John Edwards for President-Edwards Needs More Than Polite Applause

Edwards Needs More Than Polite Applause

Apr 4, 2007 9:00 AM

Mike Pride
Concord Monitor
Apr 4, 2007

When John Edwards came to Concord High School Monday, he sounded like John F. Kennedy nearly half a century ago. He told the students presidential politics was not about him but about them. It was about sacrificing together to restore the idea of America. It was about the power of youth.

"In my lifetime," he said, "I have watched young people change this country over and over and over." He said the students should not wait to be told what to do. He quoted Gandhi: "You have to be the change you believe in."

Edwards said that because of the convictions and energy of youth, America had led the world in the 20th century. Whether it would lead the world in the 21st century, he suggested, was up to young people today.

During the 2004 presidential campaign, Edwards was likable and polished but also programmed. He seldom strayed from message, and he repeated his life story - his rise from mill worker's son to wealthy lawyer and politician - at least as often as John Kerry talked about his band of brothers in Vietnam.

Then last month, the story changed. Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, disclosed that her breast cancer had recurred and metastasized and that they were determined to push on with his 2008 presidential campaign. Watching them interviewed on 60 Minutes, I wondered how anyone could live such a poignant, personal moment so publicly. Their strength and composure were inspiring.

They brought the whole family to the Concord High event. The two younger children, 6-year-old Jack and 8-year-old Emma Claire, seemed so small. Their presence made it impossible not to think about what lies ahead for them and their parents.

Elizabeth introduced her husband by telling a story intended to show he had cared about teenagers and their prospects even before he entered politics. More than a decade ago, their first son, Wade, told them students in one of his classes received 10 percent extra credit if their reports were typed. Wade had a printer upstairs and down, she said, so he could print out his reports. But the poorer students without typewriters or computers had no chance of making the best grades.

After Wade died in an automobile accident, the Edwardses sought, in his memory, to right this wrong. In their North Carolina community and beyond, they set up computer cafés where any student could produce a typed report.

'A force for good'

As usual, John Edwards looked perfect Monday- sharp dark suit, bright white shirt, purple-blue tie, every hair in place, a yellow rubber Livestrong band around his left wrist. He still looks boyish at nearly 54.

His appearance was the antithesis of the messy world he described. His campaign rests on the proposition that America must improve this world. It must embark in a new direction in foreign policy. Citizens, especially young people, must act in concert to restore the country as a beacon of equality, diversity and tolerance.

"This is what we are," he said, "but the world doesn't believe this anymore."

He gave the students ideas about how to make America "a force for good" again. We should intervene to end the genocide in Darfur, he said. We should push for primary education for the 100 million children around the world who have none. We should protect the environment.

Every candidate should be able to say in a sentence why he wants to be president, Edwards said. His sentence: It's "because I want every single person in America to get the same chances I had."

No candidate could have been more upbeat. Universal health care? Yes. College for every qualified student? Check.

For all this, there was one thing missing from the event: enthusiasm from the audience. There were no rousing standing ovations, no outbursts from the students. They were polite. They listened. But Edwards did not turn them on.

I wouldn't want to draw too large a conclusion from one event. Perhaps the students were simply awed by the Edwardses' personal story.

But the event was also a reminder that Edwards was by profession a trial lawyer. He is practiced in persuading juries. Although he speaks passionately about his ideas, that passion does not flow to his audience. As much as the young people present probably liked what they heard, as a political speech it fell flat.

Listen to the masters

If I were Edwards, I would get my staff to make a DVD of the best of Ronald Reagan's and Bill Clinton's speeches. They knew how to make their best lines stick. They carried listeners with them and fed off the excitement of the crowds.

What Edwards needs in coming months is to broaden his appeal, to gain favor with potential voters in an electorate that has already rejected him once. His optimism, his call for sacrifice and teamwork and his notion that America must restore its place in the world give him a compelling case.

But this isn't a jury trial, it's a campaign. When his speech is done, he needs his listeners to do more than render a verdict and go home. He needs them to want to march into the future with him.

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Edwards Needs More Than Polite Applause

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