Well, me and 300 of my neighbors and friends who had gathered at the Plumbers and Pipe fitters union in Columbus Ohio. The event was to start at 5:30 and I knew nothing of it until I got a call at 5:05 saying he was going to be in town and would I mind finding out where and when. Edwards web site had all the info including the fact that it was a $15 dollar per person fund raiser. A quick check of my wallet revealed just six bucks so out the door I went knowing I had to hit the atm on the way. Lucky for me it was just a short trip and I was actually there two minutes early at 5:28.
As was written in an excellent diary earlier by JM Taylor (go give him her some love) Edwards was running late so there was plenty of time to mix into the crowd and talk to others who where there to hear what turned out to be a stirring stump speech.
My parents arrived about 10 minutes after I did and my step father led the way as we went charging right up to the left side of the stage. There were probably more than 300 people there before us but we ended up in a great spot because when he entered and left the hall Edwards came right by us. We got to shake hands, chat briefly, and I even got an autograph which I gave to the very enthusiastic young Edwards supporter who had been standing next to me. She had a digital camera and if she sends me some of those photos she got I'll post them here later.
My mother and I engaged Franklin County commissioner Marilyn Brown in conversation for several minutes while we all waited for Mr. Edwards to arrive. I can't say enough about how impressed we were with commissioner Brown. I know I feel frustrated by the puzzling gap in world view that seems to exist between democrats and the elected officials who are supposed to represent them. I can assure you all that Ms. Brown is one of us and shares many of the same "outside the beltway" views that we wish more of our elected office holders understood.
A fellow Kosack had brought the two inspired young teens standing to my right one of whom was her daughter. I was so happy to see young people excited about being at a campaign speech. It was obvious that they knew how important all of this is and understood it was their civic duty to pay attention and participate. They were very much taken with John Edwards. How cool is that?
There was an elderly woman to the other side of us who was there with her two daughters. She was quite upset and at times crying. Not just crying but that heart breaking deep from inside the soul crying. We asked if there was anything we could do and found out that her liberal, John Edwards loving husband, had just died and this was her first time out in public since the funeral. There were several of us who each took turns talking to her and trying best that we could to comfort her in some small way.
The widows husband had in his own unique way been paying tribute to soldiers who had lost their lives in this senseless war. He had made a sign for his car and was using magnetic numbers to update daily the total number of war dead. In the time that has passed since his own death just over 100 of our American military have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just this week the two daughters have renewed their fathers tribute by updating the car with the correct numbers of our brave war dead. Now as I type this I'm about ready to cry myself. I told them about the daily kos series I Got The News Today
When the hour of waiting had passed and the Edwards party arrived he came in to meet the very enthusiastic crowd shaking hands all along his route to the stage. He stopped and spent a moment with the widow putting a huge smile on her face. Next he had my mothers hand in a traditional handshake while at the same time grasping my hand with his left. We made eye contact as I said "go get 'em John". He thanked me and moved onto those now giddy teens to my right.
Commissioner Brown endorsed John Edwards in her introduction and he took the stage. Here is a well edited youtube video with some highlights of the electric stump speech.
The Columbus Dispatch could not resist throwing in a little negative spin
into their coverage
The event came a day after Edwards had reversed an earlier stance and announced that he will accept public financing, a move that rival campaigns depicted as evidence that Edwards' fundraising is lagging.
More from that article:
"It's time for the president of the United States to be patriotic about something other than war," Edwards said.
"It's time for the president to say, 'We're in this together. If we're going to fight global warming, if we're going to preserve this planet, we've got to be willing to sacrifice.' "
Edwards said Congress should not approve any bill appropriating money for the Iraq war that does not include a timetable for bringing home troops, adding that he would cut the U.S. force in that country by up to 50,000 immediately.
Local NBC channel 4
posted this on their web site.
The executive director of the Ohio Republican Party said that Edwards just doesn't have a message that resonates with Ohioans, saying that his message wasn't received in 2004.
"Edwards has been here a lot. He's been here since the 2004 election, and obviously his message wasn't received then. There's no reason to believe his message will be received this time around," said Jason Mauk, of the Ohio Republican Party.
proving that no matter how positive a democratic campaign appearance is they can find some negative spin for the story.
The A.P. was there as well.
Edwards again denounced radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh as he had earlier in the day while campaigning in New Hampshire, taking issue with Limbaugh's characterization of Iraq war veterans who have spoken out against the war as "phony soldiers."
He called on Republicans to denounce Limbaugh the same way they denounced Democrats after the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org ran an advertisement criticizing Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.
more from the ap
Edwards, who as a senator voted to authorize the Iraq war, said the hundreds of billions of dollars being used to fund the war should be redirected to international development projects, such as winning the hearts and minds of those who may be recruited by terrorist groups.
"If they see us as selfish, bullying, only interested in the expansion of American power we will drive them in the other direction," he said. "If on the other hand they see America as a source of hope and opportunity, a country that actually meets its responsibility to humanity, it will pull them to us like a magnet."
As he left the stage and came back by us my mother said "you and Elizabeth have to win" to which he responded "we are going to"!
I hope the rest of the country can come to see the special qualities I see in John Edwards. In my mind the most important thing that needs to happen in this country is for the people to actually seize control of one of the parties. If Edwards wins the democratic nomination that would, in my opinion, be evidence that perhaps there is some hope for democracy in the U.S.. That maybe the people are going to wrest control of the party away from the monied interest. Those well funded lobbyist representing, polluters, the oil industry, the military industrial complex, and the insurance, banking, and pharmaceutical cartels have done enough damage to this country and it's time we the people took it back.
Meeting John Edwards yesterday only reinforced my instinct that this really is a man of the people. A politician who will fight back against the "monied interest" that have stolen our democracy right out from under our noses. I hear complaints that there is some hypocrisy in Edwards and that he is playing a populist role only to get elected somehow hiding his true colors. I don't buy that for a second. I find his positions to be consistent across time. Those few exceptions he has explained to my satisfaction.
I'll also point out that he came to Washington, as a Senator, in a time when the Democratic party was controlled by the DLC and that centrist, third way, mind set. Perhaps he was influenced by the notion that he had to "play ball" with those DLC types to function within the party. Perhaps he, at one time, had to temper some of his "populist" ideas that were a bit ahead of their time in the Clinton corporatist pro nafta democratic party of the 90's. All politicians evolve over time and in my eyes John Edwards has matured into one of the best I've seen.