The John Edwards Announcement Tour Round Up
In case you were opening presents, drinking too much eggnog, mourning the passing of the president from the University of Michigan, watching the gruesome film of Saddam's final fate, out partying, or watching bowl games, you might have missed all or some of the John Edwards Announcement for the Presidency Tour. Never fear my fellow Kossacks, PhilGoBlue (though still in mourning after the Wolverine loss) to the rescue:
The Edwards Announcement Tour Video, Audio, Blogs, News Reports, etc
New Orleans: The Lower Ninth Ward, 26-28 December
Video
The pre-announcement Announcement to the blogosphere video: http://www.youtube.com/... (watched by over 85,700 people so far)
The Announcement to America and the media video
by vlogger NCDem
C-Span's video, John Edwards Presidential Campaign Announcement (RealMedia file, 25 minutes; 28 December): rtsp://video.c-span.org/archive/c08/c08_122806_edwards.rm
CTBlogger has the CNN feed
For Future Videos Bookmark the Edwards YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/...
Joanne Colan of Rocketboom interviews John Edwards in New Orleans on the campaign (28 December). Impressive interview -- it was actually the first post-announcement interview (before TV networks and affiliates and cable).
The Blogosphere
NCDem's Live from NOLA with John Edwards! at DailyKos, the day before the announcement
chuckles1's Live Blogging in NOLA from Edwards Announcement on the morning of the announcement in New Orleans
docciavelli's Why New Orleans at DailyKos
Edwards in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans with NAACP & OneCorps volunteers at the home of Orelia Tyler
National and Local Media
Jude at Iddybud has most everything from the MSM that came out on the 27th and 28th
Bruce Nolan, Edwards makes N.O. platform to throw his hat into the ring, Times-Picayune (28 December)
Bruce Nolan, Edwards announces presidential bid: Democrat issues call for citizens' action, Times-Picayune (29 December)
Edwards in New Orleans a year earlier, interviewed by Wolf Blitzer (11 September 2005)
Edwards was also in New Orleans with the "Opportunity Rocks" Cleanup Spring Break with 700+ College Students back in March; see pictures here.
From Des Moines, Iowa (1,500 to 2,500 attendance) on 28 December
Video of the Des Moines Town Hall
Video at the Edwards campaign website
Josh Brown has his own video blog -- VLOG: John Edwards in Des Moines -- that includes video from the blogger meet-and-greet at his blog IowansForEdwards (Josh is doing impressive things there)
Jack Luddington has the entire bloggers meet-and-greet Q&A video
And, shockingly, Mbair also has Des Moines video (start here and keep going)
The Blogosphere
Chris Woods, Edwards Calls for National Sense of Responsibility and Action at Political Forecast -- an excellent post that notes the importance of Ed Fallon coming on board for Edwards
Patrick Stansberry (noneed4thneed) from Century of the Common Iowan at DU
Benny's World, Blogger Sit Down in Iowa
Local and National Media
Abby Simons, Edwards brings campaign launch tour to Des Moines, Des Moines Register (29 December)
Edwards at the Des Moines Town Hall, Photograph from Josh at IowansforEdwards
From Portsmouth, New Hampshire (1,500 attendance) on 29 December at the Little Harbour Elementary School
Video of the Portsmouth Town Hall
The Edwards Campaign video
mbair's Guerrilla vlogger: Edwards in NH, we need a bigger boat, at DailyKos
Steve Garfield, Steve Garfield Reporting from the New Hampshire Event has behind the scenes videos: interviews with bloggers, shots of the media, and video of the bloggers Q&A session.
bowes3 also has similar videos up on YouTubeThe Blogosphere
Aldon Hynes, JFK in Running Shoes, My New Hampshire Summary, at Orient Lodge
tessa, John Edwards Town Mtg: Semi-Live Blogging from New Hampshire at My Left Nutmeg
Dean, Edwards 2.0: Impressions from Portsmouth at BlueHampshire has an interesting take (more BlueHampshire below)
nsharma's NH Town Hall (29 December) at the Edwards Blog
Local and National Media
Sarah Liebowitz, Edwards dives in with new theme, Concord Monitor (30 December)
Roger Wood, John Edwards is on the Campaign Trail Again, New Hampshire Public Radio, (.mp3 file, 2 minutes; 30 December)
Rick Dumont, Big crowd greets Edwards, Union Leader (30 December)
Holly Ramer (ABC News), Overflow Crowd Greets Edwards' Tour (29 December)
From Reno, Nevada ("more than 1,000" to 4,000 attendance) on 29 December at the Grand Sierra Resort
The Blogosphere
welder at Reno Discontent got an exclusive interview with Edwards. Here's an interest excerpt:
Switching gears, I proceeded to ask about his political strategy for winning the Democratic nomination. After all, I pointed out, there’s already been a lot of buzz about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. "On the practical political side....I think I’ve shown a lot of strength in the early states," Edwards said. "More important than that, my campaign is different. This is a campaign built from the ground up. This is a campaign that believe that the Net roots, the blogging...is not just a tool to be left on the side, but has to be an integral part of a grass roots operation that is built from the ground up. What happens is you have politicians that want to take advantage of blogging and the Net and raising money, but they’re not changing anything about their approach to both politics and democracy. If you actually believe in grass roots and if you actually believe that the kind of things that you’re doing make a difference, then you ought to also believe that the only way we’re going to change the county is by activating Americans. I haven’t heard anybody else talking about that...I think it’s a fundamentally different approach to a political operation."
Randy Bayne, John Edwards in Reno (31 December)
Reno Rambler, John Edwards Town Hall in Reno (29 December)
Local and National Media
Sean Whaley, Edwards tour stops in Reno, Las Vegas Review-Journal (30 December)
Anjeanette Damon, Edwards courts Nevadans with Reno campaign stop, Reno Gazette-Journal (30 December)
Sarah Liebowitz (of The Concord Monitor), Nevada unions key for Edwards, analyzes the Nevada race in light of Edwards' union support
"He's gone after them hard, and it's paid off," said Larry Sabato, director of University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "It gives Edwards potentially a leg up in two of the first four contests: Iowa and Nevada. It doesn't help him in New Hampshire. It doesn't help in South Carolina, but he's the favorite son there." Edwards won the 2004 South Carolina Democratic primary....
Edwards's support for a constitutional amendment to raise Nevada's minimum wage also won him praise from local labor officials. "He was very visible in Nevada," said Danny Thompson, executive secretary and treasurer for the Nevada AFL-CIO....
He has a history of support from UNITE HERE, the union of textile workers and hotel and restaurant employees that provided Edwards with his sole prominent union endorsement in 2004. The culinary workers union, which belongs to UNITE HERE, boasts 60,000 members and is "the largest and most politically active Nevada local," according to Michael Mishak, a reporter for the Las Vegas Sun. Edwards has already won an early endorsement from Nevada's Laborers' Local 872.
From Columbia, South Carolina (1,800 attendance) on 30 December at Brookland Baptist Church
Video of the Columbia Town Hall
Carolina Voice's From Columbia, SC "...when you become President and you WILL become President..."
includes a link to her (as OneCarolinaGirl) video of the Town Hall: YouTube Video Part I
Local and National Media
Columbia's The State, Edwards talks war, duty, health
Jim Morrill, 6 states, 3 days: Edwards completes campaign kickoff, Charlotte Observer (31 December)
Jim Davenport (AP), Edwards Wraps Up Early Campaign Blitz
From Chapel Hill, North Carolina (5,000 attendance) on 30 December at the Campaign Headquarters in The Green at Southern Village
Video of the Chapel Hill Rally
NCDem's Liveblogging from the Edwards Event in NC! Updated with Video at the Edwards blog (30 December)
The Blogosphere
coturnix's Edwards Event in Chapel Hill, NC at DailyKos (31 December)
C. Diane's Edwards homecoming rally at BlueNC (30 December)
Local and National Media
Elizabeth Dunbar, John Edwards returns to N.C. to close presidential bid tour, News & Observer (AP, 30 December)
A Presidential Plunge Editorial, News & Observer (30 December)
The Chapel Hill Rally, photo from Saltman
Edwards' Live Blogs
Hello Daily Kos (1014 comments, but don't worry, it's the permalink), 28 December
two stops to go! on the Edwards08 blog (formerly One America Committee), 31 December
The crowds and enthusiasm in Iowa and New Hampshire and Nevada were absolutely amazing. We never had crowds in Iowa like the one we just had until a few days before the caucuses in 2004. The crowds in Portsmouth were larger than any crowd I've ever had in New Hampshire - in the 2004 primary or the general election. There were a thousand people outside who couldn't get in so I went outside an stood on a chair to talk to them! And I was told that the crowd in Reno, Nevada - about 2500 - was completely unprecedented.
Edwards Media Appearances
John and Elizabeth Edwards on 'This Week' with George Stephanopoulos
Transcript from ABC
ABC Video of the appearance (about 20 minutes)
The National Media on Edwards and the Announcement in General
By far the best work on the Edwards Announcement Tour in the MSM was from Dan Balz (who apparently spent a lot of quality time with Robert Scoble) at The Washington Post. Here's a rundown of his articles:
Edwards Turns to Non-Traditional Campaign Model (28 December)
Smart candidates know the old command-and-control structures of politics don't work anymore. Instead, campaigns are all about building communities and speaking directly to supporters, whether through email or podcasts or what the Edwards team calls "webisodes." As part of his announcement day, he spent a few minutes answering questions on the Daily Kos site, an influential liberal blog.
Candidates are looking for ways to get people more directly involved, by challenging them to give money not just to their campaign but to worthy causes; or by asking them to volunteer their time in New Orleans (as Edwards has done) or in their own communities, or by challenging them to take direct action politically to stop a war or a dam or to enact a piece of legislation.
The 24/7 culture demands dynamic messaging and niche marketing. Edwards offered a window into that future with his announcement day activities.
Edwards Formally Joins 2008 Presidential Race (29 December)
Former senator John Edwards of North Carolina launched his second campaign for the White House from this flood-ravaged city Thursday with a call for the United States to reduce its troop presence in Iraq and a plea for citizen action to combat poverty, global warming and America's reliance on foreign oil.
Edwards, Now Seasoned, Elbows His Way Into the Field (30 December)
With overflow crowds and his populist economic message and his Internet-friendly campaign organization, John Edwards signaled this week that, if he has anything to say about it, the race for the Democratic presidential nomination will be about more than just [Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama].
There are also critical adjustments in his candidacy that position him to compete against Clinton and Obama, the party's two unannounced glamour candidates of the moment. Edwards will be able to run to the left of Clinton in a party whose base has shifted leftward during the Bush presidency. And this time, questions about lack of experience will go first to Obama.
The most significant change for Edwards comes in what was his most serious weakness -- foreign policy and national security. When he ran in 2004, his lack of foreign policy experience was magnified by the post-Sept. 11 focus on global terrorism. Like many Democrats interested in national office, he supported the resolution authorizing President Bush to go to war in Iraq.
In 2004, he did not walk away from that vote. But earlier this year he did, and he has not looked back. He calls the vote a mistake and says all politicians must come to terms with their past positions on the war, regardless of their rhetoric today. That represents a subtle challenge to Clinton, who has been reluctant to call her vote for the war a mistake.
Edwards also has joined the majority of Democrats in calling for the withdrawal of almost one-third of the U.S. troops currently stationed in Iraq. "What you begin with is a fundamental threshold question of what is the most effective way to put the burden on them to come to some political solution," he said in the interview. "My own judgment, and I think it's the judgment of many others, is the most effective way to shift that burden to them is for us to begin to reduce our presence there."
Other great work has been done by:
Taegan Goddards at Political Hotwire, Edwards' Call to Action (31 December)
Said Edwards: "We want people in this campaign to actually take action now, not later, not after the election. We don't want to hope that whoever's elected the next leader of the United States of America is going to solve all our problems for us. Because that will not happen."
Many historians and political scientists agree that not calling Americans to action after the September 11, 2001 attacks is one of the biggest missed opportunities of the last six years. Edwards' strategy is to tap that frustration and energize Americans to change their own country. It's an extremely powerful message that differentiates him not only from the current field of 2008 candidates but from an entire generation of presidential wannabes.
Perry Bacon Jr. at Time, A Kickoff for John Edwards 2.0: In launching his Presidential bid, the former Vice Presidential candidate is looking more liberal, more experienced — and more unorthodox (29 December)
Presidential announcements are usually highly ritualized affairs; the candidate goes back to the town where he was born, an adoring crowd cheers him, his wife brags about his greatness and he puts on his Sunday best to declare why he's running for the highest office in the land. "He didn't want to do it that way," said David Bonior, a former congressman from Michigan and one of Edwards' top advisers.
The New York Times (wait for this shocker) did far worse
Adam Nossiter, New Orleans Is Exhibit A as Edwards Opens His Presidential Campaign (29 December), understood the basics:
The choice of a battered New Orleans neighborhood for Mr. Edwards’s unconventional announcement, with student volunteers at his side, was intended to highlight what, in broad terms, would be a central theme of his campaign: the need for a fresh wave of citizen activism to "change this country."
But made a horribly uninformed comment on the differences between the 2004 and 2008 campaigns.
Adam Nagourney, Strategy, Not Drama, in ‘I Intend to Run in ’08’; what is there to say, the guy is an idiot.
Still, Marie Horrigan and Bob Benenson (for CQPolitics.com) wrote a strong summary, Edwards Enters Race for Democratic Presidential Nomination (28 December)
The Blogosphere
Mike Caulfield at Blue Hampshire has a really brilliant post, Edwards Declares War On Hope (and it's about time) on the people-poweredness of the new Edwards campaign. I've been pimping this diary since I read it (and it's gotten props elsewhere as well).
And in perhaps the most brilliant framing I've seen in this campaign so far, he began to weave a theme into the rest of the remarks: There's hope, and there's action. I'm action.
Examples? Well, perhaps you were waiting for the Federal Government to raise the minimum wage. Not Edwards. He is fresh off a campaign to raise the minimum wage state by state, and has had success so far in six states. He has worked with organizing unions.
It continues. Asked what he will do about issue X, the response is invariably twofold. First, let me tell you what we are already DOING, and second let me tell you what we all can do, with or without me.
And it comes back to us as well. "What are you all doing about it?", is a question he's not shy about asking. We've got to invest in renewables, but we also have to conserve. We have to address economic injustice, but we can start by organizing, and getting laws passed on the state level. Don't wait for me in the White House in 2009. And for God's sake, don't talk about hope. Do it, now, today.
Edwards, in an unorthodox move, is not asking you to join a campaign. He is asking you to join a movement.
And in perhaps the most unorthodox but also most intriguing message, he is saying that he plans to use the power of his campaign to get stuff done before 2008. That's right. He wants to use his campaign to get things done.
Ezra Klein was a Blogger on a Plane
The Announcement (28 December)
Edwards vs. the Deficit Hawks (29 December)
Ezra: Edwards easily outdid his announcement speech from the morning, going far deeper into the policy and at far longer length. And it was an impressive performance, particularly compared to his relative insecurity when discussing such issues in 2004. Afterwards, I couldn't find a member of the crowd -- not that there were none, just that I couldn't find him -- who wasn't now supporting Edwards in 2008....
Quoting Edwards: So I think there's gonna be hard judgments that have to be made -- my commitment is to have universal health care, to do things that have to be done about this energy situation and global warming, because I think they're enormous threats, not only to the people of America but to the future of the world, for America to lead on some of these big moral issues that face the world, and I think America has to do something about poverty, I just do. Those are higher priorities to me than the elimination of the deficit. I don't want to make the deficit worse and I would like to reduce the deficit, but in the short-term, if we don't take a step to deal with these other issues, it in my judgment, undermines the ability of America to remain strong in the 21st century.
Ezra: That's a genuinely important admission, and one that very, very few Democrats are willing to make. It's the opposite of Clintonomics, which took deficit reduction as the transcendent priority and, as Robert Reich long regretted, forsook most investment spending.... In addition, Edwards answer was a direct refutation of his questioner's premise, and not what many in his audience probably wanted to hear. As I said, an impressive performance, and one that was actually quite revealing so far as the evolution of the Edwards ideology goes.
But Can He Raise Taxes (30 December)
Quoting Edwards during Town Hall Q&A:
I'm sorry, the answer to that question is, we do need, in my judgment, to get rid of some of the taxes cuts that have been put in place, particularly for people at the top. I think it may be necessary to put in place a tax on some of the windfall profits the oil companies are making in order to put in place some of the changes I've just talked about (on global warming), I think it's also really important to be honest with people: we've gotten into a deep hole in terms of our deficit, we have investments that need to be made, I've talked about some of them: investments to strengthen the middle class, investments in poverty, universal health care, which I'm completely committed to do, some of the energy proposals I've talked about today -- these things cost money. So we're going to have to invest if we're going to transport America the way it needs to be transported to be successful in the 21st century, which is going to require rolling back some of these tax cuts.
Taylor Marsh, Missing the Edwards Message, at Huffington Post lauds the Edwards' authenticity
He's the first candidate to show up like a real human being and dressed like your average American, while standing amidst the tragedy of a city and region that is still not close to being fixed, among people who have been completely forgotten by the current president and many other Americans who just spent Christmas shopping, eating and drinking in houses that are whole and lives that remain untouched by Katrina or the Iraq war.
Robert Scoble got a very inside look at the campaign, his most interesting posts are:
I learned
In Reno...
Adam Curry and John Welch ask the hard questions of me
First stop of the morning ... New Orleans’ neighborhood
and an interesting personal video montage of Chuck Olsen's days on the Edwards plane.
Michael Markman's John Edwards: The Demo has a really insightful take:
Edwards insight into high-tech marketing is much deeper than just reaching out to Scoble and popping up on YouTube and Rocketboom. Every candidate this cycle is will be wooing bloggers and throwing campaign videos up onto the net.
Here's the brilliant innovation of the Edwards campaign: he's conducting an open, public, empirical test of his own leadership abilities. He's giving us a demo. That's a high wire act. No net.
The operational definition of a leader is someone with followers. So here's Edwards saying, hey let's get busy and start getting things done now instead of waiting until the election. If people get busy, Edwards is a leader. Kennedy famously challenged the country to, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." But that was in the inaugural address, not the campaign.
Edwards isn't asking for the order on election day. He's asking for it today. And the ask isn't just, "send me money." It's take action on issues. If people respond, Edwards will have delivered an irrefutable demonstration of his leadership.
Jeremiah Owyang, Edwards Reaches to Tech Community, at Web Strategy
So far, I’m impressed with the Social Media Deployment that the Edwards family has done. Maryam stopped by earlier and told her that could tell in her interview discussions with Elizabeth Edwards actually took the time to read her blog and got to know her.
John Edwards has this website, a group blog, his personal blog (does he write it himself?), podcasts, videos, and even a myspace page. Holy Geez, that’s more social media than I have!
Technorati Buzz TV: John Edwards and YouTube (28 December)
Edwards at Columbia, South Carolina Town Hall, 30 December. Photo by Carolina Voice
Nancy Scola's Nominee, Movement Leader, or Both at MyDD raised interesting comparisons between the 2004 Dean campaign and the 2008 Edwards campaign.
Brian Russell (yesh.com) and Ruby Sinreich (lotusmedia.org) react to Edward's announcement and share their perspectives and ideas on YouTube
Bob Geiger, Huffington Post about John Edwards' announcement for President today. With all of the talk about Hillary and Obama, Geiger explains why Edwards changes everything....
Second, Edwards is starting his campaign in an interesting way by making it not about him personally, but about the problems of the world, the loss of global American prestige, our domestic strife and the extent to which his campaign is about getting people to make change now and not wait for the actions of a newly-elected president.
Greg Sargent, Edwards Coins New Phrase For Escalation: "The McCain Doctrine," at TPM Cafe praises John for his insightful framing of the escalation in Iraq. Other than that, TPM Cafe was unimpressive in its coverage and analysis.
Shakespeare's Sister, John Edwards for President, has a short but absolutely correct post:
It's been a long time since someone suggested that service and sacrifice was the patriotic duty of every citizen, not just those in the military. People want something to care about besides themselves, but most are too lazy to find it on their own. They need a leader, who will offer them a direction and inspire them with his or her passion.
This Stoic, couldn't agree more.
Rippe's 9 Things I'm Thinking About Today at DailyKos (2 January)
I tend to look at campaign strategy and messaging with a very critical marketing eye, because that's what I know. And I have to tell you, the marketer in me has John Edwards registering on the "brilliant" scale right now.
scanman1722's Edwards: The Revolutionary Announcement? praised the time, place and manner of the announcement (2 January). Kos agreed on the "McCain Doctrine" frame.
With two simple words, Edwards honed his anti-war credentials, made himself look like the presumptive nominee by going after the presumptive republican nominee, and tied the idea of escalation ("the surge"), which is doomed to failure, to McCain.
Daniel Solzman, Why I Now Support John Edwards, at The Kentucky Democrat has switched from Bayh to Edwards:
I do believe that John Edwards can be and will be elected the next president. I'll do whatever I can to help his candidacy....
Bora, The Netroots Candidate, at A Blog Around the Clock
I know of no other political candidate for any office who so "gets" the new online technologies and how they are changing the way campaigns are waged. I went to check out the HQ today - still unpacked boxes and very few staff - but hearing I was a blogger they were all very helpful and forthright: "We want to make you bloggers happy"!
Other Bloggers on a Plane
Jeff Pulver
Another new-new media milestone. First John Edwards announces his intentions to run for the presidency on YouTube and not on a conventional TV show or some other public high profile location. And then for his first post-announcement interview to be on Rocketboom and not on conventional TV or Cable.
Bora has a dozens of more links to blog posts on Edwards at Science and Politics.
The Analysis
John Nichols, Candidate Edwards: Version 2.008 at The Nation.
By any measure, he has a lot more to offer progressives than he did in 2004. That potential to appeal to the party's left flank is essential for Edwards....
Edwards is also more focused and more right about the Iraq war. He has acknowledged that he was wrong to vote in 2002 to authorize Bush to attack Iraq. He wants to begin bringing the troops home quickly and he is steadfastly opposed to the construction of permanent bases.On trade and agriculture issues, he has shown perhaps the greatest evidence of growth. In addition to taking tough stances against individual flawed trade pacts, he has hired as his campaign manager former Congressman David Bonior, D-Michigan, who for years was the leading House foe of the corporation-friendly trade policies favored by the last two administrations.
Most indications suggest that Edwards gets it. That does not mean he is the perfect contender, nor that he is the perfect progressive. But he has grown a great deal over the past several years, and that growth has been in a serious, smart and savvy direction that progressives would be wise to note at this relatively early stage in the 2008 contest.
Howard Fineman, Edwards Should Be Taken Seriously, Newsweek (audio, 3 minutes; 28 December)
Cynthia Joyce, John Edwards makes it official, Salon (29 December)
In addition to reiterating his well-established antipoverty agenda, Edwards laid out a progressive platform that addresses issues such as global warming, the removal of troops from Iraq, universal health coverage and "getting America off its oil addiction."
Miscellaneous
Chris Cillizza had a nice discussion of the Edwards Campaign Staff, The Edwards Inner Circle (29 December)
Question: where is David Axelrod going? Does Mudcat not have an official title? He was seen on the stage at the North Carolina tour event.
Thread Opener's John Edwards Woos Robert Scoble at the Edwards blog.
chuckles1's Edwards 08: Crowd Size and the Press on the NH event.
C-Span has video from an August 2001 biography Life and Career of John Edwards] (34 minutes; RealMedia file): rtsp://video.c-span.org/archive/c08/c08_122806_edwardsprofile.rm
Conclusion
ah hell, writing this is an endless surf from link to link, I'm tired and putting this to bed. Enjoy!
Obviously there's more at Google News.
If you still need a primer on what Edwards has been doing since November 2004 and what his chances might be in 2007-2008, see my "John Edwards Announcement Tour: People Get Ready" diary on DailyKos.
Of course, the Edwards website has much more information, including published opinion editorials, podcasts, and speeches. I personally particularly like his speech to the National Press Club on Poverty. The headlines page at JohnEdwards.com has a catalog of press articles, headlines and linksIf you haven't already, please take the opportunity to
Join the Campaign to Change America: John Edwards 2008
Join One Corps
This campaign is about each of us taking responsibility for our country's future -- and ensuring America's greatness in the 21st century. It is a campaign not just about what we can do in the White House -- but what we can do on the way.We all must take responsibility and take action now to:
- Provide moral leadership in the world
- Strengthen our middle class and end poverty
- Guarantee universal health care for every American
- Lead the fight against global warming
- Get America and other countries off our addiction to oil
If we want to live in a moral and just America tomorrow, we cannot wait until the next President is elected to begin to take action.
Tomorrow begins today.
Oh, and I took the plunge and finally started my own blog: The Michigan For Edwards Blog, where I will later cross-posted this diary. Also to be cross-posted on the Edwards blog sometime later today.
My next project: Top 10 Reasons I'm For Edwards diary
And in the spirit of getting Americans to be more engaged in community service, let me know of any good videos, blogs and MSM reports I missed.