I miss John Edwards so much

[adnelson60087]

in this race. He was the only voice worth listening to, above the hateful rhetoric and empty buzzwords. I truly miss his presence in the race. It just breaks my heart on a daily basis to see what this race has devolved into and know John was the only one who could have made this country worth believing in again. I miss his spirit and message. When was the last time we heard Obama or Hillary say "povertty" and really mean it? Damn, i miss him and Elizabeth too! She was so real and genuine. I am saddened for our party and by extension, the country.

[cornermouse]

1. I hear you and agree totally.

[Catchawave]

2. We all do, many new communities are being developed

to bring Edwards Democrats together, it certainly helps to be with like minds. Check out:

http://winetourfeasts.com/edwards/index.php

http://johnedwardsmovementcontin.smfforfree4.com/index.php

http://www.eenrblog.com/

They are all works in progress and you can become part of building new communities. Edwards would like that we stay inspired and continue his message :D

Believe it or not, outside of the JRE-DU group there were several active blogs and group lists dedicated to JRE for President. When he suspended, many of those groups combined to start new blogs and discussion boards to move forward.

This doesn't mean I'm leaving DU or Daily Kos, they are still the best open communities on the internet !

[ChiciB1]

3. We ALL Miss Him So Much!! And Thanks Catchawave... I Think I'm

gonna go with EENR real soon!
:hi:

[MissDeeds]

4. You speak for so many of us

and so eloquently, too. I think this party, and more importantly this country, lost something when John Edwards left the campaign. I am heart sick and disillusioned. He was someone who I believed could turn this country around and put us on the right track. I hold little hope for us considering the three options we now have.

[saltpoint]

5. No reason at all that you should not feel sad that a very good man is

no longer in the race.

There's also no reason at all that you should assume he was the lone possibility for leadership for our country.

That isn't fair.

[adnelson60087]

7. Fairness has nothing to do with this election cycle

otherwise Hillary and Obama (neither of whom I would classify as particularly liberal or progressive) would not be the only 2 left standing in this "historic" charade. Fairness would demand that the candidate who pushed the envelope for Corporate responsibility, Poverty issues and workers' rights would still be on the playing field. That would be John Edwards, IMO.

[saltpoint]

8. Well, it looks like we agree on the issues confronting our nation.

I personally felt that Edwards' preparation generally and on domestic policy particularly, was the best since RFK, bar none.

Just my take.

[Two Americas]

9. quit it

Really, OC, this is out of control. This NOT the place, and this is certainly not the thread to be promoting Obama on.

No good can come from what you are trying to do. Please reconsider it.

Not "fair" to whom? Don't insult and condescend to people here.

[saltpoint]

10. You're a good soul, Two Americas. But I'm here to praise

the Edwards effort for elevating the issues I have cared about all my life.

Who knows -- I might have cared about them longer than you have.

[Two Americas]

11. when you are in a hole...

...stop digging.

[saltpoint]

12. Good advice -- if we were on a construction site.

But we're in a political forum.

Have you read Cuomo on Lincoln? It's quite a good text, and air-tight on refrences.

[cornermouse]

18. one little problem.

Remember? I certainly do. Let me help you. A copy and paste job.

Old Crusoe Donating Member (1000+ posts) Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Sun Mar-02-08 05:40 AM
Response to Original message
6. I voted for Sen. Obama in my state's primary.

And not on the color of his skin but on the content of his character, if I may rip off a famous American civil rights leadaer.

Found under "I've wanted to say this for some time about Obama and his supporters"

[saracat]

6. Me too!

[LiveLiberally]

13. What bothers me most is that....

Edwards suspended his campaign to, in his words, "let history blaze its path." But in any other election year, Edwards would have been history in the making. I grant you -- the first truly competitive woman and African-American candidates do represent a break from the past, but so did Edwards -- and not as simplistic representatives of race or gender (I realize I'm not being quite fair to either Clinton or Obama but that's not my point here.)

In fact, I would argue that Edwards was the only candidate that uniquely transcended 20th century American notions of gender, race and class. Yes, he is male, but from his brilliantly independent wife (I used to love how Elizabeth would interrupt his stump speeches and how they would just play off one another instinctively) to his impeccable record on women's issues to his obvious dedication to family, he epitomizes a progressive vision of a gender-equal society. Yes, he is white, but as a son of the south he is remarkably free of its baggage and moreover has the genuine roots to help America leave behind definitively its sordid racial past. And yes, he is a wealthy son-of-a-mill owner, but one who never forgot where he came from. His life embodies (in a way Bill Gates never can) the American dream for ordinary Americans who also want to succeed without leaving behind the communities and values that made them who they are.

The media likes to brand candidates with simple labels and Edwards transcended all of them.

[TexasBushwhacker]

14. I really don't think those were his words .....

"Let history blaze its path" - oh please. It made no sense that just days after Edwards said that he was in it until the convention, that fighting poverty was the cause of his life, that he would drop out 6 days before Super Tuesday. No, I don't have proof that he was pushed out, but it was rather amazing that Ted Kennedy announced that he was endorsing Obama within days. He says that Obama reminds him of Bobby, which is interesting considering that Robert Kennedy, Jr. had already endorsed Clinton weeks before And Howard Dean has certainly been throwing his weight around as well. So I think that considerable pressure was put on Edwards to leave the race before Super Tuesday because they thought that would allow Clinton or Obama to seal the deal, AND THEY WERE WRONG!!!! Now things are more messed up than ever, because on issues and experience, we have two candidates that really aren't all that different. But one is FEMALE and one is (half) BLACK! That's what the MSM latched onto.

[saracat]

15. And I say "screw their history making race.". They aren't getting my support and I am thrilled

John hasn't endorsed.

[TexasBushwhacker]

16. I'm glad too

It just verifies what I've felt all along. That Clinton and Obama aren't that different on the issues, and if either of them even came close to agreeing with him, he would endorse them. He hasn't because THEY AREN'T! The same can be said for Al Gore.

[saltpoint]

17. The knockout punch point in your last line there is not only instructive,

but inspiring.

He did transcend the media's treatment of him, because (I'm giving my opinion here) Edwards has done this instinctively for as long as he was a conscience adult.

I read your post and see praise also for Elizabeth, and applaud your impulse to praise her because neither of them are inadequate alone but both are wildly bolstered by the other. These are two hugely impressive people.

A very affirming post on a very decent couple of great human beings.