Edwards on MTP - Did anyone catch it?

[Nlighten1]

I caught what I could and he performed just like I thought he would being a DLC'er. His comments on the war, and his support for it, were not what I want to hear from a Democrat.

[tsipple]

1. This is Going to Be Tough...

A majority of Americans now disapprove of President Bush's handling of the Iraq invasion.

[Fixated]

3. ....

In an AOL poll last night, 47% thought he deliberately misled. That's some good shit, people.

[Bombtrack]

6. the handling, not the decision to go to war

every dem candidate also disaproves of his handling so I really don't know what your trying to say.

The vast majority of Americans agree with Edwards. That removing Saddam and helping to form a democracy was a better solution to changing the middle east than inaction, but the Bush adminstration didn't level with the public, and they also probably believe that we'll win the peace faster with a non-corpratist president, like Edwards.

Why don't you(the poster) tell us who you support?

[Nlighten1]

7. My options are open right now.

I like Dean, Clark, Kerry and Edwards but my support for Edwards wained a bit today.

[maggrwaggr]

20. the majority also believe Hussein did 9/11, so why vote for Edwards?

that's a lame-ass argument "well most american people think this, so our candidate should think this."

Is that what we want?

Think again

[mbali]

10. Edwards Has Integrity

Unlike some others, Edwards didn't vote for the war and, the minute things went wrong, run away from his vote. He is sticking by his vote, but is questioning the manner in which the war has been conducted. And he has every right to do so since, as early as last October, he laid down the marker:

"Eliminating Iraq's destructive capacity is only part one of our responsibility, however. We must make a genuine commitment to help build a democratic Iraq after the fall of Saddam. And let's be clear: a genuine commitment means a real commitment of time, resources, and yes, leadership. Democracy will not spring up by itself or overnight in a multi-ethnic, complicated, society that has suffered under one repressive regime after another for generations. The Iraqi people deserve and need our help to rebuild their lives and to create a prosperous, thriving, open society. All Iraqis — including Sunnis, Shia and Kurds — deserve to be represented.

"This is not just a moral imperative. It is a security imperative. It is in America's national interest to help build an Iraq at peace with itself and its neighbors, because a democratic, tolerant and accountable Iraq will be a peaceful regional partner. And such an Iraq could serve as a model for the entire Arab world.

"We know that military planning is in high gear, and that's good; but democracy planning needs to be in high gear as well. For example, we should be asking NATO now to start planning for a post-conflict peacekeeping role, and we need to start consulting with others now about sharing the financial burden of reconstruction."

Edwards has not changed his position - he supported the war but warned the Administration that it was doing things the wrong way and told them what he thought they should do to get on the right track. He was ignored. And now he's saying exactly what he's been saying for a year.

[Nlighten1]

12. hmmm

A person with integrity would admit they were wrong about the war.

[mbali]

15. Only if they think they're wrong

He doesn't believe he was wrong to support the war and, whether or not I agree with him, I respect the fact that he's willing to take the political hits for saying what he believes.

[SoFlaJets]

2. He wasn't on MTP

he was on Face the Nation on CBS-from what I heard it was the same old I was born in a small town blah blah blah-not much of a message imo-and this is a guy I had picked out a couple years ago-big disappointment.

[Brucey]

4. I was disappointed,

his message isn't very good and his delivery was average. He is not yet someone I would look to for wise, insightful thoughts.

[Girlfriday]

5. I have to agree..

...he danced through the whole interview; he seems to be more afraid of saying anything that might piss someone, anyone off, than telling us what he really thinks. I am not impressed. :-(

[tsipple]

9. If You Try to Please Everyone...

...You'll excite no one. :-(

[JNelson6563]

8. I was disappointed.

I really did expect to see some fire. It really seemed like the heat was being turned up on the Simian & Friends by the candidates on the forums like Iowa the other day. I expected to hear sometihng a littl emore daring than "Saddam Hussein being gone is a good thing."

I really had higher expectations of Edwards. No fire.

Talking about coming from a working class family is good, the economy is a concern, but he underestimates how large Iraq grows in the mind of the people and will have to get a lot more forceful, in one direction or another, if he wants to be taken seriously.

Julie

[AP]

11. I saw him in SF on Saturday and he fired up the crowd.

btw

[Cocoa]

13. One interesting theme he had...

he kept saying things like that it's not about the individual candidate, it's about Bush. Like when they kept asking him all the stupid questions about Hillary Clinton, he correctly said who cares, it misses the point to talk about stuff like that. The real issue is getting rid of Bush.

He said a couple of things about how he was the best person to do that, but he is exactly right that Bush is the story.

I hope all the candidates sound this theme. The media seems to be desperate to talk about anything but it, I hope the dems force them to focus on it, and not engage too much in the stupid crap.

[tsipple]

14. That Sounds Exactly Right

But he has to be careful. The media is going to ask him stuff like, "So, if Bush is the problem, why did you vote with him on (X)?" He'll need good answers for that.

[mbali]

16. Silly Question

There's nothing wrong with having voted with Bush on some issues. Even the worst president is right occasionally. Plus, there are lots of reasons to vote for something that Bush wants besides agreeing with him wholeheartedly.

I'm sure that even Howard Dean, if he were in a position to have to actually vote on issues, would from time to time, vote with Bush. Of course, he's not in such a position, so he doesn't have to be held accountable. But those who are in office and have to make tough choices and account to constituents don't have that luxury.

For example, when pressed on how he would vote on Bush's request for $87 billion for Iraq, Dean refused to answer, claiming that he's not in Congress and isn't going to express an opinion about something that's not of his making. Funny - that hasn't stopped him from saying how he would have voted on the Patriot Act (after the fact) or the war (also, after the fact).

I have no doubt that John Edwards can justify every vote he has cast in the Senate, whether we agree with it or not.

[Cocoa]

17. the media has already been doing that

holding everyone but Bush responsible for what Bush has done. Yeah, of course they'll try to blame the dems of all people, or the French, but I think it's pretty transparently ridiculous when they do that.

[spooky3]

19. I think that's a good point...

the media have been much tougher on all of the Dems than they have been on the current administration (White House and leadership of both houses), who actually pull the strings and make the decisions that should be questioned.

[stevedeshazer]

18. I caught it

I thought Edwards did pretty well. I, too, was disappointed that he didn't come straight out against the war, but now that the idiots in charge have totally screwed up their mission, Edwards would not be well served by retracting support for the troops. He did say that there should be some examination of what the $87B is spent on, certainly not unreasonable, but on the other hand, a bit weak in that he didn't hit hard against having gone there in the first place.

Edwards is taking a centrist position, and I don't blame him politically. As someone who opposed the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq from the get-go, I am not too excited by this stance, but I thought that he handled himself well and certainly didn't make things any worse for himself in this particular appearance.

Pragmatists for Edwards should be pleased.