AP: "John Edwards says voters should know that religion is important to him and to presidential candidate John Kerry but the issue shouldn't be used to divide people in the election. 'I don't think that faith should be used to divide us,' he said' while speaking at a W.VA gathering. The GOP has been playing on the religious beliefs - and the assumed ignorance (not too insulting!) of W.VA folk lately. WVA Dem Robert C. Byrd denounced GOP campaign literature sent out in his state featuring a picture of the Bible with the word 'banned' stamped across its cover. 'If ever there were one book that should never be used for political gain, if ever there were one book that should never be the subject of lies and deception, it is the Bible,' Byrd said. The mailing also shows a photo of a man on his knees, placing a ring on the hand of another man with the word 'ALLOWED,' a reference to same-sex marriage." Even many Republicans hearing of the mailing said they were ashamed and disgusted.

"Visiting Appalachia, Democratic John Edwards challenged Bush's contention of an improving economy, arguing that the Republican's policies have been 'catastrophic for the middle class and successful for the very wealthy.' 'Bush has finally admitted that he miscalculated on Iraq, so will he next admit that he has miscalculated on the economy?' Edwards asked in remarks prepared for delivery in Beckley, W.Va., on Tuesday. 'Will we next hear that his economic plan was a catastrophic success?'... Edwards accused Bush of undermining the middle class with fewer jobs, smaller paychecks and higher health care costs, and said the only thing Bush's term has accomplished is 'results for his corporate friends' while middle-class people have seen only 'empty promises, fewer jobs and higher costs.' 'American families are working harder than ever before,' Edwards said, 'and yet they are being squeezed like never before because of George Bush's miscalculations.'" You Go, John!

Joan Vennochi writes: "IF DICK Cheney's pacemaker skipped a beat on Wednesday night, he has every right to blame the Democrats - specifically, the party's vice presidential nominee, John Edwards.Edwards made a strong, passionate, at times, evangelical-sounding case for John Kerry. It isn't so much what Edwards has to say, but his style, presence, and confidence-brimming bearing that would give any opponent agita - at first blush, anyway. The handsome senator from North Carolina loves the spotlight. It is obvious from the moment he glides onto a stage. He knows exactly how long to soak in the applause and cheers before starting to speak. His facial muscles pull tautly up, supporting a wide, eager smile. The accent is cozy and inviting. And the words that pour out couldn't be more promising: Hope is on the way. It is a Southern white man's take on Jesse Jackson's long ago cry to 'keep hope alive.' "

Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards was on his way to work at the Capitol when terrorists struck in New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, but he says he declined to join other members of the Senate at a secure location because his family would not be with him. His wife, Elizabeth, was out shopping. Eldest daughter Cate was at college in New Jersey. Youngest daughter Emma Claire was at school, and son Jack was on a play date. . Capitol Police were whisking members of Congress to secure locations for their safety. "I said, 'Well, what about my wife and my kids?'" Edwards told CNN's Larry King in an interview Wednesday, a day before an independent commission investigating the attacks released its long-awaited report. "And they said, 'Well, they'll stay here. And I said, 'Well, if they're staying here, I'm staying here."

In a radio address on July 10 John Edwards said, "John Kerry will fight for jobs and trade agreements that work for American workers. He'll cut taxes for middle-class working families. And John Kerry will always stand by our men and women who wear the uniform. For him, it's personal. He will keep us safe and build a strong military, and lead strong alliances, so that young Americans are never put in harm's way because we needlessly decided to go it alone. John Kerry volunteered for Vietnam -- not once, but three times -- and he volunteered for the most dangerous duty and risked his life for his country. And no one is more prepared to win the war on terror than John. As president, he will lead this world, not bully it. I believe you can judge a man's values based on what he's done with his life -- not based on how he uses the word values in a political slogan or a political speech. "

Mike Hersh explains how John Edwards is a fine choice for Vice President and Dick Cheney was bad choice. Of course Cheney picked himself! That confirms Cheney's poor judgment. Bush Republicans attacking Edwards' supposed lack of experience can't pass the laugh test. Any Bush supporter who claims Edwards is unqualified to serve as president based on his supposed lack of experience should demand Bush resign immediately for the same reason.

This Baltimore Sun article details John Edwards background in a thorough and surprisingly objective manner (a break from media focus on Bush smears). Notably, it clarifies that although Edwards was a trial lawyer, his focus was on winning settlements for injured children from insurance companies. It also reveals that Edwards walked away from his multi-million dollar career to serve in politics, spurred by a calling he felt after the tragic death of his son. "While opponents during his presidential bid pointed to his lack of political experience, especially in foreign policy, Ed wards relied on his life story -- not only his humble beginnings, but also his extraordinary success as a lawyer -- to make the case for him. 'I've been fighting these fights in the courtrooms for 20 years, representing parents and children against the big corporations and the insurance companies,' he often said on the campaign trail. 'I am so ready for this fight.' "

AFL-CIO: "Edwards comes from a strong union family: His father was a mill worker, his mother a member of the Letter Carriers and his brother a member of the Electrical Workers. 'I know from my own life how important unions are. The only reason my brother's family has had health care is because of the union. We have a lot of work to do to protect workers' rights in America,' he wrote in an AFL-CIO candidate questionnaire. 'This is a team that will generate a lot of excitement and draw a sharp contrast with the failed policies and leadership record of George Bush and Dick Cheney,' says AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney. As U.S. senator, Edwards has earned a 96 percent AFL-CIO lifetime working families voting record. In 2003, he stood with working families 100 percent of the time."

Never have the Bushies made a more pathetic spectacle of themselves than this week, in the run up to, and aftermath of the Edwards VP pick! First, they trumpeted the McCain-as-first-choice story to try to make any Kerry VP look "second choice." That backfired of course, because now as Bush parades McCain before the media in a bizarre "one-upmans' show," McCain simply looks like an opportunistic buffoon with no real principles or self-respect (remember how Bush bashed him in 2000?). They say Edwards is "pessimism with a southern accent" -even as Edwards' bright, positive smile wins hearts and minds. They call him a "liberal with no experience" - which only points up Bush's total lack of federal gov. experience (he doesn't even have a law degree). Then of course there was the Gephardt Named VP headline at the NY Post - an assumption based allegedly on "inside info" from the RNC, which all but proves the collusion between the Bushies and the media (Rupert Murdoch owns the Post).

First the mainstream media promoted a McCain-Kerry ticket - which would alienate the progressive Dems and Greens and throw future tied House votes to the Repugs (the VP gets the tiebreaking vote). Now, as Kerry shows an interest in John Edwards, who could pull Bush's southern stronghold out from under him, the media is floating innuendoes of conflict and dissension: Embedded in this article by Bush-groupie Howard Fineman (who floated McCain Veep rumors earlier): " [Edwards'] main drawbacks are his lack of experience (especially in foreign and military affairs) and such an evident hunger for the White House that it can make even a man such as Kerry - no wallflower in the ambition department - nervous. The two men don't like each other much, but there is no deep enmity and they are now, at the very least, using each other in a classic exercise in mutual back-scratching." If Edwards is drawing this kind of stealth attack, that means he is viewed as a definite Repug threat.

NBC17: "Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry would lose North Carolina to President George W. Bush if the presidential election were held today -- unless Kerry were to choose Sen. John Edwards as his vice-presidential running mate, according to a new poll. The poll, released Tuesday, said that if the North Carolina senator were to run alongside Kerry, the Democratic candidate could carry the state that has backed Republicans in every presidential election since 1976. Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. conducted its poll from May 14 through May 17, interviewing 625 registered voters by telephone. All said they were likely to vote in the November general election. The margin for error is plus or minus 4 percentage points. "

David Broder writes: "In his 'two Americas' stump speech -- the single most powerful message anyone delivered in the Democratic primaries last winter -- Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina talked bluntly about the differences between the education, health care, housing and other basics available to the well-off and the working poor in this country. "We have two different school systems," Edwards said, "one for people in the most affluent communities and another for everyone else." That message -- largely dismissed by the Bush White House and de-emphasized by John Kerry in his reach for middle-class votes -- is of special relevance as the nation prepares to note the 50th anniversary on Monday of the Supreme Court decision that formally ended racial segregation in our schools."

Newsday reports: "The night before the Senate impeachment vote, John Edwards condemned Bill Clinton for showing 'remarkable disrespect' for 'the moral dimensions of leadership.' Then, he pivoted, sifted through the evidence, and drove holes in the case. Edwards, in office for just a month, threw out the speech his aides wrote and crafted his own on a legal pad as he waited in the back of the chamber full of senators for the rare, closed-door session.' Edwards' frank, powerful statement 'were as audacious as they were telling about why Edwards remains the final serious candidate blocking John Kerry's sprint to the Democratic nomination. That evening, Edwards addressed Senate titans of both parties, some prickly, many with decades of seniority; any one of them could have judged him impertinent, or simply dismissed him. Instead, he was widely praised...Said Sen. Patrick Leahy, 'He held their attention, both those for and against impeachment. He was brilliant.'"

"The Edwards for President campaign announced today that two co-founders of Generation Dean, the official youth outreach campaign of Howard Dean's presidential effort, have endorsed John Edwards for president. The endorsements by Michael Whitney and Ryan Beam underscore Senator Edwards' dedication to involving young Americans, as well as the surge of grassroots support Edwards has seen in the last week. 'I supported Howard Dean's presidential campaign because I felt that he was the candidate to take on George W. Bush,' Whitney said. 'He excited young voters and asked my generation to get involved. Now that Dean has stopped campaigning, the Democratic Party still faces the challenge of choosing a candidate to take on George W. Bush in November. John Edwards knows how hard it is for young Americans in today's economy."

Everywhere John Edwards has spoken in recent weeks, he has galvanized his audiences, nearly all of whom are hungry to hear straight talk about issues impacting middleclass and poor families. Rochester, NY was no exception. In Rochester, job losses at Eastman Kodak has had a devastating impact on the community. Edwards vowed to put a stop to the nation's steady hemorrhage of jobs. Reports the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: "Much of the audience apparently made up its mind that Edwards is their top Democratic candidate, with some holding signs saying 'Rochester for Edwards' or 'Be Our Seabiscuit!' Supporters surrounded him after the speech in every corridor of the union hall, asking for autographs and pictures and cheering him on. 'I like the fact that he's the only candidate that's talking about race, class and social issues,' said Tom Kidera, 49, of Brighton, who sat in the back of the union hall with his wife, Sue."

Writes Juliet Eilperin: "A mere 24 hours after Edwards declared and more than a year before the first primaries, the opposition party issued a 10-page, footnoted release that avers the first-term senator's utter inadequacy for the job, with headlines such as: 'UNACCOMPLISHED AND NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME' and 'PROFESSES TO BE A SOUTHERN MODERATE, BUT VOTES LIKE A NORTHEASTERN LIBERAL.' The barrage seemed a bit intense for a guy who had been a candidate for only a day. And the GOP has yet to send out similar takedowns of the other Democrats running for the presidential nomination next year. Privately, Republican officials have said that they find Edwards's candidacy particularly threatening because he is undefined. The RNC memo itself noted that Edwards is 'AT ODDS WITH FELLOW DEMOCRATS.' Edwards spokesman David Ginsberg said it is a sign that Bush and his party fear Edwards. 'The White House clearly recognizes that they have a problem,' he said."

WashPost's Dan Balz writes, "Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) declared his intention to seek the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, casting himself as a candidate with the ideas and vision to lead his party back to power and declaring that he hopes to become 'a champion for regular people'... 'If I am the nominee for the Democrats in 2004, I will present a very stark contrast to Bush and a very different option for the American people,' Edwards said... 'I run for president to be a champion of regular people.... [Bush] has an administration that is run largely by insiders and, too often, for insiders'... In the past few months, Edwards has given a series of speeches on national and homeland security, education and the economy. He supported the congressional resolution authorizing Bush to use force against Saddam Hussein but said yesterday that he has not decided yet whether Iraq is in 'material breach' of the newest UN resolution, as the administration has declared."