The Evolution of John Edwards
The smiling centrist of 2004 is now a growling populist. Does he know what Democrats want?
Edwards has several other things going for him. He should do well in debates, with his trial lawyer's skill at making arguments and persuading jurors. His youth, good looks, and vigor raise comparisons with John F. Kennedy, one of his party's icons. His personal story as the son of a millworker who rose from humble beginnings to success in the law field remains appealing (though the fact that he lives in a multimillion-dollar house in North Carolina may undercut his populist appeal somewhat). His wife Elizabeth's successful struggle with breast cancer gave him and his family firsthand experience with the kinds of everyday crises that many Americans also have endured. He feels liberated from the normal cautious mind-set of Washington politicians.
Evolution. That was clear when Edwards spoke to a packed town hall meeting at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., on January 31. He rolled up the sleeves of his dark-blue button-down shirt and roamed the crowd like a junior professor trying to bond with his students. The candidate drew cheers when he told the crowd it was time for bold action. "I, like all of you, have evolved," he declared. "It is not enough to do small things. Baby steps and incremental change are not enough. We need transformational change." That is the underlying message in the reinvention of John Edwards.
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