John Edwards for President

It is probably way too early for any rational observer to start picking favorites for the 2008 Presidential race, but I am not your typical, or rational, political observer. I am a lot less concerned with what potentially embarassing social gaffes the Democratic hopefuls will commit at campaign ralllies or on Meet the Press. No, I am primarily interested in the policy positions and political leadership experience held by a particular candidate. Bill Clinton oozed brains and charisma, and he ended up being a great president, but it were the political philosophies he held and the courageous political battles he fought that defined his eight years in office, not his slick persona. (And no, when I mention the courageous battles he fought, I'm not talking about his abandonment of the working class by helping push through the twin abominations of NAFTA or "Welfare Reform")

But if you have a candidate with a sincerely-held progressivepolicy agenda, and a candidate who is tenacious enough to defend his positions even when his opponents attempt to marginalize them - and a candidate with good looks and charisma to boot - then you have a Presidential candidate I can get behind. I truly believe John Edwards embodies all of these traits and more, which is why at this time I fully support his run for the White House.

This post from hid blog commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a great example of why I am pulling for the former Senator. More than any other politician or political candidate, I think Edwards really captures the essence of Dr. King's political legacy. King was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam war as well as a strong advocate for progressive social and economic policies, something the Right Wing is only too-happy to sweep under the rug when discussing the assassinated civil rights leader. Sure, they're happy to talk about his religious convictions, but not the fact that the FBI spied on him because his demands for economic and social justice were considered to be communist and subversive. If he were active today, the Right would happily be slandering him as a terrorist-sympathizer and anti-American.

One criticism of Edwards' background, which some believe might derail his chances of becoming the next President, is the fact that yes, he was a ridiculously successful trial lawyer. I think being a trial lawyer, and representing the interests of the powerless and disenfranchised against the multimillion dollar corporations that have hurt them through their negligence, is a noble calling - especially compared to the previous professions of George W. Bush (failed oil company CEO and professional baseball franchise owner) and Dick Cheney (head of a military contractor that has profited immensely from the illegal invasion and destruction of Iraq).

Nevertheless, the business media is replete with predictably depressing reports that Wall Street and Big Money interests are joining hands to smear and slander Edwards as somehow being a threat to America's business community. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The irony of course is that Edwards is a genuine economic populist and social progressive, although he clearly has proven his ability to succeed wildly in the business world without the countless advantages afforded to the silver-spooned George W Bushes of the world, who never met a piece of corporate welfare he didn't support.

At the end of the day, Edwards has been a strong, principled opponent of the Iraq war and a foreceful and eloquent champion of the need for the US to begin immediately withdrawing its military forces from the country. (And yes, based on his apology for initially supporting the war I don't hold his previous position against him.) And equally important for me is his strong, unqualified support for organized labor, as this blog post from the Washington Post back in May of last year clearly demonstrates.

And he has the right position on "free trade", in other words, he opposes trade deals like NAFTA that ensure corporations' and the elites' economic interests (such as intellectual property) are carefully protected while leaving working Americans and most citizens of the Global South to twist in the wind without the benefits of labor, human rights or environmental protections. In 2004, he challenged his eventual running mate John Kerry on the latter's support for "free" trade deals, and as John Nichols writing in The Nation's blog noted back in February of 2004:

"Edwards has not been so consistent a foe of free trade policies as Feingold, or Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who is also seeking the Democratic nod. But the North Carolinian has cast votes in the Senate against a number of trade agreements, and he has made opposition to the FTAA and calls for a reworking of NAFTA an important part of his message in the presidential campaign."

Closer to Kucinich than Kerry on trade? I like those odds, especially considering that Feingold is not running.