John Edwards Fighting Hard in Iowa

The Washington Post has an interesting article dated December 30, 2007, about John Edwards and his campaign in Iowa. The writer apparently finds Edwards's talking about corporate greed and income inequality in America surprising. That makes sense because most candidates, including most Democrats don't talk about such matters. They are apparently too afraid of being told by the radical right-wing media machine that they are preaching "class warfare." "Class warfare" is the term that wingnuts like Limbaugh use when a politician tells working Americans how much they are getting screwed over by the rich.

This is a quote from the article:

But it is his message that is most remarkable. No thought here of finishing on a sunny and positive note, as he did four years ago. His "America Rising" theme is not a variation of "Morning in America."

It is a call to arms that is raw and angry, populist and pugnacious. It is a message that is as exhausting and is it confrontational. It is a message makes Al Gore's "people versus the powerful" seem tame and timid in comparison.

One Edwards supporter, departing after a big rally in Des Moines on Saturday night, said he hasn't heard a message as passionate or strong since Bobby Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign.

It is interesting that a Washington Post reporter would find it "remarkable" that a Democratic politician would be talking about such issues in such a tone. Well, it wouldn't have been remarkable back in the 1940s, 1950s, or 1960s. It wouldn't have been remarkable when Hubert Humphrey or Bobby Kennedy were alive. The fact that it is "remarkable" in 2007 shows how far from our roots the Democratic party has strayed. Both the United States and the Democratic Party could use some of what John Edwards is selling.

UPDATE: ABC News is reporting in a story dated December 29, 2007, that John Edwards is going to pull a 36 hour all-nighter as he tries to meet as many Iowans as possible. This campaign trip is titled "Marathon for the Middle Class". Edwards plans to introduce 36 policy ideas to help the middle class over the 36 hour all-nighter.