Voter's sharp question to Edwards was rare

[Nambe]

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

.. Simenson, 41, a massage therapist from rural Kansasville, was invited to Edwards' campaign appearance Monday in Oak Creek. The Democratic vice presidential candidate fielded generally friendly questions until Simenson let loose, accusing Edwards and running mate John Kerry of not doing enough to answer criticism from Republicans.

"I would really like to see you guys speak up and answer those questions," Simenson said of charges such as Kerry flip-flopping on issues. "Because even though I am a Democrat and although I did vote for (Ralph) Nader last time, I even get questions in my mind and you have to speak up. They are really going to run you right over and make you look like idiots, and I really want you to speak up. And what are you going to do?" ..

"Boy, I'm sure glad I let you ask a question," Edwards said to Simenson, drawing a laugh from the audience, before giving an extended answer and promising to fight. "You watch what happens between now and election day and see if I keep my word to you."

Simenson remained unconvinced. And her question clearly had struck a nerve in the crowd, as evidenced by two women who scolded Simenson afterward for asking the question and by a man who said, "She made him look bad." ..


Find out who owns the media in your region.

[Catch22Dem]

1. I like Edwards' answer

She should have left it at that. I have no reason NOT to trust Edwards right now, so if he gave me an answer like that, my only response would be "right on, then get to it. ;) )

[Gopens]

4. While I like Edwards' answer ...

The woman's observations are accurate. I, too, would like to know what the team is doing to fight off the GOP attack machine. This is war, and Kerry-Edwards isn't going to win in November by looking soft when the Bush campaign lies about them.

[Pastiche423]

9. You liked his non-answer?

Don't expect much, do you? Sadly, when one does not expect much, that is usually what they get - not much.

I've known edwards for years now, and I have plenty reason not to trust him. He's a sappy pretty boy that is only out for himself - just ask his constintuents.

[Leilani]

11. I just got blasted for saying something

much much milder, on another thread.

ANY criticism of Edwards is not tolerated by his fan club.

[PurityOfEssence]

13. Not true; you're just chatting with the most Anti-Edwards poster yet

Even the extreme Clark partisans hold no candle to this person, and the trail is long and infuriating.

[LTR]

32. Nahhh... that poster just hates Kerry and Edwards

But I guess there are people who want four more years of Bush and Cheney.

Hell, I like Edwards and Kerry. It helps me feel even better about voting for them. Shit, I'd vote for Lieberman (ick!) if he were the nominee. Anything's better than Bush!

But some people just live to complain. :eyes:

[PurityOfEssence]

12. You're doing much more to destroy us than you even know

Why don't you bring up the D. Brooks Smith line of attack again? Remember how many times you've said that Edwards "voted against the disabled"?

Please offer something constructive; you have an irrepressible personal need to deride this man, and it's now something that could imperil us all. By the way, have you ever managed to read his platform planks on disabilities, or are you so completely sure he's out to marginalize and warehouse everyone that mere reality shouldn't have a bearing?

Disagree with tactics if you must, but to absolutely defecate on him as a person at this point is ruinous, and that's precisely what you do. It's shameful and tiresome. He's got more substance and core morality than you've ever displayed here, and you've spent shocking amounts of time on your unprincipled displays of saccharine and deliberately mendacious faux-morality.

These are our candidates. You needn't love them, but you should avoid destroying our dreams by your Sorcerer's Apprentice approach to knee-jerk, continual character assassination. You should be happy with all the damage you did the last year to him; he might have been the top of the ticket. Isn't that enough for you?

[jdj]

18. As I typed my post, below, I was thinking 'you know,

this would be a great time for Purity of Essence to show up'.

Voila!

[Pastiche423]

23. Oh, how sweet!

You remember me.

IMHO, message boards are places to express opinions. As you know, I have a very strong opinion of johnny boy, so I express it.

Actions have consequences. His actions have been detrimental to me personally (when there was absolutely no reason for him to do what he did), ergo I care not one whit what my words might do to him.

He cut me no slack. I cut him no slack.

[AP]

29. Over what issue did he cut you no slack?

[LTR]

38. Must own the hot tub manufacturer Edwards defeated in court

Hell, I'd be mad too!

[AP]

39. Whatever it is, it seems being vague is more damaging than...

...explaining the truth.

[crossroads]

36. It would be fine if your words just hurt HIM, but they are hurting US!

So keep a lid on till after November eh?
:dem:

[Pastiche423]

43. lol

How is one opinion on an internet message board going to hurt "US"?

[crossroads]

47. It hurts me! I am a true blue Dem!

:dem:

[AP]

50. It won't. But just between us, what's your story?

[saracat]

62. Like the WSJ did to me.

If your post is hijcked and published like mine and used to discredit our base or the nominee, it hurts us dammit. I am sorry about your problem, whatever it is, but not enough to sacrifice the country!And that is the risk you take.Remeber, every voice counts and it was only 500+ vote in 2000 and this promises to be a squeaker.So don't mess with this election to express a personal vendetta. It makes us have to work twice as hard!

[dennis4868]

89. What did the WSJ.....

do to you if you dont mind me asking?

[SangamonTaylor]

56. Detrimental to you personally? lets hear it!

Come on! Are you personally unable to to practice your love with women all across the country because of him? Lets hear your story!

[AP]

57. see post 53

In lieu of Pastiche exposing the truth behind his/her charge, I'll present the story as I remember it.

[Pastiche423]

59. Your comment makes no sense

Why would I practice love w/women across the country when I am a hetero-sexual woman?

[AP]

70. Psst. Are you paying attention to the campaign? It's a reference to...

...something Bush said yesterday.

[TankLV]

31. Nevermind.

I re-read the original post - if he did give "an extended answer", then I stand corrected, and the poster I was originally going to support is terribly mistaken.

Too bad we couldn't have read the extended answer.

[fob]

71. Damn, that was right on! I yield any time I may have to P of E!

P.S. I'm glad you're on our side.

[sonicx]

15. non-answer?

"Boy, I'm sure glad I let you ask a question," Edwards said to Simenson, drawing a laugh from the audience, before giving an extended answer and promising to fight. "You watch what happens between now and election day and see if I keep my word to you."

The article doesn't give the extended part.

[AP]

28. I was thinking the same thing.

[jdj]

17. I'm one of those constituents, I like him, and

I don't care if you "know" him or not.

[w4rma]

19. I trust Edwards. That's why I supported him for Vice President.

In fact I trust him more than most politicians up there in Washington, D.C.

[Jerseygirltoo]

21. So do you trust Cheney?

Because he's the alternative. It's between Edwards and Cheney for Vice President. Not Edwards vs some imaginary perfect choice. Do you have any specific criticisms of Edwards that you can back up, or do you just want to make vague, unsubstantiated complaints?

[AP]

26. Could you remind me specifically what it is that you don't like...

...about Edwards? Usually you say you "know" him and then you make comments about his personality. But really, what are some concrete policy positions that you don't like? And I don't mean the ones that I are absurd, like the one about calling the police on the protesters. They were trespassing. They wanted to be arrested. That's part of the dance. You can't criticize someone for that. Edwards cleared out everyone but the leader and met the leader for an hour. I also don't mean the BS he's "anti-disability" because that's absurd. The man has done more to help the disabled than just about anyone. And that ridiculous compaliant about that judicial appointment is unimpressive too. The Democrats had a great strategy for dealing with judicial appointments, and it didn't include opposing a judge supported by the two major papers in Pittsburgh when the public perceived that the issue was over whether he resigned his membership in a all-male hunt club soon enough.

Do you have any real problems that have to do with his political philosophy that are supported by a clear pattern of evidence?

Is it not enough for you to have a Senator who takes no PAC money at all, who looks after the best interests of people who work for a living, and who has chosen to give up an easy life of tremendous wealth so that he could make a big difference in the lives of people who have MUCH less than he has?

And remind me again about YOUR political philosophy. What is it that you believe in that makes it so hard for you to respect a good Democrat who is getting the job done?

[donco6]

27. Wow, you ARE in a pickle.

Can't stand either side. Sucks to be you.

[Pastiche423]

33. Yes, it does suck to be me

And edwards made my sucky life worse.

[LTR]

35. Say what you want about Kerry and Edwards...

...but they beat Dean in the primaries. :evilgrin:

Sorry to hear about your sucky life. Keep your chin up.

[AP]

37. But you won't explain how?

[Name removed]

41. Deleted message

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

[Sterling]

82. You just described about 75% of America.

Yes it does suck to be an American these days. Both parties have a share of the blame, most Americans feel that way.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

40. So, I guess it's safe to say that you're voting for FratBoy and Dick?

[Pastiche423]

44. No, it's not safe to say that

[Media_Lies_Daily]

49. Oh....then you must be ready to vote for Nader?...

Because you sure as hell don't sound like any supporter of the Kerry/Edwards ticket.

[Pastiche423]

51. Nope

Nader did not get on my state's ballot, even after two tries. His self-destruction this election year was not well liked.

You did get the part of me not being a k/e supporter correct, though.

I find it amusing that some people on this thread are so hepped up over one, single, solitary vote.

[AP]

54. It's just that we're now down to the last absurd objection to Edwards

and it will be very satisfying if we put this one to bed along with all the rest.

It's not so much striking out any single batter as it is about pitching a perfect game.

[Name removed]

66. Deleted message

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

[MaryBear]

46. Hi. Could you explain

what you mean by "I've known edwards for years now"? Thx.

GB

[AP]

53. From my experience here, Pastiche has one complaint about Edwards:

Pastiche, I believe, is differently-abled. Pastiche doesn't know Edwards personally, but sent letters to Edwards, as his/her Senator, asking Edwards not to vote a judge out of committee. Edwards ended up not voting in committee (he stayed in his office, acting cowardly, according to people who don't like him). I believe he ended up voting against the nominee on the floor.

This nominee was from PA, and the Pittsburgh papers took up the cause -- they mentioned Edwards by name as being slow to act on this issue. I believe NOW spearheaded opposition to this judge on the grounds that he had once belonged to an all-male hunt club and didn't resign soon enough (but did resign).

As ALL Repub judges do, he had a crappy record on a bunch of issues, including disability rights, but he was mostly in the public eye over that hunt club. And it was always going to be hard to explain that you didn't vote a guy out of committee because he didn't resign from a HUNT club SOON ENOUGH. That would have been red meat for a lot of working class men who hunt, and I don't believe even NOW connected that membership to anything concrete in his record as a judge.

As we all know, the Democrats knew that they had to draw the line at a few extremely bad judges. Remember when they did stand up? Their best argument was "WE ONLY OPPOSED FOUR! STOP COMPLAINING!" They won that battle. It was probably one of their finest moments of the last four years.

The Dems knew that if they stood up to all Bush judges in committee that when the got to the bad ones, they would have no political capital to block those judges. Throw in the fact that this one judge was from a swing state where both major papers in the second largest city had begun to take up his case, and you can tell how a politican in this situation would be operating on principles that include the knowledge that there were much worse judges coming down the pike they needed to stop, and that the Democrats really need to win PA to stop this whole Republican BS which includes conservative judges AND SO MUCH MORE.

So, we can get wrapped up in our identity politics, or we can play like a team.

[JI7]

63. will wait for reply to this one

and hopefully with facts rather than just complaints and accusations without anything specific.

[LTR]

67. Her other complaint

Never got over Howard Dean. :cry:

Hey, my guy that I pushed hard for (Clark) isn't the nominee, but I jumped in proudly to push equally as hard for Kerry/Edwards.

She also lashed out at me when I was a mere newbie here for supporting Clark, claiming that he wasn't a 'real' Democrat, and that she had voted straight-ticket Dem for three decades and therefore was in a better position to talk than me, who's only been alive for three decades. Needless to say, I was a bit offended.

And now this poster doesn't like our candidate. Boo freakin' hoo!

So, now I turn the tables and ask, "Who is the real Democrat"? I'm voting Kerry/Edwards and getting lots of friends and family members to do likewise. What about YOU?

[GiovanniC]

74. That Is Quite the Quandary

I was also a Clark supporter. I was also attacked by Dean supporters accusing me and my candidate of "not being real Democrats" or being "closet (or not-so-closet) Republicans". Pastiche was one of the worst offenders.

Now, here she is, saying that she's not voting for the Democratic Party's candidate. Who's not a real Democrat now? A very good question.

[LTR]

75. If you don't vote for Democratic candidates...

you're not a 'real' Democrat. Plain and simple.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed this. Thanks.

[Lerkfish]

68. you're not pastiche....but

since I can't find him/her stating what the objection is, I'll go with it until he/she clarifies or refutes it.

IF that is his/her objection, I do not share the same level of outrage over it. We are all individuals with various key issues that are important to us.

for me, the overriding concern is that we have now an administration that has decided made the world less stable, more dangerous, less friendly, and has eroded diplomacy and burned bridges with all our allies while honing hostilities to an increasing list of "axis of evil" countries.

If he is allowed to continue for four more years, I don't think one judgeship, either way, will matter. We'll all be locked in the struggle for survival as a nation, and as individual people both in our safety and our livelihoods.

Although I heartily endorse free speech, I don't give much attention to personal grudges when there are much, much larger whales to fry.

[AP]

58. So, it looks like you're not going to back up the attitude with the facts.

So why even start with the attitude?

[shanti]

86. sappy pretty boy...,

and you would prefer BIG DICK cheney, the total opposite??

[struggle4progress]

88. Really? In my personal interactions with him, I've found him ...

... to be intelligent, thoughtful, and concerned. He's certainly not sappy, although he really is pleasant. And as one of his constituents, I can say he has responded well when I contacted his office.

But perhaps you would have liked Faircloth to continue as Senator from NC?

[robbedvoter]

14. I do

http://www.congress.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:SJ00046:@@@P

[NMDemDist2]

2. he promised to fight, now when he does, she'll remember n/t

if he doesn't we're toast anyway....

[fearnobush]

3. Direct, focused Enron exposing attacks are needed.

And they need to explain to the public, the concept of projection - attacking an opponent by projecting your own weaknesses or failures on to them. We learned this in Psych 101 people.

[Stew225]

5. Because of Edwards' prowess, she made him

look good, I think! I hope he comes through!

[Sagan]

6. Voter's sharp question to Chimpy was non-existent...

We're not allowed to ask Chimpy hard questions.

[LauraK]

7. I read an editorial on the history of 'flip flop' attacks today.

The bottom line was a flip flop allogation against any politician with a long voting history is effective because the public does not have the attention span or interest to absorb the expanation of the voting change. Kerry's vote change on the $87B allocation is a classic example. He voted for it, a GOP amendment was added and he voted against it. IMO Kerry should keep his responses short like I just did or most people turn him off.

[jab105]

30. Yes, that's actually the reason why Senators don't usually win...

in presidential elections...because the voting record is so long, and the details of a senate vote are so tricky (extra added to bills, etc.) that you can always accuse of flipflopping...JFK(ennedy) was the last senator elected president, and that was because he hadnt been in the senate for long, so it couldnt be used against him to that extent...

Still crossing my fingers...

[mazzarro]

8. I believe that she did those of us who have felt dissatisfied with

the tepid responses Kerry & Edwards have been giving to the W*&Co's false statements and allegations. Sometimes you wonder whether Kerry-Edwards are too insulated from the realities of what is going on. At least now we know that Edwards have heard of our dissatisfaction in person and also has promised to do something about it. I say kudos to Ms. Simenson for her effort.

[kidrocks]

10. Where's the outrage?

I'm beginning to think that the Kerry campaign is about as dim-witted and dense as Al Gore's was. I never thought that was possible.

The RNC has pummeled Kerry from the beginning and Kerry's reaction has been to be a "day late and a dollar short". Kerry has to get tough and fight fire with fire. Alas I'm afraid it's probably to late. What ever meek response Kerry makes you can be sure that the Bush team is ready with plan A, plan B, and plan C!

Make no mistake, I am anti-Bush and pro-Kerry but Bush's handlers have run circles around Kerry's handlers and made Kerry & Co look like wimps and fools!

Damn, is there anyone in the Kerry camp that can think ahead? Shit!

[mitchtv]

20. I just keep hearing wait and see

Well I've been waiting and looking, Yawn. "that's not fair" waaaa is whatI hear. of course I am in CA, they are taking those votes for granted, another mistake.

[Jerseygirltoo]

22. Get over yourself

waaaa, is what I hear, the candidates are not paying enough attention to me! California is a safe state, and so is my state, so I don't expect them to come here. I hope they stay in battleground states.

[mitchtv]

25. yeah God forbid they attend massive rallies in friendly territory

and get some real publicity. Don't be suprised if there are massive election day problems in Calif. Without two areas SF bay and LA, Calif is lost. You won't see a million vote plurality this time.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

42. So, tell us all how you go about getting that "friendly publicity"....

...when the NeoCons control the press?

Is that what you mean by "real publicity"?

Are you also trying to claim that if the captive mainstream media doesn't report a certain story then it never really happened?

[mitchtv]

65. Try the Bay area/ La area

It's really tough when people put words in your mouth. What I'm saying is that there are many who don't vote,and if outreach is made it will be better, not only in a socalled safe state(I say take for granted state) but will have a spill over effect into say AZ and NV especially if the outreach is Latin flavored.
as for your second thought... they are going to attempt a fast one here to depress votes.the bigger the plurality, the better.Not to mention a coattail effect, that is desperately needed where the pukes are rgistering thousands every month. We do incidentally need to win seats. CA is not all Dem. I live in a puke dist, and when we have a good candidate the DNC sends no support in a district viewed as a prime candidate for an upset.
There is some liberal press and media here, at least middleof the road.

[MaryBear]

72. I agree with you, mitchtv,

about the need for mo re effort here. "We do incidentally need to win seats. CA is not all Dem."

[bpilgrim]

16. I have 2 ? for Kerry - How will you ask the last one to die for a LIE?

and WHAT do i tell my children?

"We are asking Americans to think about that because how do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?...." - from statement John Kerry made before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 23, 1971.

source...
http://hnn.us/articles/3631.html

peace

[Media_Lies_Daily]

45. Tell your children who ordered our troops into Iraq in the first place,...

...and how that invasion was based on a pack of lies sold to a majority of the members of Congress and the American people.

If you tell your children anything else, who will be lying then?

[Sterling]

83. Kerry will have blood on his hands soon enough.

It's fine to blame Bush for it now but if Kerry wins it becomes HIS war in Jan. And he was dumb enough to "trust" Bush was not lying but I am sure no one is interested in such ancient history.

[unslinkychild1]

60. That one question MUST be the one that haunts him

After hearing his testimony, I think he's just playing the game.... for now. Otherwise, he'd be called a wimp. I think he's gonna bring our boys & girls HOME. He HAS to. He BEGGED the politicians to BRING US HOME NOW in 1971, outlined the reasons and the likely results (and he was 100% right, even then). I see major peace talks ahead, with the IG, Sistani, Al Sadr, the Saudis, etc., and I see him pulling us outta that mess as SOON as can possibly be done without the whole country going deeper into the shit than it already is. I may just be experiencing blind faith, but the '71 testimony allowed me, at last, to believe in him.

I am a Deaniac, but even Dean kinda said he'd "stay the course." Disagree with the war all you like, but to say, ala Kucinich, that we need to pull out THIS INSTANT is political suicide. From my lips to Gawd's ears, Kerry is just playing this like a politician until he gets elected. He can, morally, do NOTHING else than get us out ASAP.

[Sterling]

84. Well then it must be the will of America to invade the world.

I figured that out a while back. I'm just hanging around for the fireworks now.

Why should we try to elect anyone that would bring peace if War is SO popular that we cannot even begin to consider leaving Iraq or the public would be outraged?

Kerry will bring us new and better wars to appease the masses of NASCAR dads that hold the greatest power in our society. No reason to hope otherwise, in fact as you have pointed out it would be foolish to keep bloodthirsty Americans from their bread and circuses. If Kerry has a secret plan to stop the eternal crusade he may want to rethink that idea before he robs the public of what the want more than anything.

Now that 9-11 has been sold to the public it’s all war all the time and the choice is clear. A leader who will lead and help Americans understand the road we are on is the road to hell or a leader who realizes there personal and political is risk involved in doing the unpopular thing and safely stays the course.

Our choice in Nov is limited to the later. That’s the choice you have, love it or hate it. Yes I have to drink the Cool-Aid, but I don’t have to pretend it taste good too do I?

[Dhalgren]

24. Everyone needs to remember,

that includes POE and the Kanasville masseuse, that we are not just fighting Bush and the fascists on a level playing field; we are also fighting the Pravda/Bush press. Kerry and Edwards have to walk a tight rope in order to get even the semblence of "fair treatment. And it does no good to scream at the press, the American people are cowards, who only think of their own protection and the press will use that card whenever it feels threatened. Kerry nor Edwards were even in the top tier of my choices during the primaries, but that's all over now. Kerry/Edwards is the ticket and our last hope. So be critical - no problem (we are Democrats, after all), but be constructive, because it's a choice now and the other side are fascists, period.

[LTR]

34. What's missing in all of this

Is that a VP candidate held a rally where no question was off-limits. Can you imagine Cheney doing this? Hell fucking no! They screen their audience so much that they get embarassingly low turnouts.

The truth of the matter is a pissed-off supporter told Edwards to get tough. Edwards handled an unexpected question well. What is he supposed to say? Divulge the whole game plan? No, he planted the seed. Edwards did well, from what I see.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

48. Amazing how few posters actually think before they post....

...thanks for a shot of reality!

[LTR]

52. No problem

I have found that it's smart to think before I post.

But that's the first thing I thought of when I read the article. Edwards has some big ones. The guy is fearless. Dickhead has to hide behind loyalty oaths.

[Supersedeas]

76. And something else missing: Propoganda Watch

The article goes to great lengths to interview Simeon and quote her directly, then to point out her continued reservations and how others thought that she made Edward's look bad....but the article DOES NOT share with the public specifically WHAT Edwards said in response.

Hell, if you are going to take the time to quote the question--do us all a favor, media probe, and directly quote some (if not all) of the answer.

If the point of the article is how rarely candidate receive unscripted questions, you would think that the UNSCRIPTED media guy ought to at least share with us how the ACTUAL candidate handled the rare unscripted question. Nope...and don't you love the headline and subheading...so edifying.

This election is becoming more and more and more about the MEDIA coverage than it is about the candidates.

Do your F****ng JOB and report WHAT was said and done--lame a$$ dimwits.

[LTR]

81. See post #55

A different news source: CBS-58.

[LTR]

55. Okay, I've got another article -- From CBS-58!

Amazing the Urinal Sentinel gets beaten on coverage by that rinky-dink outfit known as CBS-58. Here ya go:

http://www.cbs58.com/cbsdata.cgi?_dhweb=form&_lt23r=home&kv=headlinenews.headlinenew_id=5934

Edwards assured Simenson, who said she voted for Nader in 2000, that he and Kerry would prevail on the issues. He said health care costs have skyrocketed as a result of President Bush's policies and Kerry is a strong and courageous leader.

"We will fight every way we know how, but we're fighting for you," he said. "We're going to make sure the American people know the truth. You watch what happens between now and Election Day and see if keep my word to you."

He also cautioned her: "You better not vote for Ralph Nader this time."

Afterward, Simenson said she still plans to vote for Kerry but wasn't entirely convinced the Democratic running mates are doing enough to turn back GOP criticisms.

"I think he really feels like he's doing the best, and I give him the benefit of the doubt," she said. "But I would have liked to have a little more of an exchange with him."

[LibDemAlways]

61. Ms. Simenson is the kind of

person Kerry and Edwards ought to pay more attention to. There are many "Ms. Simensons" here on DU who would ask the same question if given a chance. I'd go one further and remind them that the bought and paid for whore media is solidly behind the chimp and they need to speak out and tell the truth in a way that will get the whores' attention and create some headlines.

[PATRICK]

69. The real difference between the candidates and us

is that Edwards has been fighting and fitting into an impossible situation for only some years- which translates into "inexperience" to the pure hearted outside critics while Kerry has been fighting ALL the time in the RW dark ages and therefore has "compromised" or worse to the critical gaze of people who can pretend to be more right and courageous- on the outside.

Now these two are fed up with trying to change things from within only to see the corruption spread like a stain yet they carry baggage weighted from Governmental and media expectations of their Senatorial experience. Those habits won't be broken by carping critics who never had to labor in the Slough of Despond known as the GOP Congress. Did we favor Bradley? Bradley quit as soon as the rabid dogs moved in.

I suggest we stop trying to craft some Frankenstein messiah, constantly in need of condescending advice, out of two genuine, super, intelligent, patriotic, dedicated Democrats and get in the trenches ourselves. We won't owe victory to a flashing smile, the permission of the media, big business donors or the CIA. We won't have delegated our responsibility to some superior being who somehow will BE the democracy we do not practice ourselves. We came through with the money and surprised the campaign. Now do the rest.

Ask not what your candidate can do for, you but what you can do for your candidate- if you call yourselves Democrats or Americans. The fate of mankind rests on our shoulders- our collective shoulders if we are ever to have a democracy.

[glitch]

73. Hear hear Patrick! nt

[Octafish]

77. Second!

Home run.

[Zorra]

64. Mods, is this news? Geez. n/t

[expatriot]

78. They need to respond to the "87 Billion" question....

There is SUCH an easy response to it and the fact that they had not put it to rest before Bush used it his acceptance speech is an error.

There should be a campaign ad "I DID vote for it before I voted against it... here's why:"

[AngryWhiteLiberal]

79. Good for her. GET OFF YOUR ASSES AND FIGHT...was the message.

People are wanting a scrap between Bush and Kerry and it's about time Kerry got out of "pussy mode" and started to fight.

I've said it once...I'll say it again. DEAN WAS THE BEST CANDIDATE to go against Bush this time around. What really pisses me off is the fact that Rove pulled some reverse-psychology bullshit and manipulated voters into not choosing Dean during the early Dem primaries.

JB

[nolabels]

80. What a bunch of B.S.

I live in Kalifornia. I don't spend much time with listening or watching the pro-bush corporate media. I read the papers, Pro-bush head lines and editorials and such. Bush does next to nada in advertisement here but get more free press than I have ever seen (I try to ignore it but is mostly all there is). Even with all that he still getting his butt kicked in with all of this pro-bush B.S.

It don't matter, the patterns are all the same, free press for Corporate whores. Venezuela or Kalifornia it don't matter, they are all the same and using the same play book.

[spooky3]

85. why didn't the reporter bother to TELL us what Edwards said?

Instead we get a dismissive summary and much more ink devoted to the questioner.

I don't know whether she has a point or not, if I don't know in depth what he said in response.

[wishlist]

87. Article says Edwards gave an extended answer

But author does not provide any of his answer other than one phrase so how is anyone to judge his response? Ironically this article is yet more evidence of how the media does not adequately cover Kerry and Edwards responses and replies.