John Edwards to run for president

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Great news. With much of the talk (and the hype) centered around Clinton and Obama, and perhaps Gore, John Edwards has decided to run for president in '08, according to the AP. Edwards will make a formal announcement in New Orleans, the perfect setting for the start of his candidacy, sometime between Christmas and New Year's:

Edwards' novel choice of sites shows how he wants to distinguish his candidacy: emphasizing policies he believes can unite a country divided by economic inequality, a situation no more evident than in the city's Lower Ninth Ward, still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

To be sure, it won't be easy for him. Though he benefits from having run with Kerry in '04 and from not being in Washington at a time when Washington is extremely unpopular and voters may be looking for an outsider, Clinton is the clear front-runner and has distinct advantages in terms of organization and money, and Obama is, for now at least, the sexy candidate who is fuzzy on policy but abundant in ideas and inspiration. (And Gore is, well, Gore.)

But in my view he is an impressive man, will be a competitive candidate, and would make an exceptional president. Although I prefer not to endorse anyone so early on in the process, I have often said that Edwards and Gore and my two favourites, and I am extremely happy that Edwards has decided to run.

As some of you may know, I am a featured blogger at Edwards's One America Committee Blog. In fact, I am proud to say, The Reaction was the fourth featured blog there -- after Daily Kos, Iddybud, and The Ethical Werewolf. You can find the full list of featured blogs here (in reverse chronological order), but the others are pretty good company: Nathan Newman, Blogging of the President, Ezra Klein, Talking Points Memo, Connecticut Blog, Political Wire, Eschaton, and BlueNC.

For more on Edwards, I encourage you to check out the One America Committee main site, his online community at MySpace, and the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina, where Edwards is the director.

I'm confident that the more you learn about John Edwards the more you'll like him and, yes, the more you'll support him. Indeed, I have come to admire John (and Elizabeth) a great deal over the past few years. John fights the good fight for working families, social justice, and a better America. He has been an active supporter of a minimum wage increase. He has worked to put an end to poverty. He has launched a grassroots effort to support Democrats at the state level. And he has elaborated a foreign policy that envisions America as a moral leader once again and that addresses the key challenges ahead: Iraq, Islamic terrorism, North Korea, Iran, Russia, HIV/AIDS in Africa, nuclear proliferation, energy supply.

John Edwards. One America. 2008.

It's time for new leadership.