Great Edwards profile in Christian Science Monitor

[DemDogs]

<http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1029/p01s04-uspo.html>

"Winning the hearts of Iowans, hosts of the first presidential nominating contest (Jan. 19), seems a task made to order for a politician who knows how to work a crowd. First, there's the look: Edwards doesn't dress like a rich senator. On a recent swing through Iowa, his uniform was khaki pants, a blue button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up, no tie, no jacket, no Rolex. Then there are the hands; Unlike Al Gore, he knows what to do with them, almost shaping his arguments in the air. Whether in a union hall or a living room, he projects relaxed confidence. Over and over, Iowans who see him up close say, 'He's one of us, but with a Southern accent.'
...
"Edwards isn't shy about answering a question with 'I don't know.' And sometimes, he says, you have to tell jurors - and voters - things they don't want to hear. But he's learned that 'you better be the first one to tell 'em, because otherwise they'll think you're hiding it from 'em.'
"As it happens, there isn't much in his Iowa speeches that the locals argue with - including his protectionist stance on jobs (standard North Carolina fare, but at odds with many Democrats nationally), support of agricultural subsidies, and concerns about civil liberties.
...
"In many ways, John Edwards's 50 years of life have seemed charmed. Blessed with a Pepsodent smile and the drive to succeed, he has the kind of up-by-the-bootstraps life story that the likes of George W. Bush and Howard Dean can't match."

[JohnKleeb]

1. Thanks though I am a Kucinich supporter, I really enjoyed

reading about Edwards. Glad to know that he remembers his roots, fights for the regular guy, that he helped with the patient bill of rights. A tale of sucess and a man with some pretty damned good ideas is Edwards, its sad he lost his son.

[Rooktoven]

4. The best article about Edwards I've read

is here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A40174-2001Aug6¬Found=true

It's a year old, but gives really good insight into the guy and his family. He _is_ the real deal.

[chimpymustgo]

2. He had me at "hello".

I like Kerry. I like Clark. I love John Edwards.

[sandnsea]

3. "Why I Want to Be a Lawyer"

Early works: Vowed to "help protect innocent people from blind justice the best I can" in essay, "Why I Want to Be a Lawyer," written at age 11.

Very impressive. He needs to publish this little gem. I can't recall many 11 year olds wanting to be a lawyer, especially to help innocent people from 'blind justice'.

[jeremiah fpoa]

5. Edwards' sincerity

In all honestly John Edwards, whom I've met on a number of occasions, is the most sincere and earnest politician one can imagine. Of course it's part of a politicians job to emulate these atributes in order to make people believe them, but John Edwards is so altruistic in his motives that one can only believe he means everything he says. He runs his campaign to reach out to individual people, not to reach the media - that's why polls numbers are initially low but are steadily climbing. I'm very excited about his prospects because once people get a real chance to know who he is and what he is about, they jump on the bandwagon. Let's just hope there is enough time. Go Edwards.

[DemDogs]

6. That common touch

is what will attract people across the country once he is gets the coverage he deserves.