John Edwards
John Edwards (born June 10 1953) is an American lawyer and politician. He is currently a Democratic candidate for the 2008 election. Edwards, a wealthy trial lawyer famous for winning lawsuits against drug companies and other large corporations, served a term as Senator for North Carolina (1998-2004). He achieved national prominence running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and was the vice presidential candidate, running with senator John Kerry for the 2004 election. He is married to Elizabeth Edwards, née Anania, whose inoperable cancer is a common topic of discussion.
According to the New York Times,[1] "But as local polls show that his early lead here has diminished, putting him on par with Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama, he has become more willing to use this confrontational approach, inside of Iowa and out." For example, "This corporate greed is killing the middle class, killing American jobs, and it is stealing your children's future."[2] In the same New York Times article, he was quoted saying "I’ve been fighting these people all my entire life...I fought them in the courtroom, and I’ve beat them and beat them. We’ve got to stop being mealy-mouthed and careful. We’ve got to get rid of the robber barons. We need to have some guts... It makes me angry. I feel outrage. I won’t let them get away with it."
His campaigning style is controversial, with some commentators describing it as angry. Others are more reluctant to characterize it:
“There’s a fine line between passion and anger,” said David P. Redlawsk, an associate professor of political science at the University of Iowa and director of the university’s political poll. “It’s too early to tell which side of the line he is straddling. If he seems to be purely angry all the time, it will fail. People are not interested in a guy who is always angry.”[3]
In January 2008 Edwards was defeated by 9 points by Barack Obama in the in Iowa caucuses, but came in just ahead of Hillary Clinton and vowed to fight on in the New Hampshire Primary on Jan. 8.
For a daily update on the polls see [2]
see 2008 United States presidential election
notes
- ↑ A NY Times story from Aug 19, 2007
- ↑ Quoted by ABC News Jan 1, 2008 at [1]
- ↑ A NY Times story from Aug 19, 2007