John Edwards: Renewed Hope

As the Holidays sped by, the idea of a Chapel Hill rally for John Edwards seemed less and less interesting. I was tired, sore, and felt overwhelmed with work and family situations.

Then I looked at my wife.

This woman, whose memories are filled with National Convention broadcasts and political discussions with her hard-core Democratic father, was once again a child. As the days approached, her excitement could be measured on the Richter scale. There was no way I could deny her this satisfcation, nor would I. For this woman, political involvement is a family legacy.

After an hour's drive of interesting discussions with my wife and a friend, we arrived at Southern Village, a Chapel Hill development whose story is best left for another time. Before us was a facsimile of a small town, or what planners believed a small town should be. On the center commons stood the scaffolded stage where, in a few hours, we would hear from Senator Edwards.

Being hours early, we sat in a local restaurant and enjoyed our lunch. It was then, as I waited for our food, that I saw the commons become a hive with dozens of white-shirted worker bees. They would head out in different directions, each with their own task, and return to the stage front for more direction. This buzzing was envigorating, energizing, and intoxicating. With all these worker bees flitting about, one could not avoid the swarm. The excitement began to build within me. I had been stung.

As the BlueNC members started congregating at the aforementioned restaurant, I started planning my photographs. Bloggers met bloggers. Bloggers met spouses. Faces were put with names. A new swarm had formed as visitors to, and now members of, this larger, more diverse hive.

When the gates finally opened, we learned that the VIP tickets we had been given were only for the large section before the press risers. My initial letdown was countered once we settled into a spot just a few rows from the stage. With my height and prediliction for taking far too many photos, I knew I would obtain at least one decent picture.

The group on the stage risers were a mixture of people, many of them from labor, clad in their red shirts encouraging people to unite. Others, like the worker bees, wore OneCorps shirts in support of Senator Edwards' work over the past years. While this group onstage was a pre-selected crowd, they were not like the crowds we so frequently saw from George W. Bush's so-called Town Halls. These were real people. Some were white, others where black. Some obviously were financially secure, while others, it became clear, were not. This was a representation of the Two Americas we heard about in 2004.

I turned and looked at the gathering crowd. There were $2000 suits next to Wal-Mart t-shirts. There were battered ball caps next to $200 hairstyles. Young and old, black and white, straight and gay all standing together with the same look in their eyes. The same look I had seen in my wife's eyes in the days leading up to this event. The same look Senator Edwards has undoubtedly seen over and over both here and in his many stops in other countries. Anticipation and hope mixed with fear and reluctance. Would this be it? Is he the one? Does he have a plan? Can he help?

Smiles were everywhere when Senator Edwards finally appeared. The almost deafening roar of the crowd engulfed us all. Then he spoke. While it was a campaign speech, a stump speech mind you, it was different. We were treated to his views of current policy and where it could be changed. He openly and directly criticized current escalation plans for Iraq. Then the atmosphere of the entire event changed.

Unlike every other candidate,he spoke not only of what he what he plans to do if elected but what he needs us all to do regardless of the election. The Senator was not talking about global domination but global responsibility. He was not talking about domestic problems but domestic solutions. While he did not shy away from criticizing the current administration, he did not focus on their failures. Instead, he directed us all to work as one team, one America, to correct these mistakes and prevent others from recurring.

Not unlike the complexity and depth of a fine single malt scotch or a well-aged wine, John Edwards spoke with the passion of a preacher, the charisma of a friend, and the wisdom of a sage. Part John Kennedy, part Mahatma Gandhi, he urged us all to join with him and make this "the America we want it to be".

"I have become completely convinced that the way we change this country is not by waiting for the next election, not by waiting for the next elected leader to go to Washington and solve our problems. The way we change this country is we engage, every single one of us, we take responsibility not just for ourselves but we take responsibility for America. We take action to change America. We don't sit around at home and complain about somebody else not doing their job. Instead we decide ourselves that we are going to take this thing, we're going to take it by the horns and we're going to bring the change that America needs.

" 'Tomorrow Begins Today' is not just a political phrase. I am here tonight to ask every single one of you to reach out to your friends, your family, your neighbors and ask them to join us in this cause. Because I cannot change this country by myself - all of us have to do it."

I went to this event to make my wife happy and support her interests. I left believing.

Tomorrow can begin today. On this night, we saw proof. On this night, we saw hope. On this night, we saw a true leader step forward.