July 15, 2004
DID THIS BYLINE COME WITH A BLUE DRESS? (via Kevin Whited):
Campaign Paragon: John Edwards has morphed into an almost-perfect candidate. And his sunny outlook is infecting Kerry, too (Richard Wolffe, July 14, 2004, Newsweek)
It’s hard to put your finger on the precise moment. It could be when he steps to the front of the stage, raises his arms in the air and simply basks in the cheers of thousands of adoring fans. Or it could be when he stops in his tracks, shrugs his shoulders and modestly tells the crowd they don’t really need to listen to him talking about their lives. But by the time John Edwards reaches the climax of his new stump speech, the realization dawns. The senator who just joined the Democratic ticket is not just good. He’s the Stepford Veep.Somewhere along the way, the redneck son of a mill worker from rural North Carolina morphed into an almost-perfect candidate.
Maybe it's when he feeds the entire crowd with just a few loaves & fishes? Posted by Orrin Judd at July 15, 2004 4:53 PM
Dated Dean, Married Kerry, Cheated with Edwards?
Posted by: Chris B at July 15, 2004 5:37 PM"Son of a millworker" does sound better than "son of a mill's production manager". Sort of like calling Bush the "son of a government employee".
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at July 15, 2004 6:53 PMEdwards is the perfect running mate, except that he doesn't give them his home state, has almost no experience, and, as a trial lawyer, is as likely to be described as a "Son of a B!()#$%&" as a "Son of a millworker"
Posted by: MarkD at July 15, 2004 7:10 PMThis paragraph reminds me of Tad Szulc's description of Castro (who, standing up to give a speech): "like a mighty penis coming to life".
Clinton probably wishes someone wrote that about him.
Posted by: jim hamlen at July 15, 2004 9:48 PMIs it me or do the articles on Edwards sound like they were written by Teen Idol writers about the latest teenage heartthrob?
Edwards can be sunny all he wants - if he doesn't fulfill the traditional VP role of attacking the opponent he won't help Kerry at all.
Well, the managing editor at Newsweek, Evan Thomas, did tell us they were going to do this. His frank admission of media bias (on the "Inside Washington" talk show) was, in its own way, refreshing.
Posted by: Jim Miller at July 16, 2004 8:55 AMWas Szulc's description of Castro implied the audience was about to get screwed ... again. It works. Hope he does an article on Kerry.
Posted by: genecis at July 16, 2004 9:11 AMWhat would Szulc say about Hillary as she rises to address the Democrats?
Posted by: ratbert at July 16, 2004 12:21 PM