Good evening. I'm Benny, the guest anchor for the EEN as TomP is on a work assignment. I'm reporting almost live downstate from Senator Barack Obama's HQ but where John Edwards has visited more than once and has good friends/supporters in Central Illinois.
The news starts after the jump.
John Edwards Rocks Georgia
Long time CJ reporter JSimon was at Edwards visits to Atlanta recently. Here's what she had to say about the 3 events she covered on Thursday, but mainly about the 2nd one:
2nd EVENT: I was fortunate enough to be invited to volunteer at the registration desk for a fundraising luncheon on 5/18 at the Capital City Club in downtown Atlanta. I can't tell you how fascinating it is to be around folks who say things like 'I guarantee him $100K for every time his feet touch GA soil'. He walked into the room after everyone was already seated and then he made his way to greet people all around the room - I don't think he missed a single person. Again he got the warm welcome from Governor Barnes and then he went to the podium and spoke. THIS is where I heard a different JRE than I'd heard before (his aides told me that since he was surrounded by supporters, he skipped the stump speech stuff and went right to the heart of things). Bear with me as I paraphrase (I still find it slightly overwhelming to see/listen to him) but I think he addressed two main points:
- Healthcare, education, poverty, energy, global warming, etc., etc., etc. are important issues but THE issue we all need to think about is how the next president of the u.s.a. will be viewed around our country and our world. We need someone who reflects the optimism and the unmatched possibilities that exist in America alone and the personal characteristics (honesty/integrity) of our next president are more important than they have ever been and that he was very willing and happy to be judged on those characteristics. There was much more on that but here's the other main topic that was so interesting to me...
- He gave the years (can't remember them) but he talked about the great tradition of our southern presidents (jimmy and bill) and that we MUST win the nomination and then the presidency in 2008. He talked about the schedule and here's an 'almost' direct quote: It's just my instincts talking but I believe that whoever wins Iowa has a 75% chance of winning the nomination; if they also win Nevada, it goes up to 80%; and if they go on to win NH, it's over. I didn't realize it in 2004 but after Iowa, I really had no chance. And no offense to Senator Obama, but I believe in my soul that this is an Edwards/Clinton race and the winner will be decided by February. Then he talked about how important it is that he wins the nomination and said: If I win the nomination, you're looking at the next president of the united states. Then he said how the polls (Rasmussen, others?) indicate Guiliani (horrors) leads the pack and that (JRE) he beats Rudy in 20 states, Hillary beats Rudy in 10 states, Obama beats Rudy in 0 states. He said a whole lot more but his message was basically what Roy Barnes said: We need to make sure that JRE has enough money to stay in this thing because he CAN and he WILL win. He said several times that JRE is the PERFECT candidate and that's undeniable.
Well, if Roy Barnes thinks JRE can win in Georgia or parts of the South, he's probably got a good antenna. Not too shabby either when Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin leaves a hug for candidates, but for Edwards too. http://www.ajc.com/...
And CJ reporter JSimon left a link to pics here:
http://lpe.ajc.com/...
Related Story: Singer John Mayer has a tip for Edwards..
From Starpulse:
John Mayer has tipped presidential candidate John Edwards to reach the White House because he "connects" with the youth of America. The Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter met Edwards for the first time at the Time Magazine 100 gala in New York City last week.
Edwards reveals he sought advice from the 29-year-old singer on how to impress young voters. The Democratic candidate says, "He was talking about the language of young people, his generation. " He basically said, 'You've got to get me in the first 20 seconds. I watch movies on YouTube, and if they're 25 seconds long, they're five seconds too long.'"
Now unlike the article implies, I don't think Mayer has officially endorsed John Edwards, although my understanding is that Edwards has requested another meeting with him on how to engage Mayer's generation better. However, one tidbit about Mayer: he's from Atlanta, and Georgians do like Edwards there.
Next: Edwards Has the Potential to Make Indiana Blue
http://www.southbendtribune.com/...
Hmm, next door to me and I had thought Evan Bayh was a Clintonista. Looks like Edwards might take more than one Midwestern state. Stay tuned.
Fearless: Edwards to Visit Utah
This in from Carolina Voice.
Utah will get its first visit from a 2008 Democratic presidential candidate next month when John Edwards comes to Salt Lake City for a fund-raiser and possibly a rally.
Edwards, a former North Carolina senator and his party's nominee for vice president in 2004, is expected to arrive in the state the afternoon of June 1 and stay through a fund-raising event scheduled from 6:30-8 p.m. at the The Depot, a private club at The Gateway.
He'll be the first Democrat running for the White House in 2008 to venture into what many consider the reddest of red — read Republican — states. Even Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland said there's little chance the state will turn blue.
"I'm certainly not going to ruin my credibility by saying that, but all things are possible," he said when asked if Utah could end up in the blue-state category by choosing a Democratic presidential candidate in November 2008.
The Edwards campaign said there's a good reason their candidate is willing to come to Utah.
"Changing the direction of the country won't happen in only early states or in only blue states," Edwards spokeswoman Colleen Murray said. "Senator Edwards' support spans the entire country, and the excitement in Utah continues to prove that his appeal extends well beyond traditional Democratic strongholds."
Certainly, Utah Democrats are looking forward to the attention Edwards' appearance will attract.
"To have a presidential candidate and our former v.p. nominee here just excites the base and makes them see that, nationally, Utah is getting some attention," Holland said, and it's an opportunity to highlight "Democratic principles and our candidates" to a larger audience.
http://deseretnews.com/...
Edwards Train Future Stops
Got this from JRE supporter and DU'er/Kossack, Machka, from her blog (http://community.livejournal.com/southern_hope ):
- Sen. Edwards is storming New Hampshire again on May 21.
http://bennycat.blogspot.com/...
- And then it's on to New York on May 23rd for a "major policy announcement"...it's with the CFR.
http://www.cfr.org/...
You have to register for it.
- Then, John heads south to Alabama on the 24th to address that State's Legislature...http://johnedwards.com/events/20070524-AL /
- ...While Elizabeth heads to my old stomping grounds of Mad-City (Madison), Wisconsin, to speak to the 20th Annual Women in Government convention. http://johnedwards.com/... /
- ( And, oh! You'll never guess where he's headed after that... <*glares at teh Iowans on teh list*> - but it's all for the sake of our veterans, so bless you all! ) http://iowansforedwards.blogspot.com...
- Edwards then makes a pit stop in Utah on June 1st....http://www.taylormarsh.com/hot_topics.php#301
- ...Before coming back to his senses and hitting Iowa once again on the 2nd to participate in the Hall of Fame Celebration Reception and Dinner. http://www.iowademocrats.org/...
Commentary by the Benny
Instead of straight text commentary, I close this with a video clip commentary which captures the spirit of the EEN. It is a vlog by Refinish69 that was posted on the JRE blog earlier today. It is called "Simply the best" and the music is by Tina Turner's "The Best"
Good evening, and let's continue the conversation here.