10th district leaders with Edwards in New Hampshire

At an historic mill in downtown Manchester, former Cleveland County Chair Betsy Wells and former District Chair Judy Gilbert greet their former Senator.

The News that Isn't

So, the big presidential campaign news this week is that John Edwards used his role at in several non-profit anti-poverty agencies to further his political career. Somebody stop the presses, because this is news…Well not exactly.

When the one-term Senator left office in 2005 he was faced with a challenge…what to do with his life. Most people believed from that time that Edwards was going to be a presidential contender in 2008. He needed to do something in those years that would show that he is worthy of being our President. Instead of taking a stint on “Law and Order” Edwards worked to establish issue oriented agencies to take a leadership role in stopping the thing that he believes is the true scourge of our society…POVERTY.

Let’s get the negatives out of the way: John Edwards did travel at the expense of the organization. He has declined to disclose the identity of the donors (most non-profits do this to protect the privacy of the donor, an idea foreign to the world of politics). The NYTimes quotes former IRS sources stating that Edwards did not break any laws. None of the allegations constitute crimes or even abnormal behavior.

Now the positives:

"All of this was an effort to try to deal with the issue of poverty in America, which is the cause of my life," he said. "What I've been doing is not only significant and there's nothing wrong with it, it's something I'm very proud of. Everything we did was not only completely legal but we did a lot of good."

Edwards traveled to 10 college campuses helping to organize “Opportunity Rocks” chapters on those campuses. The chapters were to bring together students who wanted a chance to make a difference in their communities and facilitate those opportunities. The Center for Promise and Opportunity Foundation has given away $300,000 in scholarships and on track for $500,000 more. The CPO and Opportunity Rocks also recruited and helped fund trips for college students to help out the STILL Katrina ravaged New Orleans.

A few years ago I applied for a job with a non-profit. During the course of the interview the director explained that they were re-organizing the agency to comply with tax laws. They were previously only a 501(c)3, but they were also adding a 501(c)4 and a 527 so that they could accomplish all of their goals, but were run by the same person. As complicated as the tax code is, it is often true that many organizations must be created to reach one goal.

No one, least of me, would say that John Edwards was not running for President starting from the end of his Vice-Presidential bid. It’s just that, in the meantime, he “walked the walk” and worked to end poverty.

Cross posted at BlueNC.

South Carolina in April

As everybody knows by this point the first Democratic Debate of the 2008 Primary season was last Thursday in Orangeburg, SC. The debate was one of several opportunities the Democratic Candidates had to show their stuff for the early primary state. I had the fantastic opportunity to go to SC and volunteer with the John Edwards campaign Thursday and Friday, so I wanted to share a little of my experience with you guys.

We arrived on Thursday to what can only be described as a carnival-like experience. As we drove in to Orangeburg we immediately spotted the large and unmistakable campaign signs (in my hometown we complain when they go up two months before the election). The wait staff at the local Waffle House seemed unimpressed by the goings on and just hoped to pick up some extra customers. I had suspected that only real political junkies would be excited about the election this far out.

Once we arrived at the SC State campus the carnival atmosphere increased tenfold. Campaigns had tents for volunteer check-in and media vans were everywhere. This scene was nothing compared to what we found in the middle of the campus. There were big satellite trucks, stages for live shows, reporters and anchors everywhere. People all over the campus were wearing the shirts for their favorite “team” and would start calling out to the other side as we walked through the streets. We made our way to the official area for candidate drop-off and visibility. There is no doubt that the Edwards campaign and Obama campaign had worked hard at putting the signs up, but Obama was clearly the sign usage champion. I would hate to know what the Obama campaign spent on those signs that were, in the end, never seen by anyone except those there for visibility.

Next, we went to greet Elizabeth Edwards as she arrived for her Hardball interview. She seemed truly delighted to have a crowd meet her at the door. As always, she was incredibly gracious and fun to see. We followed her over to the stage and managed to get some space to show our JE support. There were a lot of Obama and Hillary supporters at the Hardball interview, but they did not show the enthusiasm for their candidate that the Edwards group showed. Obama’s group was close, but Hillary’s crowd just stayed very quiet for the most part. The most telling part of the interview was when Chris Matthews asked the crowd who planned to vote and everybody screamed, then Elizabeth asked how many were registered and only a small portion responded in the positive.

After the interview we went back to the visibility area to greet Senator Edwards. He was glad to see us and clearly in the “zone” getting ready for the debate. Speaking of the debate, I hardly saw any of it. By the time we got back to our tent and had dinner the debate was beginning. I had a ticket for the simulcast party but it was hot in the building and hard to see the screen. I went back outside and watched on the big screen at the Edwards tent. We were glad to see him be thoughtful in his answers, but the opponents seem to think pausing before an answer to think is a weakness. I guess that is how we got into this war.

Friday, was much more laid back and fun. SC was hosting a Jefferson-Jackson dinner and the Edwards campaign hosted a party across the street beforehand. All of the Edwards supporters were in one location and traveled together to the JJ Dinner. We were led down the street by the Edwards’ then a drum line. We marched as a group into the convention center with a megaphone leading the charge. We definitely picked up crowd and media attention with our efforts.

We made the same entrance into the Clyburn Fish Fry. For those not from SC, Congressman Clyburn has a huge Fish Fry every year. It is the political event in SC. The Edwards folks met early to do visibility on the street (we were very well received). When the candidate arrived we made our drum line-escorted trip into the building. It was like the crowd parted for us just to see what was coming. It was one of the most well planned events of any campaign I have ever been a part of. The Edwards campaign is often overshadowed in the media by the star power of Hillary and the newness of Obama. This was JE’s chance to show everybody he is still a strong player. Congratulations to the campaign advance and volunteer teams for pulling off an amazing event.

Cross posted at BlueNC.

Letter from Senator Edwards

Elizabeth and I are so grateful for your prayers and wishes. Your support means a great deal to us during this difficult time.

As you may have heard, yesterday we found out that Elizabeth's breast cancer is back, but confined mainly to her bones. Although this isn't the news we wanted to hear, we are very optimistic. Having been through many struggles together in the past, we know that the key is to keep your head up, keep moving and be strong. And that's exactly what we intend to do.

Elizabeth and I have been married for nearly 30 years and we will be in this every step of the way together. We will keep a positive attitude and always look for the silver lining—that's what we do.

Although the cancer is no longer curable, it is treatable, and many patients in similar circumstances have lived full, energetic lives. We expect nothing less for Elizabeth. She expects to do all the things next week that she did last week.

Our campaign goes on and it goes on strongly. We are so proud of the campaign we are running—a campaign based on ideas and reaching out to people. This campaign is not about me or Elizabeth—it's about all the people we have met these past few years and people like them all across America and the world—people worried about feeding and clothing their kids; people without health care; people facing hardships overseas.

Both of us are committed to this campaign. We're committed to this cause and we're committed to changing this country we love so much.

Thank you again for your support and for standing with us.

John Edwards