Edwards Enters 2008 Presidential Race

[Pangloss]

Well John Edwards threw his hat into the ring today. Unfortunately it fell into levee mud and got pretty dirty. What do you all think? Serious run or just a play for the loony left?

 

He's staking out a pretty specific campaign focus, and I have to say it's not a traditionally popular one. What poor people is he going to help, exactly? The ones with two cars, a house, a DVD player, a game boy for each child, and 13 maxed-out credit cards, that the Census Bureau says are "living beneath the poverty line"? (I can help those folks right now -- just hand me their credit cards.)

 

But seriously, I cannot remember a presidential run being based on a less popular issue. He might as well be announcing that he's going to throw away the Social Security lock box. What the heck is he thinking?

 

It'll be interesting to see if his statistics on the poor wax and wane along with his popularity numbers.

[Sisyphus]

I don't even understand why he would announce so soon. I mean, we just had an election. Last month. And now we're already having another one? Doesn't anybody govern anymore?

[Pangloss]

January of the year before the election has become the "traditional start" of the campaign season. In reality, several leading candidates, including Edwards, have already been canvasing Iowa and New Hampshire (the first two primary states) for the past year.

 

It's also about fundraising. It takes a long time to raise money (or at least establish the mind share necessary to get people to sign checks).

 

What's screwed up is the primary system. We've talked about this before, and probably the best solution would be to have a national primary, where all states vote at the same time, using the same rules, just like the general election.

[Mokele]

What poor people is he going to help, exactly? The ones with two cars, a house, a DVD player, a game boy for each child, and 13 maxed-out credit cards, that the Census Bureau says are "living beneath the poverty line"? (I can help those folks right now -- just hand me their credit cards.)

 

I think I've brought up this objection before, but I'd love to see where this characterization of "poor" comes from, and, more to the point, I'd love to see numbers attached. You can get a car for $500, a house for $15k, and a DVD player for $20, if you buy third-hand and aren't picky about quality. And perhaps the maxed-out credit cards are maxed out because of the need to pay the lease, pay for the cars, etc.

 

I agree we ain't exactly Somalia, but I think your characterization is disingenuous, especially since it doesn't mention the value or quality of the items listed.

 

Mokele

[ecoli]

Everyone and their mom's is planning on running for president in 2008. I can tell already its going to be a really intense race, and a rely important election year. Even the primaries (especially democratic) is going to be exciting. I know I sound like a huge nerd, but it's going to be very exciting.

[Sisyphus]

Yes, yes, yes, but who's running in 2012? Or 1016, for that matter? You can never start campaigning too early.

[Pangloss]

I think I've brought up this objection before, but I'd love to see where this characterization of "poor" comes from, and, more to the point, I'd love to see numbers attached. You can get a car for $500, a house for $15k, and a DVD player for $20, if you buy third-hand and aren't picky about quality. And perhaps the maxed-out credit cards are maxed out because of the need to pay the lease, pay for the cars, etc.

 

I agree we ain't exactly Somalia, but I think your characterization is disingenuous, especially since it doesn't mention the value or quality of the items listed.

 

Mokele

 

Well there was a bit of humorous exaggeration intended to be obvious, but the general idea of it comes from a fully sourced discussion about the 2000 Census (when DVD players were much more expensive, btw), which is still available here on the board. I'm scratching my head because I thought you participated in that, but it's possible you were away at the time.

 

The real point is that it seems to me that we do not know how many poor people there are in this country. We only know how many people aren't keeping up with the Jonses.

 

I saw a news story last night about how the gap between the haves and have-nots is the highest it's ever been. So what? I care about people starving in the streets. I don't care about whether every single one of my fellow countrymen can afford a BMW and an X-Box 360. Nor should I be forced to pay for that, which is, so far as anybody can PROOVE, exactly what we're talking about.

 

If Edwards wants to talk about problems in the health care industry, social inequalities (ala racism in the justice system, education system, disaster relief, etc), or actually helping the homeless (if he can find any), I'm all ears. But if he's just going to spout rhetoric that sounds like one thing but actually means something else, then I'm not interested.

[JHAQ]

Who wants to elect a shyster lawyer who made a fortune pursuing tort law & exploiting ignorant emotionally susceptable jurors against the medical profession & distorting all that is the worst in such a "legal" system

[Pangloss]

BTW, if there are any poor people in this country, I'm sure John Edwards will find them. You know, using his psychic powers and all.