EDWARDS LIVE!!


I saw John Edwards live for the first time today at a "Round Table Discussion With Workers About Labor In America", which was held at the NYC joint board of UNITE . The whole event lasted little more than a half-hour, with Edwards giving a short speech on labor issues, and then taking questions from local UNITE members. Despite the relatively small gathering, I can't say this was the ideal forum for me to get a first glimpse of senators, given that the array of questions posed by the various garment workers pretty much all boiled down to asking how he would ensure their jobs (or even more impossible get their jobs back). Edwards however was impressive. He was able to pivot deftly from wonky recitations of his relevant micro-initiatives on college education, low-income wealth creation , economic revitalization of depressed communities, and tax reform to clear Clintonesque empathetic connection with questioners. More than anything else, I left the room feeling that any Democratic voter who thinks John Kerry has the best shot of wooing the blue collar swing voters essential to beat Bush is simply not paying attention. Bush's campaign is sure hoping that for at least two more weeks that continues to happen.