Arkansas Blog: The blow-dried Kingfish

Entering to the strains of Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising,” John Edwards started an Iowa State University campus event pretty much on time, an exception for the almost always late Edwards. About 250 folks were on hand to hear his “Marathon for the Middle Class” closing argument. And, as promised, the former trial lawyer gave a full-voiced populist attack on the “corporate greed [that] is destroying the middle class…and is stealing your children’s future.”

In the speech, Edwards—introduced by his wife, Elizabeth, and the first lady of Iowa—described the“epic fight” with insurance companies, drug companies, oil and gas companies, and other “entrenched monied interests” that only he could lead. Most tellingly, Edwards said that negotiation with those interests “will never happen when I am president.” In the 25 minute speech, Edwards used the word “fight” dozens of times. His rhetoric made obvious just how soft the populist language being used by Obama and Clinton in their closing arguments.

Most recent Democratic presidential candidates for president who have employed populist themes, e.g. Dick Gephardt, have tended to focus on labor organizations as the instruments through which change would come. Edwards, the trial lawyer, presents a post-union populism recognizing that unions will never be a force in American life. It makes sense that this son of the South—where unions have never taken hold—would see other means of creating this change, a la Huey Long. And, in the South, trial lawyers have often been that force, although the justice has been a bit more ad hoc than is the case with organized labor.

At the close of the speech, the themes of Edwards’s 2004 “two Americas” speech came back in. In 2004, Edwards was unclear how those two Americas would become “one.” Now, he’s clear: only a hard-nosed fight against those in keeping Americans divided by wealth will produce that change.

After the speech, Edwards did a press availability where questions focused on process, particularly the degree to which Edwards delegate numbers can grow through gaining second choice votes. The Edwards campaign thinks that most of the second choice votes will come from nonviability candidates (like Richardson, Biden, and Dodd), but they also have hopes in rural areas of picking up votes from the less organized Clinton.

The countdown to Thursday night begins.

Comments

Wouldn't it be something to have a president who was more concerned about people than about corporations? Who understood why running the country like a business is wrong?

The only trial lawyers I have ever known (admittedly not a large number) seemed to be honestly interested in protecting little guys from the powerful. Yeah, they got rich doing it, but you know, they're performing an invaluable service.

I hope Edwards is still a viable candidate by the time I get to vote.

Posted by: Archaeopteryx | January 1, 2008 04:24 PM

So is the "Blow-dried Kingfish" a traitor to his class.

Liberals, you better be glad the Kingfish hisself and Roosevelt were big time traitors to their class, although the KF only betrayed Louisiana middleclass bigotry -- brave enough.

Pick a politician who does not betray his class, at least economically, say Al Sharpton.

Posted by: Polecat | January 1, 2008 07:06 PM

That's a great ad and I hope Ms Brantley shows it to Hillary. Since currently American politics and big business reflect the ethics and honesty of Juarez, Mexico, it's high time someone comes along to straighten up the mess. If the Arkansas Times started a sister publication named Honest Politics & Business Only, Max would have a hard time filling up one page with news.....cause there ain't no such thing as honest politics or business in the USA today.

While I'm itching to have the first woman or the first black as our next President, I don't think we'd go wrong with John Edwards in the White House. But I'm still impressed that Chris Dodd was the only candidate to bother to come off the campaign trail to do his job in the Senate and stop a bill that would have given retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies after they've showed Bush their bellies and spied on us. Dodd should get a lot of credit for standing up for the Constitution while the rest ate rubber chicken dinners in Iowa.

All the top tier candidates are rich as shit. Kids in Botswana know their names. They can snap their fingers and get all the drugs and sex they want. It's time someone in that illustrious position decides to do the right thing for a change.

The groundwork is laid, things are so FK'ed up, that if our next President takes charge and governs in an impartial, unselfish way that elevates everyone, gets us out of the war and torture game, stops America from having the reputation of being the biggest thug on earth, restores, you know, what they used to say on Superman, truth, justice and the American way.....well, that person will wind up with their face on Mt. Rushmore along side the other great Presidents of the past.

We're broken. Politicians and big business have milked the last drop of blood from our rotting carcases. America can't take another neo-con or con artist or faker or liar and cheat. We've got to get a good one this time around.

Posted by: Deathbyinches | January 1, 2008 07:39 PM

Arkansas Blog

The blow-dried Kingfish

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