Van Halen, or Van Hagar, now playing for the second time. Would get more praise but there was a Mellencamp situation...
5:49 and I'm on the press platform with my blogging assistant for the day who also happens to be my daughter. She's taking some pics of whatever interests her and providing fresh perspective.
350 or so here for Edwards so comparable to Hillary. I'm betting on a Live At 6 entrance as the Doobies sing "Taking it to the streets."
They told me no wifi but as you see I got it. Thank you College Community School District.
A Patton-size flag on one end of the gym; daughter thinks it's from the campaign (she went to school here 2 1/2 years and doesn't remember seeing it.) Now we have Bob Jovi I mean Bon Jovi but I like the typo. Some actual Prairie students sighted. The pre-planted homemade signs are here; "College for everyone" reads one.
6:03 and I lose my bet on the live at 6. Looks like a Linn crowd, only a light scattering of Johnson faces. Oh no, losing music points for U2 "Beautiful Day". Why not go back to Joshua Tree and "Bullet The Blue Sky"? Crowd starts chanting "we want John" but I don't think they mean me.
The vice principal stands up and my daughter groans. She denies that he ever gave her detention.
Sheriff Don Zeller is going to do the intro. "He looks like a cowboy" says daughter. Gray hair and mustache, so maybe a senior Marlboro Man... Zeller was an Edwardian in `03 so he's back on board. Zeller alludes to Walter Reed to large applause. Bring troops home; "protect our homeland here." Intro is lengthy but this crowd knows and likes Don so it's selling well.
6:17 intro continuing. Now I'm getting it: Zeller's not going long, he's s t r e t c h i n g. He wraps and Aretha sings R-E-S-P-E-C-T. So we're behind schedule as yet another song plays. Handwritten sign: "We Believe In Edwars" (sic)
6:22 and they arrive. Loud music that I think is Foo Fighters. Crowd sounds louder and younger than the Hillary crowd but that could be Dave Grohl. Staffer tells me "813 signed in." So my estimating skills suck.
6:26 Elizabeth says hi. Kids are loving the hotel pool. John is tieless, white shirt, blue blazer - stealing fashion from Obama? "The nation ought to thank Iowa for listening to the issues."
6:28 JE speaks, thanks everyone for support re: EE's health. Re Bush veto threat: "Elections have consequences. If he vetoes, Dems should send bill that funds troops and sets timetables. America needs to be leaving iraq and all of us know it."
We're past the time for incremental steps and rhetoric. How are we going to bring transformational change? Not by polls and focus groups; leadership and vision and specifics.
On Caucus Night you'll know exactly where I stand.
We need to reestablish USA as a force for good. We're seen as a selfish bully; Iraq=Exhibit A. Prez needs to show world America is an IDEA: Equality. Diversity. World needs to hear that from us. Takes actions too.
Darfur: cites Chinese influence. (Deep foreign policy detail here) HIV/AIDS in Africa and medicine cost. Riches nation stand by: "what would YOU think of us?" Instead of spending $500 billion on Iraq, what if we educated 100 million children in the world who have no education? GOOD thing to do and SMART thing to do.
In campaigns we have our "boxes" separating issues. But they're all completely connected. Wolds knows about uninsured Americans and it affects our ability to compete. My health care plan is "truly universal" (big applause) Everyone covered, choices, may ultimately be single payer. Mental health , preventive, long term. Portability, no problems with preexisting conditions (more appl). It's not free - 100 billiuon a year, repeal Bush tax cuts (bigger applause).
Global warming: "This is an emergency." Cap CO2 emissions, auction off emission rights, invest in alternatives. Operational clean coal, carbon sequestration, ban no coal fired plants, fuel efficiency. 80% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050. Agressive but achievable. "Time fior the POTUS to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war." (big applause) We must conserve "Can't solve with efficience." "If you can't say in one sentence why you're running you shouldn't run." So why. John? "I want everyone in America to have the same chances I have, it's just that simple."
The whole world saw New Orleans: "The Shaming Of America" said the headlines. Here's some One America stuff. "Yeah, I'm still talking about the two Americas, because they are still out there." GREAT line. Income inequality is unhealthy. I'm remembering lines from January: "Organized labor is the most effective anti-poverty program ever in America."
6:45. Talks about pay day loans "If it's two days to pay day and you kid's gotta eat, you'll do what you have to." Need to crack down. The ideas are coming faster than my fingers can move. He'll definitely lock down the detail-wonk vote. Not saying that's a bad thing.
Bush and Cheney message: "Stay at home and we'll protect you." I don't want to cower in the corner: we are at our best when we are out there with courage and backbone. Daughter says "I agree." The Greatest Generation didn't stay home, they took action. And we need you to take action. Talks about One Corps, Edwards group out doing community projects. Nice idea. I liked it the first time I heard it, when it was called Dean Corps.
"If we all work together, there's nothin' we can't do." 6:50 and the speech is a wrap. Here come questions. EE will too.
And the first question is... the Iowans for Sensible Priorities question. They need to reword that from time to time.
JE: Bush though raw power would let america do whatever it wants, that's just not true. Significant defense cuts can be taken: Star Wars (appl) some fighter jets. But a lot of the defense budget is for troops, and many now don't get what they need. Need to distinguish between weapon systems and service personnel. Need a dedicated stream of revenue for vet's health care so vets know they'll get care. "The USA didn't wait in line when we needed them to serve."
Question: How can we get back money from Cheney? (laughs) "If I can figure out a way I will." We know there's fraud in Iraq, in New Orleans. Need to look hard at how people have taken advantage and get $ back.
Kid "what are you gonna do for schools?" JE: Today we think about K-12 but we need to see education as birth through death. Need much earlier early childhood ed, and nutruition. US should invest in scince/math/tech grad programs. Still struggling with how to set up a system to deal with continuing education so we stay competitive. We have no systematic way to do it. K-12: need best possible teachers. Raise base pay (appl from all the teachers) Need to attract and keep better teachers. No Child Left Behind: would no eliminate, but needs change. Testing needs to be smarter, less invasive.
7:00 and Farms: JE says corporate ag making family farms hard to compete. Need to look at vertical integration. Should be cap on subsidy payments ($250,000 says Harkin). Must be safety net for family farms. Praise for Harkin gets applause.
Another Iowans for Sensible Priorities question about nuke disarmament. JE: Nuke non-proliferation needs work, so does chemical-biological. America should reduce nukes - how does US have credibility with Iran when we are producing new kinds of nukes?
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