In my view, John Edwards continues to show his grasp of the issues on an almost daily basis. Check his campaign site and his Senate site, then combine the output of the two. Now try to tell me his is moderate or centrist with more style than substance. If you still think that after taking a serious look at his record, I suspect you might really be the one being shallow, not Edwards. Check out his latest effort to clarify the details of an issue Bush paints with a very, very broad brush. It boils down to this: Bush supports unrestrained capitalism, and characterizes any regulation of business as an attack on capitalism. But the truth is as Edwards points out, that unrestrained capitalism is every bit as dangerous as the opposite, communist state control of the economy. What difference does it make to the average person if the economy is being run by corrupt government officials, or corrupt corporate fat cats? Neither promote a growing economy or the creation of wealth. Instead, both promote the hoarding of wealth, and are equally dangerous ideas. Listen to what William Saletan at Slate has to say about Edwards speech from last week:
A few days ago, John Edwards delivered the most audacious speech of the 2004 presidential season. Just my luck, I missed it. Fortunately, the Edwards campaign has put the text on its Web site. The argument is so clever and ambitious that for now I'm just going to try to outline it. We'll have time to revisit it as the campaign goes on.1) I'm pro-capitalism and anti-big government....
2) Capitalism isn't greed; it has values and rules....
3) Corporate cheaters are subverting those values and rules....
4) Bush is a cheater, too....
5) Bush's overt policies also flout capitalist values....
6) Bush is raising taxes....
7) Bush is soft on crime....
8) Bush is as bad as a socialist....
9) Bush is unpatriotic....
In a nutshell, Edwards is trying to turn the traditional politics of left and right upside down. It may be too crazy to pull off, but it's easily the most interesting thing anybody in this race has said so far.
You have to read the whole article, or speech, to see why those last few points are not as radical as they sound. In short, Bush disregards the true capitalist American values of working to get ahead, by taxing work but not wealth. Bush is soft on corporate crime. Bush's unrestrained capitalism is as bad as a state controlled economy. Last but not least, Bush refused a $400 child tax credit for 250,000 soldiers in his infamous tax cut deal. Bush talks about class warfare at the same time he is waging it!
If you ask me Edwards has been saying this all along, but not many have been listening. If they start, I think it's the message that carries the party to 11/2/04.