(more pics, courtesy of the Edwards campaign, at this photo set.)

John Edwards has generated a bit of notoriety today for smacking down Barack Obama’s suggestion that Ronald Reagan can be credibly seen as a model of change.  Edwards didn’t mention any of this today at a rally before hundreds (I’m really no good at judging crowd size, but there were a lot of people there) in downtown Los Angeles at the SEIU Local 721 headquarters, but he did have some choice words for another actor-turned-politician.

On the flip…

The speakers prior to Edwards included members of the Los Angeles City Council, Herb Wesson and Richard Alarcon (Janice Hahn was also in attendance).  All of them made a straight electability argument for Edwards’ candidacy, which was a little jarring (especially because Edwards did not do so).  Wesson even added “I don’t care who’s the first this or the first that, I want the best candidate to lead our country.”

(Wesson also asked “When was the last time California mattered in the Presidential primary, and I yelled “1968 and 1972,” but I don’t think he heard me.  Incidentally, given that three of the intervening races between now and then weren’t competitive, that was only 5 primaries ago.)

Edwards, however, stuck to the facts, and his powerful argument for why he should be President.  He offered the same policy shifts on Iraq (all combat troops out in 12 months), health care (universal coverage mandated for every American, mental health, preventive and long-term care included), global warming (80% reductions in emissions by 2050, no new nuclear or coal-fired power plants), defending the Constitution (ending Guantanamo, torture, rendition, and illegal spying), poverty (expanded social aid and an increase of the minimum wage to $9.50 indexed to inflation), and labor (fair trade and tax policy, the Employee Free Choice Act, no scab hiring, strong support for unions).  But I want to cite two moments that deviated from the script.

First, Edwards has been discussing the sad case of Nataline Sarkysian, the 17 year-old from Glendale who was denied a liver transplant by her health insurer CIGNA, and died shortly after the company reversed the decision.  This time, Sarkysian’s parents were on stage with Sen. Edwards, and when he related that tragic story, I couldn’t help but watch Nataline’s mother choke up.  It was affecting, it hit you right in the gut.  And when Edwards said, in respect to the health insurers, “Are you telling me we should sit down at the table with these people?  Never!  I don’t want to be their President,” it was undeniably moving.

Second, Sen. Edwards obviously did his homework before the rally.  He brought up the California budget crisis, and the austere across-the-board cuts proposed by Gov. Schwarzenegger.  It’s fair to say that he wasn’t a fan.  Here’s his comments (a paraphrase):

I spent a day earlier this year with an SEIU health care worker… the people she cares for need her.  The last thing this or any state needs are cuts to that kind of health care.  The last thing you need are cuts to K-12 education.  Does anybody believe that we are spending too much on K-12 education in this country?

It’s fantastic to have Edwards still in the race.  He’s obviously an underdog at this point, and he willingly acknowledged that, saying that he’s going up against “two hundred-million-dollar candidates.”  The compression of the primary calendar will make it very difficult for him to get his message out to the February 5 states.  Yet he said to the assembled crowd of several hundred that “you have the ability to send a message and build a grassroots movement, a wave across this state and across this country.”  There’s no question that Edwards has driven the policy agenda throughout this race, and his bold strain of populism and unabashed liberalism is sorely needed in Washington.  However, sadly, even some of his most ardent supporters were making the case for Edwards to stay in the race to horde delegates and extract something from the eventual winner, rather than a case for him winning.

A neat postscript: Cate Edwards, the Senator’s daughter, was on hand, and after the speech she was chatting with Mimi Kennedy of PDA, our local election reform activist here in LA.  Minutes later, I saw Cate with something written on her bag: “Bradblog.com”.  Progress is slow, but it’s happening.