The idea of American exceptionalism doesn’t extend to Americans being exceptional. If you excelled academically and are able to casually use 690 SAT words then you might as well have the press shoot video of you giving the finger to the Statue of Liberty while the Dixie Chicks sing the University of the Taliban fight song. The people who want English to be the official language of the United States are uncomfortable with their leaders being fluent in it.

–Jed Bartlet on what Americans want

Was that the speech that fifth graders will be reciting 20 years from now? Or is that speech still to come?

Read the rest of this article

Today I got an offer to join John Edwards as he fixes New Orleans! He emailed me! Well, me and the other hundred and something thousand people he emails every day to rally around his cause.

The offer, in fact, was similar to offers from other leading Democrats. I got the offer because I am on all of their email lists for the hell of it. I enjoy feeling important by getting emails from senders like “Bill Clinton” and “Rudy Giuliani.” Knowing he was aligned with the Mitt Romney campaign, I kept hoping for one from “Larry Craig,” but I guess he didn’t get BlackBerry service in the bathroom.

John Edwards is holding a raffle of sorts for anyone who donates to his campaign before the end of the quarter on September 30. From those donors, five will be chosen to go with Edwards to New Orleans as he takes “a break from the campaign trail,” and works in an area damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Edwards is running on a platform of ending the type of government corruption that has lead to New Orleans STILL looking like it was hit by a hurricane. So to do so, he is going to take five people there for a photo-op of him hammering nails with common folk (who also happen to donate to political campaigns).

Five? Five people? That sounds about as effective as the number of national guard troops that the Federal Government sent in three days after Katrina hit.

How is this really any different that Hillary “chatting” with her donors over dinner, or Obama (and I paraphrase) listening to normal people instead of the energy lobby while eating lunch.

Now, I know Edwards is running for president so that he can fix things like New Orleans, and he is not currently in the business of fixing New Orleans, but think about this: What would the media (currently drooling over Clinton, Obama Thompson and Giuliani) do if Edwards began an initiative to do something substantial in New Orleans instead of just having a photo-op with some lucky donors. What if he organized a campaign to make a substantial impact in one area of one neighborhood with just a fraction of the millions and millions he is spending to try and keep afloat in the Clin-bam-Thom-liani ocean?

I guess the question here is what is Edwards trying to accomplish by taking five donors to New Orleans to take “a break from the campaign trail.” Is he trying to make a difference, or is he just trying to let people know that he is preparing himself to make a difference once America gives him the spotlight? Personally, with a few exceptions, I think it typically works better to make a difference to get in the spotlight instead of getting in the spotlight to make a difference.