Monday, November 20, 2006
News Edwards for president in 2008?
Posted by Web Editor on Mon, Nov 20, 2006 at 2:22 PM
When he ran for president in 2004, John Edwards used to talk about "two
Americas." One for the rich and well connected. And one for everybody else.
In the aftermath of 9-11, enough voters still trembling with images of the
collapsing World Trade Center didn't know if the affable one-term senator
with TV-sitcom good looks had the foreign-policy gravitas to secure America.
But on the way to giving the presidential nod to globe-trotting war hero
John Kerry, Democratic voters also made it clear they liked Edwards
enough to keep hearing him all the way up to the end of the primary, when
Gephardt, Dean, Graham and Clark had already bowed out.
They also felt there was enough alarming blueblood aloofness and Yale
stodginess in Kerry to warrant the selection on the ticket of someone who
could credibly feel America's pain, the way Clinton could, for example.
So they went with son-of-a-mill-worker Edwards in the No. 2 slot, and
it seemed like a good fit.
Kerry was foreign policy. Edwards was domestic policy. Kerry had killed in
combat. Edwards fought the good fight in the courtroom. Kerry was Northeast.
Edwards was the South.
It looked perfect -- until they lost.
Those around Kerry say there's no question he'll run again. But what about
Edwards, and what about Edwards alone at the top of the ticket in this
infamous "post 9-11 world" -- domestic policy-wise John Edwards? Housing and
Urban Development director? Yes. Labor secretary? Fine. Attorney general?
Maybe. But president? Could Edwards -- one term senator and trial lawyer --
handle the job?
Visiting Atlanta on Friday as part of a nationwide tour to promote his new
book, Home, he made a case for why America should give him a second look, emphasizing the old Edwards issues -- which he says represent not only good
domestic policy but are vital to foreign policy.
"We need to engage issues at home so we have the credibility to lead
abroad," he told an overflow crowd at the Georgia Tech Barnes & Noble. "It's
hard to lead abroad when what you do at home is not a model for the rest of
the world."
The rest of the world knows we're the largest consumer of fossil fuels on the
planet, Edwards said. They know about Guantanamo. Katrina. He presented
three domestic policy goals for the United States: universal health care
coverage, energy independence and eliminating poverty.
The explication came mostly in response to a young man who identified
himself as Pablo, a Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech and a native of Chile, who
asked how the former senator defines public policy.
"Finding ways for government to provide opportunity for everybody," Edwards
said.
He avoided taking a direct shot at the wounded occupant of the Oval Office,
but confessed the next president would have a particularly difficult job
trying to restore America's leadership role in the rest of the world. We
have learned two painful lessons in the past few years, Edwards said. One is
that raw power alone will not make you a leader, and the other is that
without American leadership in the world there is no leadership. He cited
failed opportunities for the international community to fight poverty and
disease in Uganda and genocide in the Sudan.
"The key for us is to be in a leadership position so that when we face a
crisis the world comes to us," Edwards said.
There were obviously some big Edwards fans in the audience.
"I hope you strongly think about running to be our next president," a
tremulous woman's voice spoke into the microphone when it was passed through
the crowd.
The remark received a big hand.
Edwards didn't crack a smile.
"Anyone considering running needs to strongly consider what you're going to
accomplish once in office," he said.
But a question about the future sparked another question about the past,
specifically Edwards' bid for president and subsequently vice president.
"Anything you would have done differently?" asked Clarence Woodell, a
Georgia Tech student.
"Oh, yeah," said the former candidate. "Starting with winning."
He waited for the laughter to die down.
"It's impossible to overstate how much you learn from going through that,"
Edwards said. "You gain a maturity that's not achievable in any other way. I
would advise anybody who's serious about running for president to visualize
sitting in the Oval Office facing the most difficult questions a president
would face, including the working with the Republicans, and with other
leaders of countries who are hostile toward us. No one should run for
president who doesn't visualize that."
A president needs to tell the truth -- even when the news is not good. Even
when the news is dreadful, as it frankly is right now.
"Anybody who tells America that this is a plan for Iraq and this is how it will
succeed is not telling the truth," Edwards said. "In Iraq right now, there
are bad choices, and there are worse choices."
He enumerated the qualities voters need to look for in a presidential
candidate. A president must be honest, straightforward, possess a clear set
of convictions and be authentic.
"Anyone who has those qualities will stand out like a nail out of line,"
said Edwards, who took about a half dozen questions before settling in to
sign books.
One person in the audience later said he thinks Edwards embodies the very
leadership qualities he identified. "What you see is what you get," said
former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes. "I hope he runs again. He'll have my
support."
-- Max Pizarro
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