Kerry Announces Choice Of Edwards in an E-Mail July_6,_2004_8:33_a.m. Following is the e-mail John Kerry sent on Tuesday, July 6, to his supporters announcing his selection of former rival and North Carolina senator John Edwards1 as his running mate for the 2004 presidential elections: Dear Friend, In just a few minutes, I will announce that Senator John Edwards will join me as my running-mate on the Democratic ticket as a candidate for vice president of the United States. Teresa and I could not be more excited that John and Elizabeth Edwards will be our partners in our journey to make America stronger at home and respected in the world. You are the heart and soul of our campaign. You've shattered records and expectations every step of the way. Every time someone said you couldn't do it, you proved them wrong. Because of your incredible grassroots energy and commitment, I wanted to make the first official announcement of my decision to you -- more than one million online supporters at johnkerry.com2. I want you to know why I'm excited about running for president with John Edwards by my side. John understands and defends the values of America. He has shown courage and conviction as a champion for middle class Americans and those struggling to reach the middle class. In the Senate, he worked to reform our intelligence, to combat bioterrorism, and keep our military strong. John reaches across party lines and speaks to the heart of America -- hope and optimism. Throughout his own campaign for President, John spoke about the great divide in this country -- the "Two Americas" -- that exist between those who are doing well today and those that are struggling to make it from day to day. And I am so proud that we're going to build one America together. In the next 120 days and in the administration that follows, John Edwards and I will be fighting for the America we love. We'll be fighting to give the middle class a voice by providing good paying jobs and affordable health care. We'll be fighting to make America energy independent. We'll be fighting to build a strong military and lead strong alliances, so young Americans are never put in harm's way because we insisted on going it alone. I can't tell you how proud I am to have John Edwards on my team, or how eager I am for the day this fall when he stands up for our vision and goes toe-to-toe with Dick Cheney. This is the most important election of our lifetime, and a defining moment in our history. With you by our side every day of this campaign, John and I will lead the most spirited presidential campaign America has ever seen and fight to lead our nation in a new and better direction. Thank you, John Kerry
today's WSJ had an interesting article, pre-announcement, on reaction from the business community if it was edwards. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108906847567455577,00.html?mod=politics_secondary_stories_hs -- POLITICAL CAPITAL By ALAN MURRAY Business Elite Vows To Take On Kerry If He Taps Edwards July_6,_2004 Tom Donohue, head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has made a public vow: If John Edwards is chosen as John Kerry's running mate, the chamber will abandon its traditional stance of neutrality in the presidential race and work feverishly to defeat the Democratic ticket. "We'd get the best people and the greatest assets we can rally" to the cause, he says. Other business leaders in Washington have been less public and less precise, but no less passionate. Reviewing the candidates in the Democratic primaries earlier this year, a Fortune 100 chief executive who is active in Washington told me that Mr. Edwards, the North Carolina senator, "is the one we fear the most" -- more than John Kerry, more than Dick Gephardt, more than Howard Dean. None of this is personal. These businessmen barely know Sen. Edwards and would probably find him a far more engaging dinner companion than most of his fellow Democrats -- Sen. Kerry included. Nor is it completely rational. Mr. Edwards's political and policy views are more moderate -- and more in line with business -- than those of Gov. Dean, Rep. Gephardt or even Sen. Kerry. But Mr. Edwards is a trial lawyer. His campaign for the presidency was financed by trial lawyers. And there is nothing that makes America's CEOs see red these days like America's trial lawyers. "It's visceral," says one person who works with a group of chief executives. "You can feel it in a room." The nation's top executives view the plaintiff's bar as modern-day mobsters, shaking down corporations by bringing endless lawsuits that are too costly and too dangerous to litigate and that result in settlements costing billions to the corporate bottom line. The antipathy, while not new, has never been greater. "This is not a personal issue and it is not a party issue," says Mr. Donohue. "It is not about getting Bush or Kerry elected. It is about something so fundamental to what we do here at the chamber that we can't walk away from it." Should Democrats care? After all, big business is hardly their natural constituency. The Chamber of Commerce will never be a hotbed of Democratic support. And the number of chief executives in the elite Business Roundtable who will vote for Sen. Kerry, regardless of his running mate, can be counted on Fannie Mae CEO Frank Raines's right hand -- with digits to spare. But party wisdom that's been passed down by former Democratic National Committee Chairman Robert Strauss, and now resides with Democratic economic guru Robert Rubin, is that big business does matter to Democrats. To be successful, a Democratic presidential candidate doesn't need the active support of America's CEOs, but he does need to keep them on the sidelines. Jimmy Carter lost his bid for re-election at least in part because business was determined to dump him. Bill Clinton won election and re-election at least in part because the business community, while not strongly supportive, wasn't threatened by him. Sen. Kerry has accepted this wisdom and has worked since the end of the primary season to moderate the way he's viewed by business. The harsh talk of "Benedict Arnold corporations and CEOs that send jobs and profits overseas" -- a standard line in his stump speech back in January and February -- is gone. Instead, he talks coolly of eliminating tax breaks that encourage companies to send jobs outside the U.S. With Mr. Rubin at his side, he met with the leaders of the Business Roundtable. While there were no apparent converts, he did put the group at ease. A decision now by Sen. Kerry to make Sen. Edwards his running mate would end that ease, and Sen. Kerry's advisers know it. If Sen. Edwards doesn't get the nod, concern about business backlash will be one reason. If he does, the campaign will be looking for ways to moderate their vice-presidential candidate's business image. Mr. Edwards's aides already are pointing out that as a trial lawyer, he never brought the kind of controversial class-action lawsuits that drain millions from a company's coffers but provide only minimal benefits to each member of a large group of plaintiffs. Perhaps as a vice-presidential candidate, Sen. Edwards would take up the cause of class-action reform -- a business-friendly position already staked out by Democrats like Sen. Charles Schumer of New York. The Kerry campaign also could try to minimize damage by tying Mr. Donohue closely to the White House. In a news release last Thursday, the campaign attacked the chamber chief for a speech he gave in San Francisco defending outsourcing, and it called on the White House to disavow his comments. The release went on to cite various ties between Mr. Donohue and the Bush White House, including a meeting he had with Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman in April, as well as various visits by President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to the chamber over the past three years.
maybe the posy has the real scoop, and everyone else is wrong! they're right about the "exclusive" part... http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/26839.htm -- KERRY PICKS GEPHARDT July 6, 2004--EXCLUSIVE John Kerry has chosen Rep. Richard Gephardt, the veteran congressman from Missouri, to be his running mate, The Post has learned. Gephardt, 63, a 28-year veteran of the House of Representatives, could be named by the presumptive Democratic nominee as the party's vice-presidential candidate as soon as today. The Massachusetts senator was set to announce the winner of the veep-stakes at a rally this morning in Pittsburgh, according to several reports last night. With the July 26 Democratic convention in Boston looming, Kerry is looking for some advantage in the polls, and is hoping his choice of running mate will be the answer. The polls have consistently shown him neck and neck with President Bush. Gephardt, who was House majority leader from 1989 to 1995 and minority leader until 2002, could be an asset to Kerry in key battleground states in the Midwest. He also has long been known as a supporter of organized labor, which leans heavily Democratic. Gephardt had been one of those vying for the Democratic nomination along with Kerry, but folded up his operation after failing to win the caucuses in the neighboring state of Iowa. He also lost an attempt at the nomination in 1988 to Michael Dukakis. After holding local office in his native St. Louis, Gephardt was first elected to Congress in 1976. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Michigan law school. He's has an extensive political résumé, but he may be too experienced. Gephardt could be viewed by voters as too much of a Washington insider. There was early speculation that Kerry was going to make a bold choice by crossing party lines and asking Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.) to join the ticket. But McCain embarrassed Kerry by publicly declining. Then many thought Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) would be the one, when it was learned he had cut short a family vacation at Florida's Walt Disney World last week so he could rush to see Kerry in Washington. They met Thursday, according to sources close to the Kerry campaign. But the sources also noted that Kerry held positive meetings with Gephardt and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. Many Democrats had urged Kerry to turn to his former opponent Edwards, 51, whose youthful appearance and sunny campaign style during the primary made him a favorite among party activists. Edwards also could have been competitive in the south, and the choice of Gephardt could be a sign that Kerry is "writing off" that region. Edwards also lacked experience. He is a one-term senator whose lack of seasoning in foreign affairs could have made voters nervous about his ability to assume the presidency during a war or an international crisis. It was thought that Kerry felt more comfortable with Gephardt than any of the other candidates. He even said he would have supported Gephardt if he were not running himself. Vilsack, 53, was the least known of the top contenders. The Iowa governor was believed to be personally liked by Kerry and also hailed from the Midwest — but he was virtually unknown to voters. Besides Pittsburgh, Kerry will also be in Indianapolis today and will head to Cleveland, Cincinnati and Milwaukee before coming to New York at the end of the week for several fund-raisers.
6 years ago, Edwards was trying outrageous jacuzzi cases and enriching his bank account at all of our expense. Now he's on the ticket as a VP candidate? This lightweight simply doesn't have the credentials to serve in this capacity. Cheney will steamroll him in the debate, much like he did with Lieberman. Bad choice by Forbes Kerry. It takes more than a fake tan and a smile to be a VP candidate. Was the Texas Hammer Jim Adler not available? At least he has more experience.
Can't wait for the VP debate! Is Cheney going to tell Edwards to **** off if he doesn't like something? Inquiring minds want to know...
I guess in Trader_Jorge land, it is bad for people to enrich themselves via a lawsuit, but it is perfectly OK for people to enrich themselves via a war. Typical.
I've forgotten the details, but Edwards and his wife lost an infant many years ago-- I want to say it was a car accident, but I'm not sure.
