JRE Buzz Special Edition: Following Edwards--Webisode One

This is the first of a series of webisodes that shows Edwards when he is not on the stage, as he says in this video. He's very aware that he's been outed as a phony, pretty pol with great photo ops, but people do not know him otherwise.




Newsweek published an article about this webisode this week:

"The Webisodes are the brainchild of Rielle Hunter, a filmmaker who met Edwards at a New York bar where Edwards was having a business meeting. "I didn't think it was John Edwards," Hunter recalls, "because the public persona did not mesh at all with the person who was sitting in front of me." Hunter pitched Edwards on the documentaries as a medium for bringing the "real John Edwards" to the people."

To take this one step further..from the summer, about six weeks before this was filmed...remember when I blogged about John Edwards when he was invited as a speaker at Gnomedex ? Gnomedex is one of several blogger conferences, but focused more on the technology end of it, or it had, until Edwards showed up.

In the Q & A part of (which was about 95% of the session), one blogger said he was tired of politicans who come across as fake, and wondered why they spoon fed their messages. Some wanted more technology outreach via SMS. JRE was able to plug in that his site, One America, was doing that now, as of yesterday. Some wanted to know what the new technology would be in the future to communicate. JRE: I don't know. You tell me.

A little later, another blogger came up with an idea: give a free seat on each campaign trail bus for a citizen journalist, and to persuade the other side to do so as well. Edwards: good idea.

At the closing of Edwards' speech/session, he reached out to the attendees:

"I want the country to know who I really am, not the plastic doll version who looks perfect all of the time, but I want you to actually see who I am... Because I think if you see who I am, and it takes a lot of confidence, you'll decide I am somebody..cou.. should become your president.

Last thing he says: big priority for me to be able to be here with you. I wanted to hear what you all are saying. I also hope...to Help me and others open up this process, make it not-top-down and democratize this democracy we supposed to be living in."

This is just the first one in the "behind the scenes" look at John Edwards, who is expected to announce his intentions to run for President in 2008-- very soon in NOLA.

Hope you enjoy it as I have. And...he's wearing the poverty band I gave him.

Tags: John Edwards, webisodes, Presidential Race 2008, benny's world