Oh, yum!

Word is John Edwards is going to announce his candidacy in New Orleans before Christmas. The rumor mill may be abuzz, but this old heart of mine is atwitter.

I know, I know … looking pretty damn sweet is not a prerequisite for the Presidency. And I don't even think it should be. This is very serious business. I mean, there's something kinda sick and wrong about getting wet while watching Meet the Press. Plus I'm from the Chicagoland area, which means I should be riding the Obama bandwagon. But since I don't like Barack's ears and know he's a smoker, he simply doesn't move the meter on my heart throbometer.

I also like John Edwards' basic message of populism. There ARE two Americas, there IS an inexcusable level of poverty in this country, and Katrina IS as powerful an example of mismanagement and misplaced values as the Iraq war. John Edwards is very forceful and very eloquent about this, and I'm thrilled he's thinking of illustrating this by announcing in New Orleans. I have heard Obama talk about unity and hope, which are wonderful and affirming and I applaud it, but he doesn't sound like he's ready to face these problems head on. John Edwards is willing to name them, he acknowledges where we are today without belaboring how we got there, and he seems focused on moving us forward. He reminds me of Bobby Kennedy as eulogized by his brother, "a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it."

And, of course, that always moves the needle.