Saturday, November 15, 2008
Some practical suggestions for John Edwards, and the media
The author of this story has some practical suggestions for John Edwards to rehabilitate himself.
Here's the thing: other than serving one term in the Senate (much of which was spent running for the White House) and two unsuccessful presidential campaigns, what has Edwards really done to warrant a national platform? I mean, even put aside the whole adultery thing; Edwards hasn't exactly accomplished all that much to warrant the prominent place in national life he clearly desires.
If eliminating poverty is truly "the central cause" of Edwards's life--as he's told me and countless other reporters, and as he told the Indiana students earlier this week--then there are plenty of ways he can act on that cause. He could return to UNC's Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity that he helped start in the years after his 2004 presidential bid--and which he promptly left once he embarked on his 2008 campaign. He could restart the non-profit Center for Promise and Opportunity, which he set up after his '04 defeat and which helped with post-Katrina relief work in New Orleans (among other things)--and which he then shuttered during the '08 campaign. Or he could just reactivate his College for Everyone Program, which he founded after his '04 defeat to give college scholarships to graduating high school students in an impoverished county in eastern North Carolina--a program he said would serve as a national model--but which he promptly abandoned after he lost the '08 race. Or he could even do something new--like putting his weight behind the creation of the SouthEast Crescent Authority, which would be modeled after the Appalachian Regional Commission and which would do a helluva lot more to end poverty in North Carolina (and, eventually, elsewhere) than debating Rove in San Francisco and speaking to college students in Indiana.
Of course, all of this presupposes that John Edwards was even remotely sincere in his ambition to spend other people's money to eliminate poverty. As is evident from the linked post, there is no evidence of that, either.
The press, for whatever reason, loves John Edwards. He has accomplished far less of substance in his life than -- dare we say it -- Sarah Palin, yet for some reason nobody thought up the "qualified to be president on January 21" standard until this year. Even before the tabloids proved his affair, the mainstream media had its suspicions and probably knew the truth, yet it had no reluctance to pursue every fabricated blog post about Palin's family life, including the parentage of her children and their sexual practices. The contrast in coverage of these two vice presidential candidates is arresting, and it reveals more than any other disparity the rank partisanship that dominates the mainstream media.
6 Comments:
By 
JPMcT, at
Sat Nov 15, 07:10:00 AM:
The qualifications of John Edwards and Barak Obama are pretty much identical, except Edwards was an actual SUCCESSFUL attorney..and, of course, he's white.
Neither had the administrative qualifications of Palin.
Unfortunately Palin is a conservative...which, in the eyes of the press, is far worse than being unqualified, white, female or adultrous.
Hey, by the way...has ANYBODY actually found the source of the recent round of Palin smears from "The McCain Camp"? I would find that FAR more interesting than who outed Valerie Plame!
By 
, at
Sat Nov 15, 10:14:00 AM:
For me, the start of Edwards public rehabilitation is very, very easy; simply release the complete medical records of his wife Elizabeth.
Why? Because I believe that he/she lied about her having cancer to gain sympathy and support. He is, after all, a plaintiff's attorney and, I believe, she is, as well. They get paid to lie.
The media accepts as gospel anything the lefties claim. Let;s see the verifiable truth about her health and then he'll regain a modicum of credibility.
Next, I'd like him to disclose where he, Kerry, Biden and Obama take their Washington, DC girl friends for "socializing." Sure, Georgetown townhouses are fine for most things, but why have a knockout piece of eye candy if you can't show her off to people who will appreciate her AND keep their mouths shut.
By , at
Sat Nov 15, 07:24:00 PM:
After that last comment, I will try to bring the discussion back out of the gutter...
Camille Paglia has yet another great commentary in Salon.com this week defending Sarah Palin. She is still furious about her treatment by the main stream media and every liberal she knows. As a staunch feminist, she cannot believe the cheap shots that Palin has had to endure and yet, Edwards had none of this thrown his way. She is both mad at her own party for overplaying their hand as well as the media for equating being pro-life as being a religious freak and anti-feminist.
By , at
Sun Nov 16, 12:37:00 AM:
Camille Paglia probably has a crush on Sarah Palin. Camille,
Sarah Palin is not a feminist or a lesbian, too bad for you.
By , at
Sun Nov 16, 08:28:00 AM:
OH I see Anon, so Feminism is the belief in the power of woman, only as long as you are pro-choice. So, if you chose to be pro-life, therefore you cannnot be a feminist? Do, I have that right? Are there other disqualifiers too, like being religious, or loving men, or working outside the home too?
By the way, Anon, Camille Paglia had a very good article on this ridiculous litmus test for Feminism and it may be a good read for you to find it.
By JPMcT, at
Sun Nov 16, 09:19:00 AM:
"Sarah Palin is not a feminist or a lesbian, too bad for you"
I personally think Sarah Palin is EXACTLY what "Feminism" as a movement needs to reassert itself into the mainstream of society.
Camille Paglia makes this point in her excellent blog on the subject.
The Feminist movement has been captured by political partisan and ideolologic leanings to the point that it has become a caraciture of itself. As such, it is no longer effective.
Thus the free-rein attacks on a female public figure like Palin.
Paglia is an intellectual and, although I may not agree with everything that she says, she is right on the money with Sarah Palin.
Palin is EXACTLY what the feminist movement needs to make it's case...a strong-willed, independenetly-thinking, confident woman who can have a family, a husband, a sick child and a career and still not break into a sweat at a media attack.
The fact that she is a conservative should make no difference.
That fact that it DOES make a difference delegitimizes the feminist movement even further.
With proper development, Sarah Palin could be the "Ronald Reagan" who will come to our rescue after the next four years of liberal insanity.
Methinks that there are those in the media who know this...
