allied

Unless you're the New York Post, I guess it was no surprise that Kerry tapped Edwards to be his running mate. I was voting for Kerry anyway, regardless of who he picked, but the more I learn about Sen. John Edwards, the more I like the guy. For several years I was a political newspaper reporter for a daily in CT (The Hour newspaper in Norwalk, if you're interested), and I learned one very important fact: politicians will always let you down. All the excitment and idealism, all the adrenaline and intellectual discourse ultimately will come down to that favorite pol being forced into voting for some drunk-assed stupid piece of legislation because they need support for some other bill they're pushing. Sad but true, happens every time. So in some ways, I'm always a little leary of politicians, even the good ones (Case in point, in CT we have a Republican Congressman named Chris Shays, who sort of went to Lowell Weicker "school" in that he's a liberal Republican. During my years at the newspaper I got to know Shays pretty well and grew to like him and respect him because he struck me as a hard-working man of integrity. Then along comes Newt Gingrich and his Contract with America and the government "shutdown" during that budget squabble. And there's my idealistic congressman, the guy I grew to admire, spouting the most nonsensical Republican rhetoric and toeing the party line. Broke my heart, and as a journalist, I saw that time and again at the local, state and federal level). But having said that, I think Edwards was a solid choice, and I think Kerry/Edwards is a formidable team. Sen. Edwards is a self-made family man who has championed the causes of the hurt and less-fortunate, whether as one of the most powerful trial lawyers in North Carolina, or as a senator. You sort of knew that Kerry was going to move in this direction because the South basically dictates every major election, and with Kerry being a Northeasterner, he was going to have to pick a Southerner in order to win. But Edwards seems to speak to the have-nots more than the halves, and I appreciate that.