John Edwards Gaining Ground

According to a variety of pundits, former Senator of North Carolina John Edwards gained the most ground from last night's democratic presidential nominee debate at Dartmouth College. Joan Walsh of Salon.com said: “I think Edwards made a strong impression and I think he pushed her [Senator Hillary Clinton] back," naming Edwards the winner of the debate. Newsweek reporter Howard Fineman said: “From where I sit, Edwards has emerged so far the most forceful challenger to her (other than Tim Russert).”  And Eric Kleefeld of TPM wrote that MSNBC spin room consensus seemed to be that Barack Obama [was] overtaken rhetorically by John Edwards.

One thing that sets Edwards apart is his unique position on Social Security. In last night's debate most of the candidates said they would increase the cap on Social Security taxable income. In a bold move that reiterates his campaign message, Edwards proposed a "protective zone" for incomes between $90,000 and $200,000 which would be exempt from Social Security tax increases.

Further setting himself apart from Clinton, Edwards plans to immediately withdraw combat troops from Iraq. While none of the candidates could commit to a complete withdrawal of troops by 2013, Edwards committed to fairly specific drawdowns including the immediate withdrawal of 40-50,000 combat troops to be followed by an orderly withdrawal of all combat troops.

In a thoughtful essay published in the September/October 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs, Edwards offers a clear strategy for "Reengaging With the World" with particular regard to the Middle East. He reiterates President Truman's cautious and wise words: "No one nation alone can bring peace," as he makes the case for diplomatic reengagement and "plac[ing] smart power at the center of our national security policy." He writes that "we will most likely need to retain quick-reaction forces in Kuwait...naval presence in the Persian Gulf...and some security capabilities in Baghdad." But he also cites the need for a diplomatic offensive which has been sadly lacking under the Bush Administration.

On Iran, Edwards writes knowledgably and with conviction.

"For example, right now we must do everything we can to isolate Iran's leader from the moderate forces within the country. We need to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions through diplomatic measures that will, over time, force Iran to finally understand that the international community will not allow it to possess nuclear weapons...We should continue to work with other great powers to offer Tehran economic incentives for good behavior. At the same time, we must use much more serious economic sanctions to deter Ahmadinejad's government when it refuses to cooperate."

Although both Clinton and Edwards voted to give Bush authorization to go to war in Iraq, Edwards noted the very different lessons they learned from that vote during last night's debate during which Edwards pointed out Senator Clinton's stance on the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment. The Amendment calls Iran's military "a terrorist organization" in effect laying the groundwork for George W. Bush to declare pre-emptive war against Iran. Clinton voted in favor of the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment. Along with Senator Biden, Chris Dodd voted against it saying,

"I cannot support the Kyl-Lieberman amendment on Iran. To do so could give this President a green light to act recklessly and endanger US national security. We learned in the run up to the Iraq war that seemingly non-binding language passed by this Senate can have profound consequences. We need the president to use robust diplomacy to address concerns with Iran, not the language in this amendment that the president can point to if he decides to draw this country into another disastrous war of choice."..."We shouldn't repeat our mistakes and enable this President again." 

apparently also having learned a different lesson than Senator Clinton.

In another leading move, Edwards will participate in an online dialogue today at 12:00 Eastern Time hosted by MTV and MySpace. You might recall the July CNN event which incorporated YouTube participation into a debate between democratic presidential candidates. But today's groundbreaking MTV/MySpace event occurs in real time. Other candidates scheduled to participate in MTV/MySpace dialogues include Clinton, Giuliani, McCain, Obama, Richardson and Romney.

Edwards is also hosting two Town Hall Forums on Economic Fairness today (12:30 p.m. edt in Durham, NH and 5:30 p.m. edt in Conway, NH). After the Conway event Edwards will attend a Bluegrass Concert at New Hampshire Community College in Berlin, NH.

Time/CNN now gives John Edwards a five-point lead in Iowa although Clinton still leads as most likely to win the democratic nomination at the national level. But with Edwards stepping up it's possible for him to overtake her.