VOTE DEMOCRAT

First--I don't care who you vote for as long as they're a Democrat, or even a true conservative, such as Ron Paul.

Just don't vote for yet another hypocritical liar who says one thing and does another, who steals from the poor to give to the rich, who starts wars and kills hundreds of thousands with no good reason, and who is trying to undermine democracy and personal freedom at every turn.

OK?

That's not much to ask.

Next--While John Edwards was my first choice, since he's out of the race, I urge you to vote for either Hillary or Obama. Either one. Take your pick.

Either will seem like the height of competence and honor after eight years of total incompetence and dishonor.

Nobody knows how long it will take to undo all the damage the Cheney/Bush Regime has done to this country--and they've make it their priority destroy democracy and freedom as we've known it, and that's the only thing they've been successful doing!

But we all know that we have to change direction, that we have to try to repair the damage and move on.

As much as I used to respect McCain, he's shown in the past four years that he is willing to sell his integrity to the GOP, which is very sad. I'm sure he's fine man, but he hasn't demonstrated backbone, integrity and honor the past four years.

So--whether you want Obama's slick if calculated Kennedy-esque brand of Change, or Hillary's slick if calculated newfound warmth brand of Change--just choose one and vote.

Vote with your money, vote with your voice, vote with your vote.

The Reagan Playbook of Presidential Platitudes

There's a candidate out there, I'm not going to name names, who others find inspiring and personally I have so far found unconvincing.

Why? Because this candidate is a Democrat who's selling a 21st century "Morning in America" shtick straight from the Reagan Playbook of Presidential Platitudes.

I remember hearing this all before.

Then again, I think it's meant for a young audience who will find it all very new and inspiring.

While it doesn't make me think less of this candidate, it makes it difficult to see who they really are beneath the rhetoric.

The good news is that there are still two liberal candidates in the race, and it's still a race, so the media hasn't been able to declare a winner without even an election.

So Vote.

Why I'm for John Edwards

(Postscript: Edwards exits with honor) Salon Magazine's Walter Shapiro wrote a great piece about Edwards's exit:

"Edwards ran boldly as a unabashed heart-on-his-sleeve, union-windbreaker-on-his-back old-fashioned populist. As the most liberal (whoops, progressive) major Democratic presidential contender in more than two decades, Edwards walked the picket lines and spoke passionately of poverty and injustice.

What Edwards offered -- through all the debilitating and often irrelevant flaps over haircuts, hedge funds and humongous houses -- was an opportunity to return the Democratic Party to its blue-collar roots. As he put it with characteristic fervor Wednesday, "I don't know when our party began to turn away from the cause of working people, from the fathers who were working three jobs literally just to pay the rent, mothers sending their kids to bed wrapped up in their clothes and in coats because they couldn't afford to pay for heat."

...Edwards requested only one thing when he telephoned Obama and Hillary Clinton Tuesday night to confide that he was considering withdrawing before the Feb. 5 primaries.

What Edwards asked for and received was a commitment from his erstwhile rivals that they make the eradication of poverty a central theme in their campaigns."

This is the kind of man who would have made a president for the people, and will, I imagine, continue to make a positive difference in this country and world.

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A president is elected, because people like them, even trust them, to do the right thing.

John Edwards has the charisma, warmth--and experience it takes to be win the election and make a good president. While the president is perhaps the most difficult and important job in the world (I say that from the POV of an American!), it's also one where intelligence and even their stated goals aren't the most important thing--their personality is.

When I see John Edwards speak I trust him to do the right thing. He'll stand up for what's right, rather than just what's politically convenient. Here's a strong statement he makes about giving all Americans health care (rather than the ones who can afford whatever the insurance companies may demand, and are then lucky if they're not canceled if they get sick).

Here's Edwards talking about his Patients Bill of Rights--he's fighting for you and me, not insurance companies, or pharmaceutical firms:

“When I’m president I’m going to say to members of Congress and members of my administration, including my cabinet: I’m glad that you have health care coverage and your family has health care coverage. But if you don’t pass universal health care by July of 2009 – in six months – I’m going to use my power as president to take your health care away from you. There’s no excuse for politicians in Washington having health care when you don’t have health care.

Why do I support Edwards? Because I think he's the most "real" honest and connected of the candidates. Hillary is brilliant and would make a fine president, but she's a political animal, and so while things may get passed, they will get watered down along the way. Obama is a fine man,
but he speaks in political platitudes. I've listened to his Iowa speech and he speaks as if he's a presidential hallmark card. All very nice and grand, Regan-esque in its lack of specifics.

John Edward talks like a smart, caring man.

Hillary and Obama are playing political games, waiting to vote on issues regarding the war until they see how the other votes. We don't have time for games, we need action.

Watch Edwards' speech after Iowa--he talks about people, about health, about jobs. Unlike the others, Barak and Clinton, he speaks in specifics--what needs to be done for the people of this country.


And here's an American who lost his job talking about what Edwards said to his son:

Go to Edwards' site and see more.