Edwards House Party Video--PLEASE WATCH IT!!

Short Diary.

Here's the Edwards House Party Video.  It's 12 minutes long.  It's worth watching.

This and other videos can be seen here:

http://johnedwards.com/...

People may rag on Edwards for Bush's Iraq War, but it was Bush who started it and conducted it, who spied on Americans and approved policies that led to Abu Graib.  Blame Edwards if you want, but that's looking backwards.  In my view, such blame would be misplaced, especially when we see just how far Edwards has come on the issue.

For those interested in today, and the future, Edwards sets the right tone and balance between style and substance.  The video touches on the themes he cares about, and his vision that America can again become a better country, for its citizens, for the world.

The video shows a John Edwards that I am proud to support.  He is a person who cares about the less fortunate among us.  He is a person who does not just talk, but provides specifics and solutions to problems.  He knows that problems will not be solved by words alone, but action.

Most important, he calls us to service, to join in the movement to make this country better.  He knows that we have as large a role in the process as any President.

Edwards, to me, has an incredible ability to inspire.  I see it every day as he deals with issues and explains his vision for our country.  Not only would he bring us together at home, but he will help us become respected again in the world, seen as friend, not foe, a partner to solving the problems that lead to conflict among people and destruction of the environment.  We have so much wealth, and it's time that we share.

There are many examples by which to illustrate.  I will use just one, from his 3-15-07 speech on global poverty and national security.  It is visionary in its simplicity and ramifications.  Here are his words:

When we're serious about moral leadership at home, we have the standing to assert moral leadership in the world.

And I believe we can begin by leading in areas that – at first glance – might not seem directly related to our self-interest. I'm talking about global poverty, primary education. But I believe if you look closely, it's clear that these areas are in fact directly related to our present and future national security.

We know that terrorists thrive in failed states, and in states torn apart by internal conflict and poverty.

And we know that in many African and Muslim countries today, extreme poverty and civil wars have gutted government educational systems.

So what's taking their place? The answer is troubling – but filled with opportunity if we have the courage to seize it.

A great portion of a generation is being educated in madrassas run by militant extremists rather than in public schools. And as a result, thousands and thousands of young people who might once have aspired to be educated in America are being taught to hate America.

When you understand that, it suddenly becomes clear: global poverty is not just a moral issue for the United States – it is a national security issue for the United States. If we tackle it, we will be doing a good and moral thing by helping to improve the lives of billions of people around the world who live on less than $2 per day – but we will also begin to create a world in which the ideologies of radical terrorism are overwhelmed by the ideologies of education, democracy, and opportunity. If we tackle it, we have the chance to change a generation of potential enemies into a generation of friends. Now that would be transformational.

But the challenge is great – generational struggles require generational solutions – so we must meet the challenge with an audacious plan.

As President I would implement a four-point plan to tackle global poverty – and improve the national security of the United States:

First, we would launch a sweeping effort to support primary education in the developing world.

More than 100 million young children have no school at all, denied even a primary education to learn how to read and write. Education is particularly important for young girls; as just one example of the ripple effects, educated mothers have lower rates of infant mortality and are 50 percent more likely to have their children immunized.

As president, I will lead a worldwide effort to extend primary education to millions of children in the developing world by fully funding the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education by 2015. The U.S. will do its part by bringing education to 23 million children in poor countries, and we will ask our allies to step up and do the rest. It's not just good for our security; it's good for theirs.

The whole speech is here.  It is worth reading.  Like his plans for health care and global warming, among other things, it shows Edwards has a strong idea of where he wants to go.  These are ideas that I, for one, agree with.

http://johnedwards.com/...

Anyway, I hope you watch the whole video and will leave a remark if you so desire.  It moved me to write this diary and I hope it moves you also.