A few weeks ago, I wrote in about the promotion of celebrity, glitz, race, and gender issues directly by the media and subtly by the campaigns of Senators Clinton and Obama.  Interestingly, Senators Clinton and Obama and their respective campaigns have both stated that neither of them are promoting the gender or race, respectively, card.  Then, lo and behold, it comes out that the Clinton campaign set a “trap” for the Obama campaign on the issue of race and the Obama campaign bit “hook, line, and sinker”.  Only time will tell whether the strategy of  pandering to bigotry by the Clinton Campaign and foregoing South Carolina by promoting race as an issue and the extreme willingness of the Obama campaign to bite without any questions asked will pay off for either Campaign and/or hurt the Democratic Party on Tsunami Tuesday, February 5 and beyond.

More below the flip…

Regardless, the much bigger and underlying issue is integrity and credibility, which is why before I go any further I must point out that I am a supporter of John Edwards, the adult wing of the Democratic Party.  Senator Edwards, as most of you know, last summer was confronted by the national media that he was subtly pandering to the white, male vote in the context of electability in November, 2008.  John, without any hesitation or equivocation, responded directly and forcefully to the effect “If you are voting for me because I am not a woman…because I am not African-American…then I do not want your vote”.  Before that time, during that time, and since that time, JRE has continued to lead the Democratic discussion (and to some extent the Republican discussion) on the issues being addressed during the campaign (i.e. universal health care, economic stimulus package and the economy, predatory lenders and the home mortgage crisis-these are just examples as the list goes on an on).

Recently, I hear the candidates and their campaigns talking about unity.  If the candidates and their campaigns will stick to a discussion of the issues like Senator Edwards has done, then unity will likely not be an issue at the Convention and there would be no reason to discuss such an issue at this time.  However, when candidates and their campaigns welcome, condone, and encourage the media promotion of celebrity, glitz, race, and gender as issues, then I suspect that unity will be very hard to accomplish since these issues are deep-rooted, filled with strong emotional feelings, and very, very divisive.  The City of Los Angeles, the host of the debates this Thursday night, provided our country with a very visible example of the tragic consequences that can result from such divisiveness following the Rodney King state court trial.

Therefore, it seems somewhat prophetic that the Thursday night debate is in Los Angeles and Senators Clinton and Obama have another opportunity to follow John Edwards by doing what he did last summer…by truly being transparent, enhancing credibility, and demonstrating integrity…by showing that this is not about YOU THE CANDIDATE, but rather about US THE PEOPLE…by instilling unity before the nomination process is over rather than later when it will likely be too late even if it may not be politically, strategically in the best interests of YOUR CAMPAIGN and you might not be the next President of the United States of America (but it will be best for the United States of American and each of US who call it home).  The opportunity will be there on a national stage at the debate in Los Angeles for Senator Clinton to tell the voters “If you are voting for me because I am not black…because I am not a white, male, then I do not want your vote” and for Senator Obama to tell the voters “If you are voting for me because I am not white, then I do not want your vote”.  And, mainstream corporate media, for one of the few times in this campaign, show why you were once looked up to in this country as the Fourth Estate and confront Senators Clinton and Obama on this issue if they will not address the issue voluntarily and/or directly and do not accept any non-responsive, non-direct, “beat-around-the-bush” answer.  As a sidelight, the respect Senator Obama would have right now if he had come out and said the foregoing BEFORE the South Carolina Primary and got the same results he obtained would make unity a non-issue right now.

When the candidates and their campaigns directly, expressly, and unequivocally take race and gender out of this Democratic Campaign, the glamour of celebrity and glitz will also fall by the wayside.  The mainstream corporate media will then have no choice but to follow the real issues (and hopefully all of the candidates) that are truly important to the substantial majority of America.  If, or when, that happens, unity will flow naturally following the nomination no matter who the nominee is.

I watched the debate this evening following my reading of news articles that John Edwards should drop out of this election because his continuing presence is divisive to the Democratic Party.  The debate demonstrated that Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are clearly capable of being divisive on their own, while John maintained the dignity of the forum and was by far the most Presidential of the three.  In fact, it is John Edwards who has led the way ensuring that the Democratic Party ideals of equality and fairness for all, giving the economically disadvantaged a fair chance at the American Dream, and restoring the moral integrity and leadership of the United States are the issues being discussed in the campaign for the Democratic Presidential nomination.  Many “political experts” have said that John Edwards has shaped the issues of the Democratic Primary and Caucus campaign.  In accordance, we, as Americans and Californians, need John Edwards to stay in this race to the end (and I hope into the White House).

I have spoken at many Democratic Club meetings over the past few months on behalf of John Edwards, as well as tabled at shopping centers and street fairs.  I am very concerned about the focus of the media and what I have been hearing in the debates in the context of what I have heard when speaking and/or tabling in the Coachella Valley about the reasons people are voting for a particular candidate.  Everyone knows that it is politically incorrect to advocate voting for Senator Clinton merely because she is a woman or Senator Obama merely because he is an African-American, and thus such comments are not expressly made in this context.  However, the subtle message I continue to hear is real change will come from a woman in the White House or real change will come from an African-American in the White House.  These under the radar views are ignorant and damaging to We The People of the United States of America because real change will come only from Progressive Democratic ideas put forth by someone who is willing to fight to implement and follow through with the Progressive Democratic ideas.  Obviously, I am a John Edwards supporter, and thus feel that JRE is the best Democratic candidate to accomplish this real change because of (a) His life experiences growing up; (b) His professional life experiences as a trial attorney taking on the “Big People” and always battling for the “Little Person” in the courtroom, at the UNC Poverty Center, and on the streets of America; (c) His leadership of ideas coming out first with a Universal Health Care Plan, an Economic Stimulus Package, a Global Warming Plan, and the list goes on and on; and (d) His unwillingness to take money from PAC’s and lobbyists because he knows the fight that lies ahead is a fight for middle class Americans and below and not about compromising their interests.  I appreciate and respect that you may disagree with me that John Edwards is the best Democratic candidate to accomplish such real change provided that you are basing your decision on the position of your candidate of choice on the issues and ability to implement and follow through in this regard, rather than because your candidate is a female or an African-American or because the corporate mainstream media told you who to vote for, either expressly or implicitly by limiting the coverage of a candidate relative to the two (2) celebrity and glitz candidates.  

I will close my remarks with a story that I think is so essential because what I hear from people who I am out talking to about John Edwards is that they want “bullet-point” literature on the issues because the 80 page “The Plan To Build One America – Bold Solutions For Real Change” by John Edwards is too much reading.  I ask these people if you were going to have surgery, or buy a home, or make an investment, then would you want “bullet-point” information or all of the information and details available.  This next election is more important than surgery or buying a home and you are making the biggest investment of your life, and the lives of your children and grandchildren, because of the issues at stake resulting from the past decades of Presidential Policy.  My son, a junior in high school, is a typical teenager and like most teenagers is aware of but not very interested in the upcoming Presidential Election.  However, on New Year’s Day I was watching a CSPAN recording of John Edwards speaking before the Iowa Caucus and my son was in the same room, laying on a couch reading a book (“Eragon”).  I caught my son, out of the corner of my eye, put down the book and proceed to watch John Edwards.  I kept waiting for my son to stop watching JRE and return to reading his book.  Instead, my son watched the entire speech (approximately 45-60 minutes) and when John Edwards had finished his speech my son, spontaneously and without any solicitation or comment from me, says “How could you not vote for the guy?”  The following week I am tabling at the Palm Springs Street Fair where all of the Democratic Presidential Candidates who have a representative are present.  Near the end of the four (4) hour evening, a Hispanic family consisting of a mother, father, and middle-school aged boy approach the Senator Obama representative next to me.  The mother and father ask about buttons, bumper stickers, etc., which they are provided with.  The Senator Obama representative asks the middle-school aged boy if he wants a button and the boy politely responds “No”.  The Senator Obama representative asks “Why not” and the boy responds he “likes John Edwards”, which perked up my ears.  I asked the boy “Why do you like John Edwards?” and he responded “I saw him on C-Span and I liked what he had to say.”

If a middle-schooler and a high school junior have the attention span to watch C-Span, then the least that we adults can all do is take the time to visit the web sites of each of the candidates and see what they have to say, as well as hear each of the candidates out when they speak, rather than follow the mainstream media like a bunch of sheep or vote for someone because they are the first woman or first African-American with a legitimate chance to be the President of the United States of America.  Do not cheat yourself by doing anything less and you owe it to your children and grandchildren to give them a better country then was given to you.