politics make me cry

I went to a John Edwards rally today. He was very inspiring. When he got toward the end of his speech and talked about the 37 million americans without health care and the head of the health care company who made $200 million in compensation last year, and then he talked about the 47 million Americans living in poverty and the fact that ExxonMobil made 40 billion dollars in profits last year, and then affirmed that he has a different vision for America I actually started to tear up.

Barack Obama is also inspiring but when he actually starts to talk policies he misses the mark. Hilary's policies are as good as John's (she usually comes out with similar proposals a few weeks after John) but her negatives are so high I'm sincerely worried that she could lose the general election. John Edwards is the only candidate unequivocally saying that combat troops will be home from Iraq in the first year of his Presidency with no permanent military bases left behind. He called global warming a moral crisis. John Edwards is simultaneously both the most progressive and the most electable of the Democratic candidates. I can't understand why he isn't the front runner.

Well I do understand. He takes no money from lobbyists. He speaks against the ingrained powers of corporate America. He stands up for labor and the middle class and doesn't shy away from saying he's going to take on the oil companies and the pharmaceutical companies. He said in his speech "I don't want to be their President, I want to be your President." I want him to be my President, too.