John Edwards, who leads the Democratic presidential nominee wanabees in Iowa, recently confessed to lacking authenticity.
“The problem is that we’re so trained and so conditioned over a long period of time that being normal and real and authentic requires you to shed that conditioning,” Edwards said of politicians. “It is not an easy thing to do.”
Edwards then alluded to the next presidential election.
“My own view is the next president of the United States, or certainly the one after, is likely to be the single candidate who doesn’t sound like a politician,” he said. “I want to tell you on a personal level, I’m trying every way I know how not to do it.
“We’ve been trained to do the wrong thing,” he concluded. “That’s the problem.”
I can’t remember the last ‘lacking genuiness’ mea culpa coming from a politician. Sure, it’s a winning admission for any hopeful pol but who was the last politico to admit to such? He’s also right that it will be someone who can best project an ‘anti-politician’ aura who will be the next President of the United States.
Some may certainly doubt the bona fides of this admission, saying that it’s yet another slick and savvy move and that Edwards, with his trial lawyer background, is excellent at pronouncements such as this. That’s hard to argue against but Edwards certainly deserves credit for raising this subject matter and especially so for tackling the major issues he has embraced: reducing poverty, raising the minimum wage, providing government-subsidized employment.
These are not ‘popular’ issues, not the ones that poll high or score well with focus groups. Disaffected Democrats, those who need to be wooed back, are not likely to respond to such a platform.To affiliate himself with such interests provides credibility for Edwards.
So, I say give Edwards credit where credit is due. I accept his admission as genuine. The proof will be who John Edwards is from here on out.
