The Rundown on the Underdog Rerun

Legal Name: Johnny Reid Edwards

Onyx Name: John “Sleeper Sweeper” Edwards

Most Recent Office:  U.S. Senator, North Carolina : January 1999 - 2005 

Party Affiliation:  Democrat

Unofficial Sect:  Moderate Left-Wing Advocate Disguised as Status Quo

No Other Major Candidate: Focuses on their proven distance from PACs and lobbyists.

His Current Tagline:

The Campaign to Change America

Onyx’s Tagline for Edwards:

The Campaign to Remind America That White Men Can Be Liberals

Why He’s a Major Contender:  John Edwards has been where he is before, although not in the midst of such competitive company.  People know his name, like his face and trust his political record.  During his first run for the Democratic nomination in 2004, many viewed him as “presidential” but still in need of a little more experience.  Now he’s got it.

Personal Image Edwards is Attempting to Project:  A Southern family man with a love for this country that happens to be expressed through politics.

What We See:  A man who is making his final bid to get into the Oval office.  Opting to remain in the race despite his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis is extremely telling.  He believes that this is it.

Political Image He’s Attempting to Project: An experienced and patient agent of change whose status quo gender and race force him to prove his worth as a Democratic candidate through policy alone.

What We See: We think Edwards has switched gears and is clearly vying for the Vice Presidency.  His comments on being “honored” to run against Obama and highlighting the similarity of his agenda to those of his rivals are strategic.  He is the clear option for Democrats that think Clinton is a skirted abomination and that Obama is an optimistic, unproven youngster.  He’s a bit out of his element.  The last time he made a dash for the presidency being a white man was not only anticipated; it was demanded.  His race and gender have forced him to have more in common with Republican candidates than the main Democratic contenders.  He’s still keeping his name out there and is an extremely attractive ticket mate for Obama or Clinton since placing those two together would presumably assure defeat in the general election.

Edwards has more “in-depth” issue sections than either of his front running rivals.  Thankfully, he organized them into three main categories.  What we see are an incredible number of similarities between his agenda, Obama’s and Clinton’s.  Yet there are a few stand-outs that caught us off guard and made us remember why he was considered a major contender before being hobbled by comparatively poor fundraising.

I. Standing Up For Regular Families

• Health Care (The attention to detail and plethora of major issues addressed rivals Hillary Clinton’s.  It addresses doctors as well as patients and concludes with health insurance being like car insurance – everyone will be required to have it.)
  
  
• Poverty (It’s comparable to Obama’s plan, but more succinct.  There are more pertinent issues than we can list here, but the biggies are specified plans for credit card reform, predatory lending (beyond mortgages), revamping the focus on literacy and preventing teen pregnancy.  He’s taking it ALL on  - even excessive overdraft fees and interest on payday loans.  His outline to actually update how “poverty” is federally measured is on point.)
  
  
• Rural America (This is his pet issue and he knows exactly who he’s talking to.  His plan addresses the corporate takeover of farm subsidies and gets mad specific about how urban areas have been stealing rural dollars.  He’s as up on meth labs as anyone else.  It’s here that he gets ring-wing, or rather a little Southern, and advocates for 2^nd Amendment rights. )
  
  
• Tax Reform and Simplification (No big surprises here.  This is his big middle class push.)
  
  
• Government Reform and Trade (Concentrated media, lobbyists and a pork barrel line-item veto that comes with a built-in accountability system. Corporate gifts to officials and lobbyists overstepping their bounds?  He’s got something for that too. Someone has been doing his homework.)
  
  
• Working Families, Predatory Mortgages and Debt & Savings (Plans for immediate and long-term change that you’ll see on other agendas, but all still powerfully packaged.)
  
  
• Food Safety (Brilliant!  A little something for hippies, germaphobes, domestic farmers, and those who want to see government streamlined.)

II. Restoring America ’s Leadership Role in the World

• Here are the headliners for this bucket list of pragmatic idealism:  Iraq , Iran , Global Poverty, Military, Homeland Security, Terrorism, Dafur & Uganda, Civil Liberties and Reengaging With the World.
• What does it all boil down to?  Change and diplomacy mixed with acknowledgement of more ring-wing fears and assumptions.  The theme of this section should really be “Learning From Our Mistakes” as it is a point-by-point “solution agenda” for cleaning up what Bush created, supported and ignored while in office.  If you’re thinking he’s been slammed less than Hillary for his pro-Iraq invasion vote, then you’d be correct.  It’s a combination of factor, but has a lot to do with his continual apologizing and couching his retraction in a way that implied his female rival’s wasn’t strong enough.

III.  Investing in Our Future Communities

• Energy/Environment (He’s as serious about this one as any other Democrat.)
  
  
• Education (Standard Issue: more money for teachers, better schools and not giving up on pubic education.  We are concerned with Second Chance schools and how different or similar they’d be to continuation schools.)
  
  
• College Affordability (He’s taking North Carolina pilot programming national on this one.  There are some changes in terms of financial aide and a focus on strong preparation, but it’s a little open ended and in some areas, like college preparatory curriculum, straight presumptuous.  His agenda for poverty would really have to work in order for his College Affordability agenda to make some headway.)
  
  
• Open Media (He wants to take on the Big Eight and to a much greater extent, prevent internet monopoly.  No surprises on this one.)
  
  
• Veterans/Military Families (He’s with everyone else on this issue, but has an enhanced focus on spouses and dependents of those in the armed services.)
  
  
• Innovation (He’s more like Hillary here.  We’re especially fond of the “Idealism Over Science” topic and the rest of his plan to stay on track with the future ain’t bad either.)
  
  
• Edwards’ Rainbow Coalition (Just in case you didn’t see where you fit into his grand vision, there are sections that present data and related agenda items for the following groups:  African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Latinos, LGBT, Women, Young Americans, Older Americans, and Americas With Disabilities.)  ALL that and there’s no outlined section for the first Americans – Natives. Tisk-Tisk Johnny!

Onyx’s “Issues” with Edwards’ “Issues”: Edward is more moderate than the black guy or the white chick, but it’s not because he’s a white dude.  His plan (80 pages total) is a well-studied one and avoids being pie in the sky while still relying on a great deal of political momentum and bipartisan cooperation.  His overall plan is most in line with Obama’s and we’re positive there have been some exchanging and borrowing of ideas.  We won’t use the term covert double-teaming.  Oops.  We just did.

Who Will Benefit Most from His Presidential Reign:  Rural America , no and low-income individuals and families, the military, anti-monopoly advocates, anti-lobbyists, moderate Democrats and progressive Republicans.

The Best Thing We Can Say About Edwards: He is a safe option for those desiring Democratic change and of all major candidates in his party, will have the best chance at a minimized backlash (but it will still be vicious). 

The Most Truthful Thing We Can Say About Edwards:  We consider Edwards a “deeper sleeper” candidate and while his record isn’t racking up victories, never underestimate a white man’s ability to secure votes.  We’ll reconfirm our earlier statement that he may be headed for the V.P. spot once again.  People are reluctant to put him in office only to watch him grieve for his wife and he’ll help either Obama or Clinton secure more votes.  His policy is already similar enough to theirs.  Then there’s the unspoken factor.  There are those who don’t want the Republicans to win.  However, they’d feel much better about a black man or a white woman in the Oval Office if a white man was right down the hall.

His “Democratic” Features:  There are many, but especially the economy.  His plan is extensive and he addresses the daily issues that lead from an unbalanced checkbook to bankruptcy.

His “Republican” Features: They’re mixed in with Homeland Security and some international policy.

Most Dangerous Element:  Rural America influencing urban policy.  Being a white male is his temporary handicap and to his long-term advantage.

Top 5 Reasons That Some Blacks Will Vote for Edwards:

5. 5) They’re moved by this perpetual underdog status.
   
   4) They’re more interested in changing policy than the race or gender of the President.
   
   3) They’re from the South and consider him homegrown.
   
   2) They are turned off and tuned out of the circus-like hoopla that surrounds Obama and Clinton.
   
   1) They think he’s the best man for the job and thought so the FIRST time they voted for him.

Why Onyx Cranium Thinks Blacks Should Vote for Edwards:  He’s not perfect, but his policy is tight and very well thought out.  We’d like to see him on the ticket, but not at the expense of Obama’s and/or Clinton’s name(s) being missing.

Want to Know More About Edwards?  Visit: http://www.johnedwards.com/