So let’s see…if some freeper out there wants to Google “Democrats” and “latte liberals,” they’ll find Polman’s post, since he used all of those words. Very clever keyword use, Dick.
Like every other corporate media analyst, Polman recites his perceptions and also some demographic statistics to enhance his argument. I could merely accept that if it weren’t for the fact that it was slighting the rest of the field, thus reinforcing the “Dems have to fight 7 against 1” narrative (though he has to take shots at Hillary from time to time, which he does in this post to the expense of covering just about everyone else – as usual, it’s more of writing about a spectator sport than real analysis of anything, leading one to think they’ve decided how they’ll cover this based on who they think will win).
Well, before we form too many notions about this based on reading journos who think they’re handicapping a horserace, I’d like to present the following from the John Edwards campaign (if you want to donate, fine, but more than anything, I ask that you watch the videos)…
Dear Friend,I should also note that Polman here spends a good bit of time describing how he thinks Elizabeth Edwards played into the hands of Hillary Clinton with some recent remarks defending John on women’s issues (which, truth be told, affect everyone); it would have been nice if Polman had devoted anywhere near that amount of space analyzing Edwards on issues that matter, as Paul Krugman did here on Edwards’ health care proposal (I’ll make it easier for Polman – here’s a link to the issues page of Edwards’ site so he can find source material).
Something happened in last night's CNN/YouTube debate.
A stark difference between the candidates became clear. When John Edwards said what needed to be said, if we want "real change, big change, bold change...we can't trade our insiders for their insiders." And then urged all of us to stand up for what really matters.
Watch the video that everyone is talking about - and help continue last night's momentum by showing your support for John Edwards by contributing today:
Click here.
Take a look at the moment in the debate that everyone needs to see and help spread the word by sending the link on to your friends and family.
Click here.
According to CNN, viewers rated that moment the highest of all the candidates - but more importantly it has sparked thousands to join our cause.
Because if you believe this country needs fundamental change - not compromise, not triangulation, not empty rhetoric - then there is something important that all of us need to understand from John's words last night:
"The people who are powerful in Washington - big insurance companies, big drug companies, big oil companies - they are not going to negotiate. They are not going to give away their power. The only way that they're going to give away their power is if we take it away from them."
Those interests are not going to fund our campaign. Far from it - they are going to do everything they can to stop us. And, that is why if we are really ready to stand up for what matters:Ending the war in Iraq. Taking on the insurance companies and HMOs to fight for universal health care. Taking on the oil industry and fundamentally changing our energy policies to end global warming. Taking on the powerful who care about nothing but profits and greed at the expense of working people, the middle class and the poor. And returning our government of the people to the people.
It's up to us.
Either we fund this campaign and make the difference or it falters because I guarantee you no one else will.
What really matters?
What you do now - really matters.
Contribute and spread the word about the one candidate and the one campaign that will change America.
Click here.
Thank you for everything you do,
Joe Trippi
John Edwards for President
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
I have no illusions about what John Edwards is up against here, by the way. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are fundraising machines for the good reason that they are good candidates, and Edwards has to make a good showing in the early primaries, winning at least one.
However, Edwards has been tested in a prior presidential campaign, he has a track record of service in government and his legal career that is unmatched by any presidential candidate anywhere, and he is the only candidate in this field (as far as I’m concerned) who really understands the damage Bushco has done to this country and has the determination, compassion, and intelligence to do all he can to reverse that damage, most notably concerning the Iraq war.
I don’t expect Dick Polman to say that. However, I expect him to give Edwards a bare minimum of coverage (including a comment or two about the videos I linked to above with Edwards speaking with passion about James Lowe, among other topics - the "hair" musical ad was clever too, I thought).
But of course, our corporate media has decided that they don’t like Edwards because he’s a legitimate threat to the status quo. And that should only strengthen our resolve.
One final point - in one of the videos, Edwards talks about how he's fought the insurance companies and big pharma, among others, his whole career; this is the evidence.
(And this post applies to that fool Richard Cohen also..."Euro-trashy indulgence by a self-proclaimed avatar of the poor"? Well done - now go sit up and beg for your milk bone from David Broder, dean of the beltway gasbags, you lap dog!)
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