Edwards IS "the Man:" Word From Top. Media Covering Him Morn to Night

[Sensitivity]

It looks to me that some folks very high up in Corporate are
pushing Edwards. I have counted Edwards getting more coverage that Dean who is getting more coverage (negative) than Kerry. Whoa!

Am I counting wrong?

Why is Edwards been pushed so hard. Is he good for corporate? or is he easier for Bush to beat?

[Walt Starr]

1. He's a fresh young face

That always sells soap.

Looks like the Board of Directors will probably pick Edwards for the CEO slot. The old face is starting to age and needs to be redone.

[cthrumatrix]

2. we all know media wants to pick bush's candidate....that's why

after they saw what Dean had to offer...they attacked ...

Any candidate being pumped by the media is at their mercy.

[leyton]

48. If Dean had been attacked by the media

the polls would have shown it long ago. The fact is, people started tuning in, saw Kerry and Edwards, liked them better, and voted for them, despite Kerry and Edwards getting little TV coverage.

And the DNC put Kerry and Edwards in first place... how? Oh, right. They didn't. Iowa voters did.

[mlawson]

52. I really, really do not think that Rove wants to run against Edwards.

Suicidal, he ain't!!!

[patricia92243]

3. The pubs have already said they would love to run against an "ambulance

chaser". They would eat him alive - no foreign or domestic experience to speak of.

[spooky3]

7. Please get your facts straight rather than repeat Repug talking points.

--20 years as a successful business owner, fighting for the little guy--does this not count?
--overcame the Repug machine to win election in a conservative state. That nasty epithet was used in that election also and his response to it helped him win. Why would it be more effective today?
--aggressive and significant service on important Senate committees such as select com. on Intelligence. Helped to block unqualified wingnuts nominated to federal judgeships.

Bush has more experience as a President--does that make him more qualified?

Please see the other threads today on this myth.

[Lex]

39. Been there Done that

Yes I agree!

You are right--the Republican incumbent THAT EDWARDS DEFEATED thought he could beat Edwards with the "ambulance chaser trial lawyer" bit, but Edwards turned it into a "I represented working families with injured kids against nasty corporations and big uncaring hospitals."

Word is that those families are waiting in the wings to talk about how Edwards went to bat for them against corporations and HMO hospitals.

Edwards will beat Bush to death with that "ambulance chasing" stuff. He's ready for it.

He's used it to his advantage already.

[DjTj]

10. They said that in NC in 1998, but who's laughing now?

:toast:

[surfermaw]

54. What is your problem

Are you going to take your marbles and go home because your man lost to Kerry and Dean...my my you surely can't say it is because he didn't get enough coverage from the media...while John Edwards and Kerry had to buy air time if they got any...Did they lick off your candy

John Edwards, is growing in polls and popularity, because he is himself, and he tell the truth, and is a guy who beleives in letting the other guy sell him self, or stifle himself with his on mouth or deeds,

Edwards is a find young man who has made it on his own, and is no ambulance chaser. He has one little girl who had her inside sucked our by a pump in a swimming pool, Edwards investigated and found the company had problems before, the court room was packed with lawyers all over the state to see young Edwards win his case for this tiny little girl...this little girl today is in her home, with her parents, they couldn't have kelp her at home if John, hadn't won the case...this child today is being fed by tubes, every day and night. Now call this find young man any thing you want..but let me tell you he has been fighting battles like this for his life time as a lawyer, and he beat them , beat them , and beat them and all without the help of a silver spoon from a dad.

[Raya]

4. I Agree. Kerry Victory Was Incredible. But Media has Focus on Dean Gaffe

and I agree, a lot of attention to Edwards, though I am not sure why.

It is very weird. Doesn't seem that Edwards credentials compare with
either Kerry, Clark or Dean. He is super nice, but why Leader of the Free World?

[Zech Marquis]

5. the fresh face sells

I know it sounds vain, but looks sells. Edwards is for all purposes the "fresh face" alot of media types love. Alot of voters also happen to like a fresh face too--shallow, dumb, and petty--yes, but for many voters, looks count a great deal. Just like Paris Hilton--someoe decided she "looks cool" :eyes:

[bearfartinthewoods]

26. i saw a interview with his wife and she said this has been

a problem for him all his life. people look at him and think he's "too pretty" to be smart. she said it's the same thing as the 'demb blonde" stereotype. she also said he uses it to his advantage if people underestimate him...hehehehe

[tryanhas]

38. Paris Hilton???

The "face" is nice.

Now if she just had some meat on her bones, lol...

[Cuban_Liberal]

6. Why shouldn't he be getting coverage?

He pulled off an amzing finish in Iowa, and lots of folks are taking a second look at him, the media included. :)

[goodhue]

14. exactly

[DjTj]

8. Edwards might be the absolute worst candidate for corporate America...

...He spent his entire career suing corporate America.

From his website:

http://www.johnedwards2004.com/budget-and-taxes.asp

Edwards will:

End the excessive profits that banks earn on student loans.


Stand up to insurance companies, drug companies, and HMOs to reduce health care costs while improving the quality of health care.


Cut federal subsidies for major oil companies, mining on public lands, and millionaires operating farms.


Create a commission to examine and eliminate unneeded corporate subsidies.

Edwards will:

Eliminate tax loopholes that allow companies to avoid taxes by renouncing their U.S. citizenship.


End corporate tax deductions for companies that buy "janitor's insurance"—life-insurance policies on rank-and-file employees whose families never see a dime in benefits from those policies.


Require companies to explain the differences between the profits they report to investors and those they report to the IRS, and crack down on peddlers of abusive tax shelters.


Enforce our tax laws to collect from wealthy corporations and individuals who do not pay.


http://www.johnedwards2004.com/cleaning-up-washington.asp


President Bush’s prescription drug and energy bills contain billions in giveaways to drug and energy companies whose lobbyists have collected millions in donations for Bush’s campaigns. Among the presidential candidates, only John Edwards has never taken a dime from federal lobbyists or Political Action Committees, and he never will. Edwards will ban members of Congress and the president from taking campaign contributions from federally registered lobbyists.

[goodhue]

16. good point

Did Kerry and Dean build their careers by challenging corporate greed and injustice? Don't think so. This Edwards as corporate shill meme is hilariously off-base.

[AntiCoup2K4]

23. Ah, but you're missing the point.

They don't want Edwards because he's for corporations, they want him because the Rove media machine can easily exploit his youth and inexperience (in political terms) and make him an easy mark for Junior. And before you take out the flamethrowers, I would much rather see Edwards in the White House than Kerry. But facts are facts and a one term senator is gonna have that vulnerability.

[tryanhas]

37. And you are missing the point

They cannot exploit his youth and inexperience.

If he can go through the nomination process, meaning tried in the fire, and going up against seasoned veterans to get the nomination, meaning THAT THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY selected him for the nomination, then the inexperienced argument is not going to wash.

Besides, he has more foreign policy experience that Bush or Clinton had when they got into office, and he has more foreign policy experience than Howard Dean has right now.

Edwards has served on the most important committees in the Senate: Intelligence, Small Business, Education, Health, etc.

He is not as unexperienced as they will try to make him out to be, and when he COMES BACK AT THEM WITH HIS DETAILED PROPOSALS AND EXPLAINS HOW HE IS GOING TO PAY FOR THEM, then the inexperienced label will be replaced with perfect.

I don't think the inexperienced argument is going to work when you put Bush on the stage against Edwards in a debate and Bush is the one who comes off looking uninformed.

[spooky3]

53. and he has 20 years WORKING and building his own business

as opposed to being given businesses by his family and running them into the ground.

[leyton]

49. I don't care who Rove wants.

Edwards, Kerry, and Clark are about equal on paper, so I don't think Rove wants any of them in particular. But I have heard from many people that Edwards is the one they would vote for, and being from the south, I know that Dean won't play well here (he doesn't play in my liberal household).

[tryanhas]

36. About Dean being a doctor.

I can guarantee you that Dean would not have a problem with BUSH'S TORT REFORM proposals.

[beaconess]

9. Probably because he's interesting and provides fresh material

[Renew Deal]

11. Good looking, young, populist with a bus.

The populist bus thing worked for McCain.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WiseMen]

13. Incredibly Powerfull forces at work. Hard to know what's going on

[tryanhas]

40. That's right

And Pat Robertson is going to be surprised when he finds out that God is not on Bush's side.

After all, Skull and Bones is an occult organization, and Bush is a follower of Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the self-proclaimed REINCARNATION OF JESUS CHRIST, and head of the Unification Church that is determined to set up a one-world religion.

I remember that Thom Hartman was talking about Moon one day, and Bush's ties to him.

Lieberman is also a follower of Moon...

[ShaneGR]

15. Perhaps people just like the positive message?

Like me, I appreciate it more then the Dean message.

[goodhue]

17. indeed

A positive message is the only way to inspire new voters and swing voters to actually show up at the polls. It also helps with us long term democratic voters. Negative energy dissipates and gets you nowhere. An optimistic hopeful democrat. What a relief.

[AP]

18. This is interesting. Dean camp complains all week that the media is their

problem. However, at least NPR was loving him last week, and Rolling Stone had him on the cover. The theory at blogforamerica is that it's the media's fault, and not the messenger. Now the media IS in fact obliging (reporting exactly what Dean's putting out there) now that it looks like Dean's no longer viable at all.

They're turning their focus on the three main contenders (all who have had their moments of media adulation and media derision and media-ignore) and this is being spun as media-selection of Edwards. Why'd they ignore him for a year then? Why'd they prop up the first one to go down? Is this even happening (because I strongly disagree with the argument that Dean was taken down by the media prior to yesterday)?

There's something going on here. Something to do with the strategy of people who supported Dean. I haven't figured out what it is, but I'll be looking for the clues.

[Sensitivity]

19. Yes. Media Loved Dean. Now Dean out. Edwards In. Wonder Why?

[AP]

28. Three dems can win. Sow seeds of doubt in each.

Game is no longer to try to nominate a bad Dem, but to destroy all Dems.

Dean couldn't beat Bush. Kerry Clark and Edwards can. That's why the propped up Dean and not anyone else first.

If Edwards was so bad, why'd they ingore him for a year?

[Sensitivity]

31. Good Point.

[AP]

33. Here's another one:

I think Dean knew he wasn't going to do well from mid week last week, which was about the time they started complaining about the media. They started the spin that the media lies not to explain their loss, but so that when the inevitable GOOD press came out about the winner, they could say, look the media is lying! They WANT one of these other candidates not me! It's way to discredit positive press for Kerry and Edwards.

I got in two arguments last week about whether Dean was, in fact, getting bad press. You know what the proof was? An article in the NYT which showed how much more press they gave to Dean, and that it was very good. In the middle of the article the reporter cited the very few things he could find which could be construed as biased. Supporters copied and pasted that middle part and ignored the conclusion and intro, and then, instead of linking to the article directly, posted arguments in other threads which linked to the DU discussion of that excerpt.

So, bottom line: outrage at media wasn't a reflection of what happened to Dean last week. It's a manufactured outrage to undermine the inevitable rise in coverage of the other candidates this week.

Making lemonade out of lemons. It was the most they could do when they saw they weren't going to win Iowa based on message alone.

[tryanhas]

43. Also, think about this one

What is a bigger story?

A blowout by Bush, or a competitive race in 2004?

What is a bigger ratings draw for the media?

A revisting of a Bush v. Dukakis like story which is what you would have gotten with Dean as the nominee, or a revisiting of a Bush v. Clinton story which is what the media can get with Edwards as the nominee.

The media wants ratings, and Bush v. Edwards is a more compelling draw than Bush v. Dean.

And if Edwards were to win, the media would be all over how "IT HAPPENED AGAIN." A southern charmer, a policy wonk which is what Edwards has become, takes down another Bush.

There are plenty of ways to look at it. If you look at it from a ratings perspective, Edwards is the bigger potential draw for the media...

[AP]

45. Media makes more money from Bush in a week than they make in

a year of campaign coverage.

Why are they cutting down on campaign coverage dramatically if their goal is to sell commercials in between campaign stories.

NBC makes more money from a week of friends re-runs.

[ShaneGR]

41. One reason.....

Dean got crushed in Iowa.

[tryanhas]

42. The media hating Dean is a joke!

According to opensecrets, his largest campaign donor was AOL/TimeWarner, the parent company of CNN. They gave him over $60,000 last year, so people need to get over, their "the media hates Dean" misconceptions especially considering the fact that last year he received 10 times the media coverage of any other candidate, and over 80% of it was positive! There is nothing like free press, and if you think about it, most of you supporting Dean, MOST OF YOU NOT ALL OF YOU, found out about him through the media.

They led people like cattle to deanforamerica.com.

[SeekerofTruth]

20. Opposite: I think he can beat Bush

Edwards may be an 'ambulance chaser' as he will be labelled, however his solutions are easy to understand, have a good dose of common sense, and will resonate with moderate voters.

The 'Republicans' are leary of Bush for his spending habits and budget deficits. If Edwards can turn this to his advantage, Bush can be beaten. My moderate Republican nephew stated "Clinton made me vote for Bush, Bush is making me vote for a Democrat".

[beaconess]

22. Could it be that Dean jumped the shark?

[SeekerofTruth]

24. Forgive my ignorance...

I don't understand the "jumped the shark?"

[PopSixSquish]

25. Link to Website Inside

http://www.jumptheshark.com

Although, it started as a funny on TV shows, it basically means the defining moment when you know that something is over.

And I'm not saying that Dean is.

[PopSixSquish]

21. Because He Finished 2nd in Iowa

when most political folks thought he didn't have a chance in hell. He didn't have the money, the organization or the coverage and yet he managed to do quite well.

But now that the news media is looking at him and giving him coverage, it's a bad thing? It's a conspiracy? Um..ok

[VolcanoJen]

27. Exactly!

I hate to restate the obvious, but when you finish a close second in Iowa, and you were a relative unknown going into the contest, the cameras are going to turn to you. Voters across America are now hungry to hear more about John Edwards, and that is one amazingly cool thing.

:D

Thanks, Iowa!!!

[WiseMen]

29. Not sure explains relatively little Kerry coverage. But let's assume no

agenda behind media empahases. For now.

[AP]

30. NPR, 11 million listeners, stayed with Harkin's speech rather than cut to

Edwards's speech.

if they were propping up Edwards, NPR wouldn't have done that.

[tryanhas]

44. I don't think so.

Look at my post above about possible ratings of the 2004 presidential matchup.

Edwards v. Bush would be the bigger story of all of the candidates, even bigger than Clark, because Clark is a ticking time bomb (look at his WIRED eyes) and below the military label, Clark has no substance.

From a media RATINGS perspective, Edwards is the bigger draw.

[Adjoran]

32. Nothing succeeds like success

Especially when that success is surprising.

Edwards is getting coverage now because he earned it.

I think he is making a strategic mistake by going to NH with the rest. What is the upside for him there? A strong fourth or a third would help a bit, but his whole candidacy is at stake in SC, where he must beat Clark to establish that he is the candidate "who can run well in the south."

I think he should have headed straight for SC, and capitalized on a bit of regional pride ("hometown boy shocks pundits in Midwest") to try and sew up the state. If he wins SC, he gets more media attention than the NH winner(s) will, and it will be more lasting because the following primaries aren't as high profile as IO, NH, and SC.

The idea may be that he can't afford to let Clark seize momentum with a good third or second in NH. But Kerry is the one surging in NH now, Clark seems to have hit the plateau around the 20% level - and there are three New Englanders competing in the small New England state.

Just my 2 cents' worth, at no charge. I'm still considering going with Kerry, Edwards, Clark, or Dean. Only 13 days to make up my mind!

[economic justice]

34. Thank you

Your statement is the real bottom line:
"Edwards is getting coverage now because he earned it."

[tryanhas]

35. Edwards is the most terrible candidate for LARGE corporations

and he is the most difficult for Bush to beat. I'm talking about the ENRON like corporations that are trying to control America.

So both of your arguments don't wash.

No other candidate can compete with Bush and beat him in the South.

No other candidate can debate as effectively as Edwards.

No other candidate has the crossover appeal of Edwards (moderate Republicans, not the CORPORATE OR RELIGIOUSLY CONSERVATIVE ONES, are salivating at the chance of actually voting FOR Edwards).

No other candidate inspires hope in people like Edwards does.

He is the best choice to beat Bush.

From what I have seen on cable, Edwards is NOT being pumped up as much as Kerry is right now. I mean, they have anointed Kerry the nominee which is why all of the news stations rushed to him after Bush's State of the Union address!

So, it baffles me how people say things like the starter of this thread did.

Besides, everyone knows that Dean is the easiest for Bush to beat. Dean wears THE WRONG WAY, on people. Edwards wears the right way. The more people see and listen to Dean, the less they like him. The more they see Edwards, the more they like him.

And I don't understand why you weren't saying what you just posted ALL LAST YEAR, when Dean was receiving 10 times the media coverage of everyone else, and we were trying to tell you that they were trying to handpick him because the GOP wants him.

So, to rebut what you just posted. Edwards is STILL NOT GETTING HALF OF THE COVERAGE that Kerry is. And the reason that the media is covering Edwards a little more is because he actually placed well enough to deserve it, and they want to create a story of a lot of possible winners in NH and also, they want to focus on the angle of POSITIVITY to see if a positive campaign can get the nomination, so that they can use it as a barometer in the future. It's the same thing with Dean and his supposed internet revolution. They were covering it to see if it would work as a barometer for the future. They are looking at Edwards to see if his STAYING POSITIVE APPROACH will teach them something...

[yaledem]

46. No conspiracy here - just a huge comeback

Edwards was outspent 4 to 1 in Iowa by Kerry and Dean, yet he managed a close second place, after being in single digits for most of the year there. That is a newsworthy story.

If there was a "corporate media conspiracy," then why hasn't Edwards been on the covers of Time & Newsweek like Dean? Why have repug front groups like Americans for Job Security been running ads against him in places like South Carolina for the last year?

[poskonig]

47. Edwards came back from nowhere.

Of course he is newsworthy.

As I told others when I was supporting Dean, complaining about media coverage is the mark of losers. If one wants to get in the news, you have to *be* news.

[anti-bush]

50. If I could go back in time 1 month

All over the Edwards blog was "How can we get the media to notice us". We flooded Oprah's e-mail. We flooded all the morning talk shows (Today Show, etc.). We contemplated Sharon Osbourne. What did we get? A ten minute interview on Cold Pizza (ESPN2). We wondered why the media wouldn't pay attention to us at all.

Edwards had a great set of issues. Nothing.
Edwards had the most comprehensive plan. Nothing.
Edwards was a charming and very good stump speech maker. Nothing.
Edwards clearly won the last two (if not three) debates. Nothing.

It was Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean. And the Dean folks loved the media attention. So yes, the street does go both ways.

If you want to question the media coverage, go back and look at the DU threads for the last three debates. Edwards (or Kucinich) was picked as the debate winner by many people (even though there were way more Dean and Clark and Kucinich supporters on here. But Edwards got absolutely no play from the media.

Its Edwards turn in the sun, and I think he deserves every bit of it.


Edit: formatting

[KittyWampus]

51. Donna Brazille Is Pushing Him Heavily

Form your own conclusions.