John Edwards

Tonight I made another trip to Washington, this time to see John Edwards speak in the old gymnasium at the high school. Beth and I had gone to the Pork supper at IMS and when it appeared she wouldn't get done in time for me to leave, I left her there - though I did make arrangements for her to get home. Fortunately she is understanding of my eccentricities. Then I faced the question of why, when you are in a hurry does every car you get behind go 40 - 45 mph down the highway with few if any places to pass.

I made it to the school and found a parking place right in front even though I was late. I found the old gymnasium, one of those cracker box gyms with a balcony or railing up above. The seats were full so I headed to a place where I could stand, when a young women came and offered to usher me to a seat. My seat was on the platform behind the speaker and in front of a large U.S. flag. Four years ago I caucused for Edwards so I have seen him several times and continue to view him favorably.

Elizabeth Edwards was introduced and received a standing ovation from the crowd of 100 to 200 people. She focused on electability and compared some polls showing how her husband compares to Obama, Clinton, Gulianni, Thompson, and Romney. She introduced John who came in to a Springsteen song. I couldn't tell which one because the sound system was not so good and it was compounded by the echoing of the gym.

Edwards talked about Universal health care, economic inequality, global warming, the war in Iraq and finished by mentioning the recent Senate vote on Iran. He did this all in 10 minutes or so and then asked for questions. After answering questions about renewable energy, Iraq and Iran, gun control ("tell your son, John Edwards won't take away his gun"), trade policy, and the Warren Commission, Elizabeth suggested he take some questions from the people sitting behind him. I raised my hand and after no one else in the section apparently did, he called on me.

I asked the same question I asked Richardson, saying I had been in the West Bank this summer and asked for his ideas on how he planned to approach the region. He said he favors a two State solution. He said we need to follow the road map which was established a few years ago. I don't know if he was referring to Camp David, Oslo, or something else. He said he had been "in the territories" a couple of years ago where he had a chance to meet with people from the Palestinian Authority. He said, "there are Palestinians who want peace and we need to work with them." He said we shouldn't work with Hamas as long as they do not recognize the right of Israel to exist and as long as they promote terror. "The President and the Secretary of State need to be involved in providing leadership in this region, something this President hasn't done."

Then he moved on. I would have liked to ask if he favored a return to the '67 borders, the road map he mentioned, or East Jerusalem. But I have learned it is difficult to get a follow up question in this type of setting. The candidates like to get as many questions asked as possible, even if some of them are goofy, or maybe they actually prefer the goofy ones, like the one about the Warren Commission.

Edwards didn't answer my question as completely as what Richardson did, but then most of Edwards answers were shorter than Richardson's. He did seem to know something about the situation, he answered the question in a way that didn't really offend anyone which I imagine was his goal.

After my question a women asked about Iraq and where he saw the situation 10 years from now, a women whose husband is in the National Guard and has been in Iraq asked about what pulling the troops from Iraq says to those who have served or to those who died. Elizabeth helped with this one telling a story about her father who served in Vietnam.

It was all over in less than an hour. When he shook my hand he said, "so you were in the West Bank?" I said yes but before I could ask him a question one of his staffers pulled him away. Where do I rank these guys so far? Right now I would go with Edwards, followed by Richardson, Obama, Dodd, Biden, and then maybe Clinton. Tomorrow if all works out I will see Chris Dodd, then I do my program at Washington Mennonite. Sometime I need to track down a couple of Republicans.
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