Edwards: No corporate Democratic White House

As I referred to earlier this morning in the Blue Radar, John Edwards is trying to distinguish himself from Hillary Clinton as the 'change candidate'.  In an obvious knock on Hillary, Edwards said in a speech today that change can't happen by just winning the White House.  We need to kick out the establishment from both parties:

“The choice for our party could not be more clear,” Edwards saidin Hanover, N.H. “We cannot replace a group of corporate Republicanswith a group of corporate Democrats, just swapping the Washingtoninsiders of one party for the Washington insiders of the other.

“The American people deserve to know that their presidency is notfor sale, the Lincoln Bedroom is not for rent, and lobbyist money canno longer influence policy in the House or the Senate,” Edwards added.

Neither John Edwards nor Barack Obama have taken a dime from currently registered federal lobbyists.

There is no doubt that John Edwards has consistently been strong during the debates.  What turns off some voters is his perceived lack of authenticity, arisen in part from the public's overall distrust of lawyers.  Edwards needs to remember that Iowa voters don't only weigh a candidate's likability.  They want a leader that can win a general election.  Edwards needs to convince voters that he is indeed electable.   Part of his answer then rests on defeating the notion that he is just a slickly scripted trial lawyer, and instead is genuinely presidential.  Much of that can certainly be done between now and January, but it has to start soon.

Comments

[George]

I have really enjoyed Edwards' rhetoric throughout this campaign. I think he's a great progressive voice on stage to back up Obama and Richardson and to lend more merit to Kucinich.

I feel like progressives really have it together now - they just have too many choices in the primaries and that is going to be a major problem. Hillary is the DLC voice and she'll get no competition from her puppies, Biden and Dodd.

Richardson, Edwards and Obama could very well negate each other. I wish 2 of them would just give up in a few months.

[indiindgo]

The thing that bothers me about John Edwards is the same thing that bothers me about Mitt Romney...a little too much attention to personal appearance (the lawyer thing also bugs me). It's not that I'm looking for a big fat slob to vote for but these two guys seem to be too interested in how they look on camera. It's easy to conclude that they are all sparkle, no substance.

[Tyler]

Edwards is like a breath of fresh air. Its great to see a candidate that actually cares about what the average american cares about. As to his appearance, he realizes its important, obviously people judge based on what they see, thats not how people should judge, but nevertheless they do. John Edwards has a strong standpoint on all of the vital issues, I wish he would stand out a bit more from the others though. An Edwards / Obama ticket would look great to me.