Edwards returns to Missouri
Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., will be back in Missouri on Monday – Springfield, to be exact — as part of his effort to keep his presidential hopes alive.
State Rep. Connie Johnson, D-St. Louis and an Edwards supporter, said his return (after being in St. Louis last Saturday) signals that “Missouri is not secondary for John Edwards” on Feb. 5.
She was referring to today’s story, which indicated that most of the candidates in both parties see Missouri as secondary to some of the larger states sharing that primary day.
Johnson noted that she had said months ago that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton would have a tougher time carrying the state if she’s the nominee, and could hurt the state’s Democratic ticket.
Johnson said she was glad to see that U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. and a supporter of Barack Obama, is now saying the same thing.
“It’s just the dynamics of our state,” Johnson said.
Here’s Edwards’ announcement of the Springfield visit:
“On Monday, January 28th, 2008, Senator John Edwards will travel to Springfield, Missouri to meet with voters and discuss his plans to make sure our government works for working families and the middle class, not just special interests. From guaranteeing universal health care to creating good jobs and enacting trade deals that help workers, not just big multinational corporations, Edwards will take on entrenched interests and fight for working and middle class families.
“Powerful entrenched interests are standing in the way of the change our country desperately needs,” said Edwards. “We need to stand up for the middle class and American jobs before it’s too late. Saving the middle class is going to be an epic battle, and that’s a fight I was born for. I know that if we stand together, we can take back our country. We can build the One America we all believe in.”
“Edwards personally understands the struggles facing Missouri’s families. He was born to a working class family and raised in small, rural mill towns across the South. Edwards has spent his life taking on powerful interests on behalf of families like the ones he grew up with.
“Edwards’ message is resonating with voters in red states and blue states, in big cities and small towns. A recent CNN poll showed Edwards was the only Democrat to beat all four leading Republicans nationally, and state by state polls show even more conclusively that Edwards is the most electable democrat in key battleground states — and even win in states like Missouri and Oklahoma that have gone “red” in recent presidential elections.
“Edwards enjoys strong grassroots support in Missouri, including the support more than 34,000 union members across the state. Edwards has also won the support of dozens of Democratic elected officials and party leaders from every region of the state including former Missouri Lt. Governor Joe Maxwell, Missouri State Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Frank Barnitz, Missouri House Democratic Whip Connie Johnson, and Missouri State Senator Wes Shoemyer. Edwards was also recently endorsed by former Missouri House Speaker Jim Kreider.
“The details of Edwards’ Missouri event are included below. The event is free and open to the public. For more information or to RSVP please visit the John Edwards for President web site at: www.johnedwards.com/springfield.
MONDAY, JANUARY 28TH, 2008
5:30 PM CST
Teamsters Local #245 Hall
1850 East Division
Springfield, Missouri
Edwards has about as much a chance of winning the nomination as I do. When he gets his butt handed to him in his home state, will he finally get the message.
Now the notion of meaningless endorsements from meaningless endorsers has reached a new level of silliness: who POSSIBLY cares which candidate an obscure ex-legislators like Jim Kreider endorses? Well, maybe that lady from the parking lot encounter outside Alexandro’s in Jefferson City, but that’s another story. Kreider is so politically potent, he only lost by 9,000 votes six years ago in a state Senate race against Republican knuckledragger Dan Clemens. Which deservedly forgotten/disgraced has-been will enjoy a renewed 15 seconds of fame by issuing an endorsement - Judi Moriarty? Wendell Bailey? Full-Time Phelps? Steve Banton? C’mon, Political Fix ….
[...] we’ve already announced that former Sen. John Edwards’ visit Monday to [...]
Well, #2, I don’t know about any of the endorsements you list. But yesterday the NY Times printed the most tepid “endorsement” of HRC I’ve ever seen. It was almost as if the staffwriter had been forced to write something pro-HRC, while really supporing Obama.
Meanwhile, Jean Carnahan, Claire McCaskill, and Mrs. Eagleton are the three most respected women in Missouri politics. Their endorsements of Obama mean a lot to me. And Mrs. Eagleton, Mrs. Paul Simon, and Mrs. Mel Carnahan (Jean Carnahan) have seen a lot of candidates in their time. This trio means a lot to me, too — the fact that Mrs. Simon compared Barack Obama to her beloved ex-husband, and Mrs. Eagleton was one of the first full donors (reaching the limits) for Obama’s campaign. I don’t think that happens every day.
I am still happy about Bill Bradley’s endorsement and the Sacramento Bee’s endorsement (the first major California paper to make a decision). And the St. Louis Post Dispatch is supposed to be endorsing Barack Obama.
If you want a really big endorsement, look tomorrow at the NY Times op-eds, where Caroline Kennedy will write:
“I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.”
in an article endorsing Barack Obama called “A President Like My Father.”
Honestly, there may be no stronger endorsement anyone could possibly make.
Oh, I see the San Francisco Chronicle also endorsed Obama today. I had to find the St. Louis text on huffingtonpost.com, but it was worth searching for. It is a beautifully reasoned and written opinion (makes me proud to be from St. Louis):
The Post-Dispatch writes that:
We disagree with the details of some of Mr. Obama’s legislative proposals, particularly his heavy reliance on insurance companies as part of an overhaul of national health policy. But we are comforted by his legislative career in Springfield and in Washington, where he worked diligently across party lines, seeking common ground and, often, finding it. He offers a welcome return to civility and cooperation.
We’re afraid that wouldn’t be the case with his principal opponent for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York. She has been a diligent senator since her election in 2001, but she is a lightning rod. There is a difference, too, between seeking consensus and “triangulating” core principles into positions palatable to campaign donors.
And we confess to a certain “Clinton fatigue.” The emergence of the former president as the Luca Brasi of the campaign trail reminds us of the worst of the Clinton years: the divisiveness and the bickering; the too-casual, if artful, blend of truth and half-truth. We’re not eager for the replay. As to John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina, he is the right man at the wrong time, a star whose light is eclipsed by the tail of a comet.
Comets don’t come around that often. In January of 1961, Ann Dunham Obama was six weeks pregnant with Barack Obama Sr.’s child when President Kennedy said at his inauguration that “the torch has been passed to a new generation.” It’s that time again.
Do politician’s endorsements really mean that much?
Obviously they do for Ron L. However, for the majority they are meaningless.
Newspaper endorsements I find to be another story. Mostly because they come with text explaining the endorsement.
However, I have never based my vote on either a politician’s or newspaper’s endorsement. I review the issues that are important to me and the candidate’s stand on those issues. I vote for the person who agrees with me the most.
Ted Kennedy endorsed Obama. That’s the one important endorsement I have been waiting for and now I’m ready.