And thhheeeeeeeey'rrrreeee Offfffffffff

[Dreadsox]

John Edwards announced his candidacy for the President of the United States of America

[U2Man]

really?

will kerry be his vice president?

[Justin24]

I would rather see a Edwards/Obama presidency and Vice Presidency

[U2Man]

when are the primaries to be held?

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

*gets bucket of cold water for Laura*

[anitram]

I don't believe he will be the candidate. But in a year and a bit if I'm wrong, you can all laugh at me and I'll take it like a woman.

[verte76]

I think he has a decent shot. He fits the stereotypes--white, Southern, Protestant, male. He's a naturally gifted political candidate--very charismatic. Elizabeth fits the mold for First Lady as well. A member of the press--I forget who--called her "motherly". Quite frankly, I think Teresa Heinz Kerry went over like a lead balloon as a potential First Lady. OK, OK, I can hear people yelling "I don't vote for the first lady". It's amazing how many people do at least partially vote for the first lady. In 2004 my mother was in the local hardware store. Someone mentioned the election. Someone else said "I could never vote for Kerry. His wife used profanity with that reporter".

[U2democrat]

Originally posted by LarryMullen's_POPAngel
*gets bucket of cold water for Laura*

I was just thinking we'll have loads more pictures to add to the sexy John Edwards thread...

In all seriousness I have mixed feelings. I love John to death, my entire family lives in North Carolina (and they've lived there since about the 1600s), so naturally we adore him.

But I question his electability. He's already been branded a loser, even if he was only the VP on the ticket. Another question is his foreign policy experience. I admire everything he's doing with the poverty center, but in the age where someone will have to take the reins on Iraq, I don't know if the American people will believe he's up to the job.

Then again there aren't really many other Democrats in the field that I think could do any better than him.

Bottom line, my mind still isn't entirely made up, but I wouldn't have a problem voting for Edwards/Obama

ETA: He's having a kick off rally in Chapel Hill on Saturday...I think my parents and I might go

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

Obama/Edwards might be an awesome ticket, instead of vice versa.

If Obama goes in, I'd rather see him as a presidential nominee than VP, even though most would prefer him getting into things that way, at least at first.

[u2fan628]

Chris Rock said ,"If a black man was Vice President I would kill the President,because I would be a hero in the black community!"
Watch out for Chris ,Mr. Edwards.

[U2democrat]

John Edwards would not go for VP again. Would you if you were in his shoes? I wouldn't.

We'll see how things shape up the next 2 years.

[verte76]

Originally posted by U2democrat
John Edwards would not go for VP again. Would you if you were in his shoes? I wouldn't.

We'll see how things shape up the next 2 years.

I agree. I don't really agree with you on the "loser" label because he was John Kerry's running mate, and people were voting for or against Kerry, not Edwards. Edwards didn't have that controversy over his war record, etc, etc. I'm not a big fan of charisma personally, I prefer substance, but Kerry wasn't Mr. Charisma. At any rate, no way would I go for that second spot again. Edwards wants to be top dog again, no question.

[Diane L]

John Edwards will always have my vote.

[Kieran McConville]

This idea that someone must be male, white and southern to win, it bemuses me a little. As an outsider, could anyone tell me if the 'south' (however defined) is in some way a majority of the nation? If it is not, then why do we get this phenomenon? I notice it year after year, almost like, yeah the candidate's a librul but he's southern so that's ok then...

[verte76]

Originally posted by Kieran McConville
This idea that someone must be male, white and southern to win, it bemuses me a little. As an outsider, could anyone tell me if the 'south' (however defined) is in some way a majority of the nation? If it is not, then why do we get this phenomenon? I notice it year after year, almost like, yeah the candidate's a librul but he's southern so that's ok then...

The South has a humongous amount of the electoral vote, which is how the president is elected. Southern voters are conservative, for the most part. You should have heard Alabama political ads on the radio this year. It was the Liberal Bashing From Hell. These voters are the ones who want a white male Protestant to be President.

[redhotswami]

Someone told me that he has national healthcare on his platform?! I don't remember him saying anything about that last time. I thought Kucinich and Sharpton were the only ones who pushed for that. That's friggin awesome though, if it is true.

[A_Wanderer]

Im sure that the Republicans would agree.

[redhotswami]

[A_Wanderer]

What I don't understand is that although America lacks a universal healthcare system it still spends more tax money per capita on health.

[MrsSpringsteen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1etlZaf6zUw

Dear Friend,

I'm writing to you from New Orleans, where tomorrow I will announce that I am a candidate for president of the United States.

I'm announcing here because no place better demonstrates the two Americas I've talked about for a long time. But even more important, no place better demonstrates the power people have when they -- not Washington -- take responsibility and take action to build the America we believe in.


I'm running to ask millions of Americans to take responsibility and take action to change our country and ensure America's greatness in the 21st century.

And I'm asking you to play a crucial role in this campaign.

Last week I asked if you were ready to take our effort to change America to the next level. Thousands of letters have come in, and the answer was an overwhelming yes -- we're in this together.

That's why I'm asking you to help spread the word in your area by holding your own local "Citizens' Launch" event tomorrow. It just takes a few minutes to set up, and anyone can do it.

Changing our country means:

* Providing moral leadership in the world -- starting with Iraq, where we should begin drawing down troops, not escalating the war
* Strengthening our middle class and ending the shame of poverty
* Guaranteeing health care for every single American
* Leading the fight against global warming
* Getting America and the world to break our addiction to oil

That's not just my vision –- it's our vision. And we can't wait for the next president to take office to begin fundamentally changing our country.

And the truth is, we don't have to wait. Since I left Washington, I've seen firsthand the power that ordinary people have when we work together.

We worked with thousands of volunteers to raise the minimum wage in six states – and we got it done. We're making the first year of college free for young people in Greene County, North Carolina. And we've been working from the grassroots up to organize workers so they can stand up for their rights and earn a decent living.

And this week in New Orleans, I've been working with young people who gave up part of their Christmas vacation to work on rebuilding and helping those in need -- just like the hundreds of college students who came here to work with me during their Spring Break earlier this year.

This is the kind of commitment to solving our problems that I've seen time and time again over the last two years – and it reaffirms one of the great lessons of my whole life. The power of America doesn't lie in Washington; the true power of America is in the people of America.

That's why we're getting ready to launch a campaign that says to everyone who wants to take responsibility for our future: we can't wait until tomorrow. We must act now.

Tomorrow begins today.

Your friend,

John

P.S. Please forward this email or the YouTube video to your friends and family and ask them to join us.