Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Edwards Visits PDX; Runs New Ad: "Send the Bill Back"

John Edwards is holding a free town hall at the ILWU Hall on Naito Pkwy in Northwest Portland at noon today. Kari Chisholm of Blue Oregon will definitely be there; he's part of Edwards' Oregon team on the ground.

In his column he explains why he's made his choice, and one of the things that really appeals to me about him (Edwards, not Kari) is how quickly he has trained his nose for the netroots. He was the first politician to really offer a full mea culpa for his vote on the Iraq war, and while it certainly reflects a mistake others did not make at the time, his abrupt and honest reversal is refreshing. He was also the first to pull out of the ill-fated Fox debate in Nevada, and quickly demurred from a similar Fox effort co-sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus. In contrast to Barack Obama's expansive appeal to a broad vision that apparently will begin once he's inaugurated, Edwards is making declarations and taking stands now, while Obama often still fidgets in the new-found glare.

And now here's another first for Edwards: he's running what may be the first campaign ad from a Democratic presidential candidate that isn't straight bio material--and look what topic he's addressing:
The ad, which will run in the D.C. media market, is aimed at sending a message to Congress as it considers the next steps on the war. In the ad, nine people are featured protesting the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq and asking Congress to stand up to the commander in chief.

"President Bush isn't listening to us," says one.

Another advises: "Don't back down to President Bush."

"Send him the same bill again and again," a third says.

Edwards appears in the ad only at its conclusion to offer the required tagline: "I'm John Edwards, and I approved this message."

The Edwards campaign refused to release the amount being spent on the ads, but they will run in the D.C. market on both broadcast and cable at a "strong buy" level, according to spokesman Eric Schultz.
Now that's what I'm TALKING about! Rock on, John.