She is an eloquent speaker, an expressive author. Elizabeth Edwards is effervescent, effusive, and has an excellent mind. She understands profound policy issues as easily as she prepares a sandwich. Her memoir appeared on The New York Times bestseller list. Few think of Elizabeth Edwards as every woman. Other daughters of Eve might say Edwards is exceptional; surely, she is not as I am. Yet, life experiences might have taught Elizabeth Edwards otherwise. Just as other ladies, she is brilliant, beautiful, and not nearly equal to a man.
Good evening, and welcome to a semi-retro version of the EENR: the Edwards Evening News Round-up.
My friends, family, and acquaintances have all thought John and Elizabeth disappeared into the sunset since they are not on the MSM nightly news or in national newspapers. Not so! John and Elizabeth have been traveling and speaking at venues this past week about the issues Democrats care about. Included are video clips from TV and radio appearances (courtesy of NCDem and other outlets).
Top stories: 1. John Edwards Interview in Rolling Stone
2. John Edwards Speaks at USW Conference
3. John Edwards Talks to Campus Progress and NPR in DC
4. Elizabeth Edwards Jumpstarts Healthcare for America Now
5. John Edwards Travels the Northeast for Half in Ten
6. Elizabeth Edwards Discusses about living with cancer on NPR
7. Is John Edwards on the Short List for VP?
Barack Obama kicked off his general election campaign in Raleigh, NC on Monday, an indication that North Carolina will be a targeted state in the fall. Obama delivered a major speech on the economy at the NC Fairgrounds, marking the beginning of a two-week tour through the state, focusing on Economic Policy.
During his speech, Obama went into full general election mode, launching a direct hit on McCain's Economic policy, calling it a "full throated endorsement of Bush's Policies."
Obama Slams McCain's Economic Policy
"But when it comes to the economy, John McCain and I have a fundamentally different vision of where to take the country. Because for all his talk of independence, the centerpiece of his economic plan amounts to a full-throated endorsement of George Bush's policies. He says we've made "great progress" in our economy these past eight years. He calls himself a fiscal conservative and on the campaign trail he's passionate critic of government spending, and yet he has no problem spending hundreds of billions of dollars on tax breaks for big corporations and a permanent occupation of Iraq -- policies that have left our children with a mountain of debt."
Elizabeth Edwards Calls Racist GOP Wright Ad an "Assault Weapon"
Taking time off from her family vacation in Florida, Elizabeth Edwards commented on the GOP racist ad, "Extreme," during an MSNBC interview, calling it an "assault weapon." Elizabeth went on to support Obama's decision to separate himself from Reverend Wright.
Opening with a mention of the media's (lack of serious) coverage of the Pennsylvania primary, Elizabeth hits the nail on the head and calls the press out for what it has become: shallow. She also notes that she is not alone in this observation.
I'm not the only one who noticed this shallow news coverage. A report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy found that during the early months of the 2008 presidential campaign, 63 percent of the campaign stories focused on political strategy while only 15 percent discussed the candidates' ideas and proposals.
The picking of our president is too important a task to approach without good, solid analysis of a candidate's policies and positions.
Yesterday, I wrote about McCain calling Elizabeth Edwards' comments as "a cheap shot."
I had an inclination Elizabeth would not sit down too long to take any BS from McSame, who accused her of "cheap shots" when it came to his governmental coverage for healthcare.
And I was right. She wrote something for the Wonk Room at Think Progress, which is the bigger blog for the Center of American Progress...and where she is a senior fellow.
Opening remarks:
John McCain accused me of taking a "cheap shot" on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" yesterday for noting that people with preexisting conditions, such as he and I have, would not be able to get health care under his plan -- and that he perhaps was not as sensitive to this problem as he should be since he has been in government health care his whole life.
This morning I watched This Week as John McCain was being interviewed. It was clear many times that McCain was very uncomfortable with Georgie's questions, most of which were legitimate about McCain's policies and agenda. He squirmed in his chair, dodged most of the answers. In particular, the one about health care seemed to have gotten his hackles up when Elizabeth Edwards' criticism was displayed on the screen.
"He has not spent a single day not protected by a federal health plan, not a single day of his entire life, and yet he denigrates this care."
She was referring to John McCain, who was first insured as the son of a Navy man, then as a Navy officer himself and finally as a member of Congress.
For the sixth year in a row, the percentage of uninsured Americans is on the rise. Just in 2006, 2.2 million Americans joined the ranks of the uninsured. Back in 2002, The Institute of Medicine released its second installment of a six part report on what happens to thousands of Americans who lack health care coverage in America. The result was shocking, 18,000 Americans die every year because they lack health care coverage.
We need universal health care in this nation. Nyceve has written about it extensively. (Read the NYCEVE diaries here.) Many kossaks, like myself, have long supported single payer. Last year, John Edwards came out with a universal health care plan that was a road to single payer.
Elizabeth Edwards spoke about universal health care on Olberman last night:
Elizabeth Edwards is right.
On Olberman last night:
I keep getting asked the difference between these two candidates and their policies and on health care, I prefer Senator Clinton's to Senator Obama's.
The difference-more important to me is the difference between Senator McCain's proposed plan, I said plan, with the ideas of either of the Democratic candidates, and you're talking about narrower differences between the Democrats and then this gulf that I was describing earlier, a solar system of difference between what Senator McCain is suggesting for health care and what these candidates are suggesting.
More, after the fold, including video on Elizabeth on Olberman and ABC, among other places.
(our very own Elizabeth the Great... - promoted by pfiore8)
Elizabeth Edwards knows who the real enemy is and what is at stake in this election. While there are differences betweeen Obama's and Clinton's health care plan, both are far, far better than what John McCain has in store for us.
Last weekend, Elizabeth Edwards took on McCain:
Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former Democratic presidential contender John Edwards, said she and John McCain have one thing in common: "Neither one of us would be covered by his health policy."
Hey all, I'm back again with another installment of EENR for Progress. This edition was inspired by John and Elizabeth's Edwards recent announcement of the Iraq Recession Campaign. Tonight I'm going to focus on the interconnectedness of our failing economy and the Iraq war. Follow me below the fold......
John and Elizabeth Edwards may not be on the 2008 presidential campaign anymore, but they are on a different campaign: making connections between the costs of the Iraq war and our weak economy.
Elizabeth Edwards, who is good about making constructive criticism of the media, observed that reporters
"certainly don't cover the connection between the issues," she said the American people see there is "undoubtedly a connection between oil, the costs of transportation in this country, and this war."
March on Washington
Good evening, and welcome to a semi-retro version of the EENR: the Edwards Evening News Round-up.
This morning I watched This Week as John McCain was being interviewed. It was clear many times that McCain was very uncomfortable with Georgie's questions, most of which were legitimate about McCain's policies and agenda. He squirmed in his chair, dodged most of the answers. In particular, the one about health care seemed to have gotten his hackles up when Elizabeth Edwards' criticism was displayed on the screen.
