Great article from the NewsObserver today. It's about a woman who thought she was encountering a famous concert pianist.
It's the first Monday of the new year, a fine day in Carrboro. I am at the Harris Teeter, list in hand, confidently navigating my weekly shopping. I turn into the cereal aisle and notice a guy in running shorts contemplating the organics. I say to myself, "Omigosh, that's Greg!"
I am a piano teacher. Greg is one of my colleagues. Since moving here a year ago, I have heard Greg play. He's outstanding, has received numerous awards and performs internationally. I have a CD of his music.
So she decides to say hello. Hi Greg!
According to her:
He turns around, smiles warmly.
I continue: "Marilyn Pinschmidt, programs chair for Durham and Chapel Hill Music Teachers Associations."
He still looks puzzled. He doesn't recognize me.
The man doesn't recognize her, mainly because he being called Greg and because he is looking for a cereal either EE asked for or he's curious about (my opinion only).
Then suddenly I realize this person may not be Greg, and in fact isn't Greg. Of course he is confused by this encounter. I feel disappointed that he isn't Greg. I am suddenly a stranger again in this "new" place. But this man somehow seemed so familiar --and I had confused him totally. He, of course, was clearly mystified by this encounter.
"Oh, you're not Greg McCallum, are you?"
The affable hand comes forward. "No. I'm John Edwards."
Then the moment of truth appears, and only an older woman or a precocious child would reply:
"Oh, I'm pleased to meet you." "But you look a lot like Greg McCallum. Greg's a concert pianist."
Edwards looked amused, "Wow. I wish I were a concert pianist right now."
Yep, I bet Elizabeth laughed at that one--and John smiling too, if he shared that moment with her. She's the musical one between them as a couple.
As one of my friends said, JRE never met strangers for long.
Here are the pics of Greg McCallum and JRE:
Yeah, maybe cousins, but JRE's hair is too full of calicks. And his eyes are so blue. I think I would have known him. But what an innocent way to meet your neighbors.
I think I would have asked about Elizabeth, Emma Claire and Jack.
From the Harkin Steak Fry. I filled out one of those coins of ideas for change. I want Universal Health care, but all of the folks in the video express the other ideas of change that I want as well.
One of them was about education. As a matter of fact, JRE came out with an education plan yesterday.
Here's an excerpt:
Edwards' plan for education reform will address the failures of the current system through focusing on the following principles:
Preparing Every Child to Succeed: As president, Edwards will launch a national "Great Promise" partnership to give a quality early childhood education to every four-year-old in the country � starting with poor children in neighborhoods with struggling schools. To reach even younger children, Edwards will create a national "Smart Start" program that will improve child care and invest in child health.
An Excellent Teacher in Every Classroom: Teachers, not tests, are the single most important factor in successful schools. As president, Edwards will increase pay for teachers in successful high-poverty schools by up to $15,000 a year. He will also create a National Teacher University � a West Point for teachers � to recruit 1,000 top college students a year, train them to be excellent teachers, and encourage them to teach where they are needed the most. His plan also will give extra support to teachers in the first years of their careers, reduce classroom sizes, and train more excellent principals.
Making Every School an Outstanding School: No Child Left Behind used cheap standardized tests to measure our children's learning, failed to accurately identify struggling schools, and mandated unproven cookie-cutter solutions for our schools' problems. Edwards will totally overhaul it so it meets its goals of helping all children learn through accurately identifying and improving struggling schools. Based on North Carolina's successful education reforms, Edwards proposed a School Success Fund to allow teams of experienced educators to spend a year at struggling schools helping launch reforms. Edwards will also launch a "Great Schools" initiative to build or expand 1,000 successful schools.
The energy and enthusiasm of high school students who want to make their community and their country a better place to live. One type of service program, service-learning, has been shown to have positive impacts on students' civic engagement, college enrollment, career development, and personal relationships. Nearly half of school-age children lack the activities and role models that are opportunities to make a difference through helping others. Edwards will create a Community Corps service programs for high school students. It will provide resources to high schools that choose to make community service a graduation requirement, helping them make service opportunities higher in quality and integrate them into the curriculum. [NYLC, 2006; America's Promise Alliance, undated]
Benny's idea: Or, another idea--have them work 10 hours a week for wages to show they can gain work skills and fiscal responsibility as they go to college or attend a trade school. This fits in with College for Everyone.
Yesterday, I got back from a trip to Tom Harkin's Steak Fry. It was like a cross between a big football game of rivals and a rock concert. It was far more diverse than I expected. One woman commented that she had never seen buses from Waterloo before. Waterloo has lots of African-Americans and Latinos in their town, according to one of my friends.
To give one an idea of the scene: Obamaians marched in from a rally across the street. I spoke with one of Obama's unpaid interns and he was very nice. Most Obama supporters were enthusiastic, but they were not rude like the punks for Madam Clinton. There were young cheerleaders for Madame Clinton who shouted at Fry attendees as we walked in. Then these same punks also tried to hijack an Edwards rally---older Iowans did not like it at all as they were Edwards' supporters. The older ones who supported Clinton didn't do those kind of antics.
Iowans take their retail politics very seriously.
A word about Tom Harkin first. He is so down to earth and he understands his constituents very well. He had some great lines, such as these:
"This is my idea of surge" and reported this was a record turnout of over 12,000 people. "Ready to do some preaching to the choir. Who is better a better choir than fellow Iowans?" "We are ready to kick some....elephants!"
Harkin made the grandest speech of the day, outlining things Iowans (and this Illini) wants: bold movement towards universal health care, global warming, etc. I liked it that he used a WWII expression that was the theme of the event, particularly for JRE:
"We will fight, but fear not".
I parked my camp chair and gear by some other JRE supporters in the back as I wanted to sit back, observe what was going on, and get into some conversations with Iowans at the event. The ones I talked to were impressed that I drove from east Central Illinois just to witness "a lifetime" event. I was not too far from the Edwards booth, which offered hand paddle/tambourines to shake and offered John Edwards pasties for temporary tatoos. One could also get face painting. The lady next me got a photo of her little girl with Jack and Emma Claire. That's impressive. I also liked the huge vertical signs that read Edwards 08. They stood out, as well as the airplane that flew about with a banner that read "Iowa is Edwards Country"
A HRC supporter and her husband, who was leaning towards Obama were to my right. I asked the HRC supporter why she supported her. She didn't have a clear cut answer, but my impression was that it was because Clinton was a woman. The supporter mentioned that her son was now in Iraq. I asked her if she knew if Clinton had a plan to get out of Iraq. She confessed that she had not heard one from Clinton. I said that I wish I could ask Clinton that question in addition to another: when in upstate NY International Paper was threatening to burn tires for heat and energy, workers wrote and called Clinton to ask to intervene. Clinton did nothing. They burned the tires, but the state finally got wind of it, and made them stop. So if Clinton was so concerned about occupational hazards and global warming, why did she let it ride?
The supporter's response? "Oh, I didn't know that".
Or when Clinton spoke later and said she would create jobs. I turned to the JRE supporter on my left and said, "She will? Why is it that she touted a foreign company (and paved the way) near Buffalo and said they would create jobs. They have 10 employees and they have outsourced all of the work to India?"
The JRE supporter said, really, and added, "well, she hasn't been to my part of the state, and probably won't get there. " I replied, "and she's not likely to, if your town is only 5000 in population."
Clinton lacked any empathy in her voice. She came across like she is seen in the 1984 video/Youtube. Even David Yepsen thought Clinton was not that great.
I had a few things to say Obama's record as well, such as he voted with the President most of the time and he voted to confirm Condelezza Rice. At this rally, he said he would not vote for supplemental funding for the war without a deadline (whatever that means). He claimed in 2004 there was no black or white America, but I think on that vote, it was more racially based. I also mentioned to the HRC supporter that Obama voted "present" on women's health issues while he was in the state legislature, but was glad to see he has progressed since then. His supporters though showed passion when he used the expressions "Fired Up, Ready to Go" and repeated after him when he said repeated the words 3 times.
"Good cheerleader" said the Iowan to my left.
Bill Richardson canvassed among the crowd. I said hello to him and took his picture. He has a good sense of humor and of himself. But I sure disagree with him on removing all of the troops from Iraq and leaving no residuals within 6-8 months. I don't think that is possible. He also commented that Al Gore was right, but he also hoped Gore would not run. Hmm, is that his worry? I think if I were he, I would be concerned about the uranium stock piles that haven't been accounted for 12 years.
Chris Dodd more or less told his story about being in the Peace Corps, inspired by JFK's call of service for our country. To his credit, the International Union of Fire Fighters were there to help promote him at the event. But Dodd said something really odd, such as that he would "restore the Constitution of the US" on his first day. I know what he meant, it had to do with Gitmo, but it was phrased so weirdly. I liked how he ended the speech with humor, saying that all of the 12,000 attendees were invited to spend the night at the WH if he were elected president.
JRE was by far the most revered of the candidates. (No I didn't get my pic made with him this time, but I got to give him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek which he returned in kind) To get a good summary of what he said (I took too few notes on his since I was familiar with his words), Patrick from the Century of the Common Iowan has a good report on his blog. But I will tell you that when Tom Harkin uttered "John Edwards" the crowd went wild and the folks in the front started chanting. Harkin was pleasantly interrupted a few times during his introduction. And when Edwards said we don't want to trade "Republican Corporate interests with Democratic ones", that got the most applause along with being able to sign a union card as easily as joining the Republican party. I also remember that Edwards said that all kinds of health care coverage would be included. A Native American man, who was on crutches, held one of his crutches up high in support. I took his picture later.
I felt the most sympathy for Biden. He had to follow Edwards, and he took too long to get to the meat and potatoes of his speech. I do remember that he talked about Iraq and it was more like a report rather than what his plan was, although he did believe the country should be segregated into three states so that the Sunis, Shias, and the Kurds would quit fighting each other.
As aside, I wish my good acquaintance Taylor Marsh had been at the Harkin Event and read the other reports about Clinton, whom she has a high regard for. Instead, Taylor has been very critical of Obama and Elizabeth Edwards for their criticism of last week's ad in the NYT about General Petraeus. I have to say that I disagree with Taylor on this one because MoveOn ultimately changed their ad on YouTube to focus on Bush rather than calling the general a traitor. Based on her show yesterday, I think Taylor is a bit displeased with the Edwards Online campaign for not being as responsive, but that's just my opinion. Keep listening to her, BW readers. She's still the best radio talk show host out there.
Speaking of media, you can find me on C-SPAN's show of the Harkin Fry. I'm there for 2 seconds about 2 hours into the program.
Anyway, I left the Steak Fry at 4:30, and didn't stick around as I needed to get to my host's place by dark. But it was a wonderful event. I only wish I could go caucus for JRE as Harkin said, "to make the vote heard around the world" in January.
JRE Buzz: Presidential Response to a Terrible Bush Speech
John Edwards bought some time on MSNBC to rebut Bush's "Return to Success" or "this is still a miserable failure, so give me more money and more time". JRE's response is truly a Presidential speech.
Edwards: supporting our troops and supporting a failed war are not the same thing. Tell Congress they must tell Bush that there is only one choice: No timeline, no funding. No excuses. It is time to end this war.
Update: US Senate candidate Steve Novick of Oregon agrees with John Edwards.
John Edwards to Hillary Clinton: We Shouldn't Be Taking Lobbyists' Money
Today JRE was in NH to formally accept his endorsement from the Carpenters' Union. In addition to thanking the Carpenters and his usual spiel of being for the working man and woman, he took the speech a step further in how he intends to be the one to change our government.
The former North Carolina senator accepted a major union endorsement while insisting that no Democratic candidate legitimately can promise to change America without swearing off special interest money from federal lobbyists. New York Sen. Clinton has refused to do so.
"When it comes to the existing lobbyist game, we've got to end it and not defend it," Edwards told more than 700 members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters union.
Apparently, Senator Clinton felt differently and said this last weekend:
...Clinton stood by her husband and said, "I've learned you bring change by working in the system established by the Constitution. You can't pretend the system doesn't exist."
Edwards fired back with this response:
"Senator Clinton is right. You can't pretend the system doesn't exist. But you can't also pretend that it works."
Read the rest here from WBZ News and watch the video clip of JRE speaking passionately about this and more with the crowd. Apparently, he was given a few standing O's and lots of praise through loud applause.
For other news and live streaming of JRE from a house party tonight, go to JRE's NH place at 6:30 ET tonight.
John EdwardsBuzz :East Coast, West Coast, North or South, No Matter
Look at this video from CA Dems convention...he rocked the place not only with music, but with passion to get out the freakin' war. The man was wrong, and he is pushing to get us out!
Read Paul Hogarth's post and read the rave reviews that Tom P posts from the Daily Kos.
OMGawd, the last few days have been cra-a-zy on the blogsophere, and quite a bit of it about the Edwards campaign. Good and bad, but I will report the good.
Yesterday, Edwards announced he would not participate in the CBC/Fox News Debate in Sept. Personally, I don't know what the CBC was thinking on this one as Fox wants to control the whole thing. Edwards campaign is about transparency. He's saying Fox News is Faux News with a direct bias against Democratic candidates, and they ain't being honest with the viewers. Here's his statement, through Deputy Campaign Director Jonathon Prince:
"We just called the CBC to let them know that we're looking forward to their January debate with CNN but we're not going to participate in the proposed debate with Fox. The CBC champions critical issues that matter enormously to the future of our country, and we look forward to discussing them throughout this campaign and at their debate in January. But we believe there's just no reason for Democrats to give Fox a platform to advance the right-wing agenda while pretending they're objective. If there was any uncertainty as to Fox's objectivity, it was put to rest when they attacked Democratic candidates, Democratic constituency groups, and the Nevada Democratic party when their last proposed debate was cancelled for lack of support."
It will be interesting to see what the other candidates do, but the rumor is that Bill Richardson wouldn't like participate either. Both Edwards and Richardson are smart on this one as the DNC isn't allowing this to be one of their 6 sanctioned debates. Thank you, Howard Dean!
Now, on to some other news.
The Edwards family (all but Cate) was traveling and doing some town halls. There are some good vlogs and CJ reports about them. Most seemed impressed with Edwards' ideas and specifics with them. Rather than list them, I suggest going to the JRE Blog Roundup that was posted yesterday.
Elizabeth was on Oprah. I admit I thought the whole hour was going to be with EE, but it lasted maybe 5-7 minutes. I have mixed feelings about it because Oprah didn't appear to be her sympathetic or empathetic self. I hope her reaction to JRE and EE's decision to continue on, "to live life" isn't based on her support for Barack Obama or is a talking point for him.
Edwards explains that it takes 7 hours to fill out a 1040EZ form. He's right that the average American has to spend hours, sometimes days to gather the data, then one calculates the tax etc. In his proposal, the IRS would do the work for us, send us our numbers since they already have the data, then either we agree and sign it, or do our own with a different form.
The big winner would be those who qualify for Earned Income Tax Credits and never it knew it.
I like this idea because it's example of how government should work for us when we've prepaid for their services.
The man has plans. I cannot wait for the SC debate on the 26th. The candidates will try to gnaw and attack his ideas, but I think SC viewers will see the campaign is about us, and not about big money or egos.
Lastly, I want to encourage BW readers to tune into Daily Kos about 8:30 CT for the Edwards Evening News. There are three anchors: TomP from St. Louis, Ladylib from TN, and Sally in SF. You get daily news about Edwards, and the water is really fine for a swim if you wish. Bloggers are friendly.
Update: Watch this awesome video of stops in NH earlier this week, courtesy of the Washington Post.
This week has been phenomenal. I've seen more diaries about the Edwards campaign around the blogosphere, most of them about endorsements, house parties, polls, or Elizabeth Edwards' health.
This week, Edwards picked up some key endorsements in WI, MN, and KY. Most of them are influential legislators who can help with the organization of the campaign, which means ground boots support. Two of the folks are current members of the House and chair key committees: Rep Obey of WI is chairs Appropriations, and Rep Oberstar of MN chairs the Transportation and Infrastructure. The two gentlemen are standing behind JRE in the picture that was taken last September.
Wednesday was the National House Parties day for the campaign. I did not host nor attend one as the closest one was near Chicago. I didn't host because right now my spouse is busy with work-related stuff and we just didn't have the time or energy to get one together. But I did get to see the DVD that was mailed to anyone who was going to host such an event. It is about 12 minutes long.
Rather than rewriting what I thought about it, Citizen 53 did a nice diary on the Daily Kos that said what I thought too.
To see more about the houseparties, George Stern at JEFP has compiled pictures and comments. Apparently, one of the bonuses of hosting was that JRE gave a conference call to all parties. How cool is that!
Polls are a funny thing. I've seen comments that Vilsack's exit out of the race helped Madame Clinton, whereas others think it helped Edwards in Iowa. In either case, Obama got no bump out of it. Chuckles1 wrote a clever diary this topic yesterday on the Daily Kos. Bottom line: Edwards is not "a" front runner; he is THE front runner in the Hawkeye State. John and Elizabeth will be back in Iowa (and NH) next week to talk more about health care, global warming, and other issues of interest to voters and caucus goers.
Yesterday was quite a day. Be Inspired over at the Daily Kos penned a diary about seeing JRE and Elizabeth upclose last week when they announced that the cancer had returned, but they would continue on the campaign. It was a moving personal story in and of itself, but then the responses were so poignant. These are the ones that brought some emotion for me:
My husband's last unemployment check was just cashed Monday. I don't know how or where it'll come from but I think I have a couple of bucks I can spare. If it means the difference between Edwards being president or another four years of the same s**t, different face, I have to try and help.
It's funny though... as I was watching the press conference unfold, I immediately wanted to send them a whole bunch of money.
Hillary is detached and slippery.
Obama talks pretty but that's all he does.
Edwards needs to be our next president to fix this country and make it America again.
Thanks for a wonderful diary from the inside. It means a lot.
And this one:
I just donated a little..
I plan to do much more in a few months, but am on disability now, so funds are low...but with surgery scheduled next week and a six week recuperation time frame I should be back to work in a couple of months and then I plan to donate monthly.
I appreciate the diary and look for any Edwards news here daily. Howard Dean pulled me into politics for the first time in 20 years (although I always voted) and I am supporting Edwards this time because he has been walking the walk these past four years. I will support the candidate who wins the primary, but it will be soooo much easier to talk to friends and neighbors about Edwards in 2008...you know when the other 95% of the voters start paying attention. :)
For anyone in KY - take a look at Miller/Maze for our Gov. race!!! THEY ROCK!
-Michelle
So amazing, people who hardly can afford much of anything, and they want to see positive change for this country.
If that weren't enough for one day, during my lunch hour I saw this post over at JRE's blog:
You all have hugged me, and I thank each one of you. From the posts on the blog here (and nearly everywhere, it seems), to the emails offering support and prayers and remedies and affection, to the cards and letters I cherish, to the flowers and teddy bears, the elixirs and photographs -- including the astounding twelve dozen -- yes, you read that right -- twelve dozen beautiful pink roses from Democratic Underground -- you have hugged me, you have made a difficult time easier, and you have hardened my resolve (okay, maybe my resolve was pretty hard already) to fight this.
Yes, this is Elizabeth Edwards, thanking the bloggers, especially those at the DU, for the 144 pink roses she received this week.
I noticed last week that the DU was going to do this. Onebluenation got it rolling, and by Monday, over $500 had been raised. So, I decided to post Elizabeth's note at the DU (since I am a member).
Wow, it made the front page in 3 hours. Amazing. It's still there, 165 recommends later.
So this week, in which today is the end of the first quarter, has been like the song, the Waters of March, which I'm very fond of. It's a Brazilian tune by Jobim.
Here are the lyrics:
A stick, a stone, It's the end of the road, It's the rest of a stump, It's a little alone
It's a sliver of glass, It is life, it's the sun, It is night, it is death, It's a trap, it's a gun
The oak when it blooms, A fox in the brush, A knot in the wood, The song of a thrush
The wood of the wind, A cliff, a fall, A scratch, a lump, It is nothing at all
It's the wind blowing free, It's the end of the slope, It's a beam, it's a void, It's a hunch, it's a hope
And the river bank talks of the waters of March, It's the end of the strain, The joy in your heart
The foot, the ground, The flesh and the bone, The beat of the road, A slingshot's stone
A fish, a flash, A silvery glow, A fight, a bet, The range of a bow
The bed of the well, The end of the line, The dismay in the face, It's a loss, it's a find
A spear, a spike, A point, a nail, A drip, a drop, The end of the tale
A truckload of bricks in the soft morning light, The shot of a gun in the dead of the night
A mile, a must, A thrust, a bump, It's a girl, it's a rhyme, It's a cold, it's the mumps
The plan of the house, The body in bed, And the car that got stuck, It's the mud, it's the mud
Afloat, adrift, A flight, a wing, A hawk, a quail, The promise of spring
And the riverbank talks of the waters of March, It's the promise of life It's the joy in your heart
A stick, a stone, It's the end of the road It's the rest of a stump, It's a little alone
A snake, a stick, It is John, it is Joe, It's a thorn in your hand and a cut in your toe
A point, a grain, A bee, a bite, A blink, a buzzard, A sudden stroke of night
A pin, a needle, A sting, a pain, A snail, a riddle, A wasp, a stain
A pass in the mountains, A horse and a mule, In the distance the shelves rode three shadows of blue
And the riverbank talks of the waters of March, It's the promise of life in your heart, in your heart
A stick, a stone, The end of the road, The rest of a stump, A lonesome road
A sliver of glass, A life, the sun, A knife, a death, The end of the run
And the riverbank talks of the waters of March, It's the end of all strain, It's the joy in your heart.
Watch Jane Monheit sing it.
Note: Waters of March is not only dedicated to the Edwards campaign, but also to my spouse, JRZ. Today's our wedding anniversary--number 6.
Be Inspired over at the Daily Kos has all of the latest multimedia links to John Edwards' presentations, apostles' testimonials, appearances on talk shows, and articles which support some of JRE's plans. Be Inspired did this in part as she wrote:
John Edwards is a great presidential candidate. He speaks to the heart of the problems facing our nation. I think the best way for him to gain supporters is for people to hear him. With that in mind, I've put together a page of links to his recent media appearances.
I'm compiling these links for two reasons:
1) Those of us who have already made our decision to support him and to reach out to others online will have the resources we need at our fingertips.
2) Voters who are still in the process of deciding on a candidate need to see this!
I hope these links give you a clearer picture of John Edwards as a person and a candidate. I find that usually the more people know about him, the more they like him.
Well, this will come in handy. Thanks to Be Inspired for doing what I used to do over here, and have had less time to do the JRE Buzz.
I will leave one of the links here: Bill Mahr's interview of JRE on Real Time. Edwards is so refreshingly honest, sidesteps a bit with tricky questions that could set off gossip, and laughs at some of the zingers Mahr throws at him.
Update: the blogger said she cross-posted this same round-up at the following sites:
This blog is for my friends and acquaintances who were formerly with the John Edwards campaign, which had the most progressive agenda. I am a progressive liberal, musing about politics and life.
