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First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.

Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director

Mark Murray, NBC Deputy Political Director

Domenico Montanaro, NBC News Political Reporter



Edwards' impassioned plea

Posted: Monday, January 07, 2008 10:55 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:

From NBC’s Domenico Montanaro
Edwards makes an impassioned plea for his candidacy in a one-minute ad running in New Hampshire.

 

“I may be an underdog in this campaign, running against two candidates with $200 million between them,” Edwards says in the ad. “But the real underdogs are the middle class and the voiceless in this country, losing ground while CEOs pocket million dollar bonuses. And corporate lobbyists get their way in Washington.Exxon Mobil rakes in record profits, gets government handouts, and gas prices go through the roof. 

“At the same time, 200,000 veterans, men and women who wore America’s uniform, will sleep tonight under bridges and on grates. We cannot simply replace a bunch of corporate Republicans with a bunch of corporate Democrats.”

He continues, “I know who the underdogs are in this fight. I know that the fight to save the middle class will be an epic battle, and I will never give up.”

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Not only is John fighting for us against them and big money but he also has to fight the media blackout imposed upon his campaign.

Grrrrr… Go get em John
Edward is playing politics,at times is with Obama and at times is the underdog? Which is which? Has he just called the middle class the underdog? His choice of words is kind of offensive.
Edward is status quo to me..This guy needs to be focusing on his wife's health.
I like Obama a lot, but I've supported Edwards for some time, and this ad reminds me why.
Edwards says 200,000 veterans are homeless?  Really?  I can believe that they can not afford $400 haircuts the way an unscrupulous trial lawyer can, but not homeless!
It's a shame John Edwards doesn't get the attention from the national media like Clinton and Obama do.  He brings a better message, and a better chance of winning in November than the other candidates.  
The most significant portion of the ad is where it says "we will take this fight all the way through the convention."  Edwards will not give up.
"But the real underdogs are the middle class and the voiceless in this country, losing ground while CEOs pocket million dollar bonuses. And corporate lobbyists get their way in Washington.Exxon Mobil rakes in record profits, gets government handouts, and gas prices go through the roof."


Exactly what the Reagan-loving fools want, John.
Go John Go!

We're waiting for you down here on Tsunami Tuesday!
I hope the voters in New Hampshire will continue to give Edwards a fighting chance.  He is the most progressive candidate who will bring about the greatest change in the quality of life and the opportunities for the people of this country.  

John and Elizabeth Edwards have inspired me to keep on believing, to keep on fighting. They will bring back the American dream.
John Edwards is the only candidate speaking the real truth to power.  His campaign embodies the message I mentioned to my friends and family after the first  4 years of the Reagon Revolution:  We are entering another Gilded Age in American history. Well...we may have found our Teddy Roosevelt.  I truly hope those most oppressed by the policies of the past 27 years will not be duped once again to vote against their own interests.  Keep it up John, keep it up!!
John Edwards is the people candidate.  Obama has changed his campaign to sound like Edwards.  Hillary copied Edwards health plan.  Obama has Republicans joining his campaign. Please read the websites below.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-baker/2008/01/03/nbc-highlights-life-long-republican-caucusing-obama
http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2007/06/republicans_for_obama_cont.html
you know exactly where edwards stands, and he stands for everyone in america, equally, something that has been lacking from our leadership for sometime, the establishment in d.c. despises what this man stands for, which is a government that is for the people not just the corporate lobbyists, he will get my vote, and the fact is he is the only dem that can win the general election, and always has been
Michiganders are the most underdogged of all voters since we can't vote for the 2 leading candidates and a vote for Hillary or Dennis is all for nada.  It is awful that the Democratic Party decided to punish voters for the workings of State legislators.
Why would they do this to a blue state when support is needed to rid the white house of the problems we faced for 8 yrs?
It is laughable to receive e-mails soliciting requests for contributions from a candidate that does not appear on the state ballot.  What were they thinking?  New Yorkers would never stand for the treatment the Democratic Party gave Michigan after allowing NV to move their Primary with no penalty,
I love what he has to say... I really hope John Edwards gets the nod from the democratic party... I have been pulling for him from the beginning....
As a member of the middle class I agree with most of Edwards statements. I would like to understand "how" it is going to be accomplished. If my memory is correct, the last 5 or 6 elections have been on the area of change. And I like most haven't been to happy with the change I have received. My dollar is worth less, so it buys less. The cost of living has far surpassed any raise in salary. The war effort has drained the economy. We need a strong military to protect us,but we need to concern ourself with our own business. The United States is a brewing pot of all nationalities but needs to become an example for other nations and let them accomplish their goals, not ours.
We ALL know Edwards will NEVER give up.  But he should.  Nobady is going to leave Obama at this point to take a chance on Edwards.  Not when Obama can make him Attorney General.  If he comes in far behind Obama again after New Hampshire....it's over for him.  And we have to move on.  
Who's more likely to benefit from John Edwards' vote, if he were to exit the Presidential Race?

http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=1467

.
Great ad.
As much as I believe that John Edwards would be the best president because of his commitment to returning the government to the people, I have to admit that being a southern white guy is a distinct disadvantage to him this time around.  It seemed at times during the debate that he's seeking some role with Obama, whether as the #2 or some other role; that it's more important to him to get his agenda through than to be the one to do it.  Being #2 again would be awkward, but a ticket consisting of a black man and a southern white guy would certainly turn Republican racism (which is always simmering right below the surface) on its ear.
John Edwards could not win his own state in the last election but now he thinks he can win the country. I like Edwards and I think he would be 100% better then what we have now but he did nothing while we was in Washington and now that he is out he can do everything. It is time for a Women - this country needs another Clinton to clean up after another Bush.
Edward's net worth is about $55 million, Clinton is about $35 million and Obama's net worth is $1.3 million.  How can John Edwards paint himself as an opposing force to both Clinton... and Obama?
I believe that John Edwards, more than any other candidate cares about helping Americans. He will work his heart out to turn this nation around from the brink of disaster that it has been led to in the last seven years.  This is critical for us, and I hope his message will be heard in spite of the lack of press coverage he gets...but then, why would the media give attention to someone who wants to limit the greedy, monopolizing corporate power?  We need John Edwards NOW.
These are the words from the only candidate who truly has the clarity of vision for how to lead this country forward. I am weary to my bones with the media lovefest hype of Obama.
John Edwards continually fights the good fight and stays focused on the real issues: the raping of OUR goverment by corporations/lobbyist for their own interests!
Wake up, people!..."They" call John Edwards "angry"...well, he speaks for me! I'm mad as hell and I won't take it anymore! I refuse to be blinded by 'nice' when that sure as hell won't pay my gas bills in the coming years. You take money from the devil, you owe your soul to the devil.
How many homeless veterans are there?

Although accurate numbers are impossible to come by -- no one keeps national records on homeless veterans -- the VA estimates that nearly 200,000 veterans are homeless on any given night.

So he is going by estimates.....
better be careful John....

I think it is going to be a Obama/Edwards ticket myself....
Paul Palmberg wrote, "I can believe that they can not afford $400 haircuts the way an unscrupulous trial lawyer can, but not homeless!"

What's with the hair fixation Paul? Are you bald or what?
Mr. Edwards claims to be for many things, but it seems actions speak louder than words. As a trial lawyer, Mr. Edwards likely received contingency fees of 33 - 40% of any verdict for his client.  Whether his clients won or lost, they were likely responsible for paying any of his expenses. He obviously made a good living suing other people, and I don't necessarily fault him for the amount of money he made doing so. I do have a problem, however, with him claiming to be for the "little guy", attacking corporations in general (some of which are bad and some of which are good), all the while living a lavish lifestyle.

More importantly, however, his position is all style over substance. Good intentions (giving him the benefit of the doubt) don't automatically mean good policies. For example, Mr. Edwards seems to suggest that we could simultaneously improve the quality of our health care system, decrease its cost, and avoid shortages by moving to a universal health care system. I invite anyone to tell me how Mr. Edwards plan would accomplish those goals.

I'm reminded of a statement that economist Milton Friedman apparently made that goes something like this: If you spend your own money on yourself, you'll value both price and quality. If you spend your own money on someone else, you'll likely emphasize price over quality.  If you spend someone else's money on yourself, you'll likely emphasize quality over price. If someone else spends your money on someone else altogether, they're unlikely to value either price or quality. In short, we're unlikely to be able to accomplish Mr. Edwards's stated goals for healthcare by putting the government in charge of spending our money for someone else's health care. We're more likely to improve the system by returning more individual responsibility for making medical decisions and paying for health care to the individual consumer.
Edwards/Richardson ticket, and the Repubs won't stand a snowball's chance.
Edwards says his initial support of the Iraq War was a mistake from which he learned. Why does he never say what lessons he learned, what insights he gained? I think he says he was wrong, but believes he was unlucky.
The corporate controlled media has tried to silence Edwards by not giving him as much coverage as Obama & Clinton. They are doing this because he is telling us the truth about corporate greed and the entrenched interests that control every bill that is passed or killed in Washington. And despite the fact that the media has been trying their darndest to block his message it is seeping out little by little. His national poll numbers went up while Hillary's went down and Obama's remained the same.

If you doubt this check out the piece in the LA Times where the Chamber of Commerce is threatening to "Punish" candidates that dare to tell the truth about corporate greed.

Here's a quote from the Chambers president, Tom Donohue about the millions the Chamber plans to spend to defeat candidates THEY consider to be anti-business:

"We plan to build a grass-roots business organization so strong that when it bites you in the butt, you bleed"

NOW do you see why we need a FIGHTER like John Edwards?

The Chamber spent huge sums in 2004 to defeat Democrats and Democrats are their targets again.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-chamber8jan08,0,4301350.story?coll=la-politics-campaign
john made his money playing within the rules
he grew up in limited means but got an education
which is the equalizer in our society
he helped people vs those who'd abused them
he now fights for the same little people
against greedy, powerful corporate interests
who benefit from rules they set for themselves
john wants to be a referee between davids and goliath
he advocates fair play, fair rules, fair justice
and instant replay congressional oversight
his candidacy is making the system better


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