John Edwards: The Campaign to Change America

Preparing to officially announce his intention to run for President in 2008 from New Orleans, Louisiana this morning, [NOLA live blogging] Senator John Edwards spoke to about 20 online supporters last night on a teleconference call. He thanked them for their online participation, web coverage and support over the past year and appealed to them to help motivate others in what he promised to be a grassroots campaign. His message to them and to all concerned, motivated, and interested Americans is shown on the following YouTube video.



In an email sent this evening, Senator Edwards outlines his goals and hopes for his 2008 campaign:

I'm announcing here because no place better demonstrates the two Americas I've talked about for a long time. But even more important, no place better demonstrates the power people have when they -- not Washington -- take responsibility and take action to build the America we believe in.

I'm running to ask millions of Americans to take responsibility and take action to change our country and ensure America's greatness in the 21st century.

And I'm asking you to play a crucial role in this campaign.

Last week I asked if you were ready to take our effort to change America to the next level. Thousands of letters have come in, and the answer was an overwhelming yes -- we're in this together.

That's why I'm asking you to help spread the word in your area by holding your own local "Citizens' Launch" event tomorrow. It just takes a few minutes to set up, and anyone can do it.

Click here to download a step-by-step guide and everything you need to hold your own Citizens' Launch this week.

We know what we need to do. Changing our country means:

Providing moral leadership in the world -- starting with Iraq, where we should begin drawing down troops, not escalating the war
Strengthening our middle class and ending the shame of poverty
Guaranteeing health care for every single American Leading the fight against global warming
Getting America and the world to break our addiction to oil

That's not just my vision –- it's our vision. And we can't wait for the next president to take office to begin fundamentally changing our country.

And the truth is, we don't have to wait. Since I left Washington, I've seen firsthand the power that ordinary people have when we work together.

We worked with thousands of volunteers to raise the minimum wage in six states – and we got it done. We're making the first year of college free for young people in Greene County, North Carolina. And we've been working from the grassroots up to organize workers so they can stand up for their rights and earn a decent living.

And this week in New Orleans, I've been working with young people who gave up part of their Christmas vacation to work on rebuilding and helping those in need -- just like the hundreds of college students who came here to work with me during their Spring Break earlier this year.

This is the kind of commitment to solving our problems that I've seen time and time again over the last two years – and it reaffirms one of the great lessons of my whole life. The power of America doesn't lie in Washington; the true power of America is in the people of America.

That's why we're getting ready to launch a campaign that says to everyone who wants to take responsibility for our future: we can't wait until tomorrow. We must act now.

Tomorrow begins today.

The Next President Will Be A Podcaster
Podcasting News
December 27, 2006

Podtech’s Robert Scoble is on his way to New Orleans to cover John Edward’s Thursday announcement that he will be running for President. The Edwards event is significant, not only for Edward’s announcement, but for Edward’s understanding of the increasing importance of Internet media.

Edwards is arguably the most Net-savvy of likely candidates. He has been actively courting the interest of bloggers and podcasters. Earlier in this year, Edwards attended Gnomedex, a conference that focuses on technology and independent publishing, seeking attendees’ input on how politicians should use Internet media. Edwards was also one of the first politicians to have his own podcast.

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Edwards Announces and a Birthday Present
by WeDemocrats
Daily Kos
December 28, 2006

Well John, here is one Democrat who welcomes you with open arms, who thinks its time this country woke up to the fact that we need a regular guy in the Whitehouse.

While I won’t speak for the membership of the WeDemocrats.org group, they will decide that at our Annual Meeting in June, I will as of this moment give you my personal endorsement for what its worth.

Thanks for the birthday present!

Ron McBride
Founder & Chairman
www.WeDemocrats.org

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