Edwards

Does Edwards endorsement of Obama move NC into the Swing State category?

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards will endorse Sen. Barack Obama

Today, the 199th birthday of President Abraham Lincoln is a fitting time to remind folks, as my good friend John Edwards has reminded us all, both why we fight, and more importantly why we must heal.

Lincoln's First Inaugural Address concluded with this message to the Secessionists.

I am loth to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

"The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time." - Willem de Kooning

Clearly, words spoken by someone who has been there unable to get ahead and in need of a hand up. Sadly, too many people who live here in NC's 8th district know this all too well. In fact, it is a bellwether District – a harbinger the rest of the nation should heed.

In so many ways, my District is like a microcosm of America. We have suburbs, farmland, small towns, a military base, as well as the big banking hub, Charlotte. We also have the highest unemployment in North Carolina with one in ten looking for work in some of our more rural areas, and an Associated Press ranking as one of the most economically devastated Districts in the nation. Our schools face challenges just like anywhere else, with the dropout rate in big cities now at a 6-year high, and the number of homeless children in our school system doubling this year even in our suburbs.

In which we examine the options remaining for John Edwards.

In which I have to take on a most unpleasant topic of discussion.

Let me say this rather bluntly: I've never been more embarrassed to be a Democrat than when I watched some of the candidates I'm pulling for sit in that last debate and act like schoolchildren talking over each other and taking cheap shots. What are we, Republicans?

Dear Senator Clinton: (0 / 0)

Hi.

My name is Leslie Hubbard.

I live in NC, near the Research Triangle park. I lost my telecom job in 2002 because of NAFTA. So did all my coworkers. It's almost 2008. I still don't make what I made in 2002. With all due respect, Senator, I can't for the life of me figure out what you find so funny about that ... numbers, charts and Ross Perot be damned.

It's pretty clear that you don't really understand the reality of OUR economy in the post-NAFTA world. God bless your husband, but clearly he don't get it neither. Y'all don't get or you've forgotten what it's like to not have enough to eat, to not have even a dollar to your name when the last cup of rice is gone and the small garden in the yard is playing out in the early weeks of fall.

If you ever needed to read something that defines a candidate, this is it. Please take the time to read it.

I was just at Political Insider and saw this gem:

Elizabeth Edwards, insanely straightjacketed the last time around, has been set free and has turned out to be the Presidential candidate spouse who outshines the actual candidate. If Edwards loses Iowa and drops out early, Elizabeth Edwards should take on Elizabeth Dole for North Carolina's '08 Senate seat.

I had never considered this. Obviously, I'd prefer that John Edwards not lose, but should that happen...is this possible?