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I've spent all this time while others were fighting over it in long consideration. I've read both the positive things posted about the various choices, and the negative screeds posted in response. I know who's been bashed and why, and I know where I stand in respect to the issues themselves.
Let me preface this announcement by saying that I truly like Kucinich. So far he's the only potential Democratic besides Mike Gravel who's directly went after the failed and futile "War On Drugs," which I believe has been a monumental waste of energy, resources, and human lives. However, I don't believe Kucinich has the broader appeal to garner the vote of millions of Americans who might join us in the attempt to topple the neo-con agenda.
I think triangulation and half-hearted measures to appeal to the "left" are an insult to those who want to see a truly different America. This isn't meant as a personal insult to the other two top-tier candidates, but simply a statement of my perception. I think Hilary would make a decent President, but I'm almost certain that the status quo has nothing to fear from her. I think it likely the same can be said about Obama.
Therefore I choose John Edwards as my preferred candidate. I think he speaks directly to the preservation of the middle class and an all-out assault on the ravages of poverty that our culture (particularly the corporate media) has rendered all but invisible to the vast majority of Americans. He seems to realize that we ARE in a class war, declared by the wealthy against the poor and middle class, and that refusing to acknowledge it is downright stupid.
Recent events have led me to the conclusion that Edwards is the one the Wrong perceives as the biggest threat, and that in itself tells me more than anything else.
My first step was adding Edwards to my Myspace friends list. A small step, perhaps, but quite symbolic in itself if one has ever VIEWED my friends list, which is generally made up of people of four different categories--real life friends, fellow authors, readers, and musical acts I myself enjoy listening to.
My second step was to announce it here.
My third step will be to send him a copy of my essay "Everybody Matters." Another small thing, perhaps, but I think it captures the very heart and soul of what his campaign stands for and I hope he finds it useful in some capacity, even if it's only as another American's way of expressing the same things he is saying.
Should he get the nomination, it would be my recommendation that he ask Clark to be his running mate. I think the two of them would bring to the table everything necessary to defeat whatever Klown the Republicans nominate in the end.
That is all. I now return you to your regularly scheduled debate.
;)
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