People talk about John Edwards not being able to carry North Carolina for Kerry in 2004...I'm surprised that Kerry was able to carry Massachusetts or California in 2004 he was so incompetent--even John Edwards couldn't help him. Had John Edwards been at the top of the ticket in 2004--as the Presidential candidate--the only one that really carries weight as far as winning the election goes--George Bush wouldn't be President today.

Here is another thought on the difference between Edwards & Obama on the issue of how to deal with insurance & drug companies. This is how I see it and this is why I support Edwards.

I think Senator Obama has already lost round 1 in the fight by already signaling to the insurance & drug companies that he is willing to compromise before the talks even start. Whatever changes he might obtain will only be incremental changes that he will have to fight tooth and nail to get.

I think Edwards has already won round 1 by putting the insurance & drug companies on notice that he is no easy mark and will only negotiate from a position of strength. They either get with the program or they can settle for scraps. The longer they hold out the less leverage they will have. Edwards will also have to fight tooth and nail but he won't have to settle for what the insurance & drug companies will give to him they will have to settle for what he and the American people will give to them.

If you were trying to reform the system which position wouldl you want to have?

Hey Chris Stewart back at you!

I agree that as Democrats we win when we thoughtfully discuss our reasons for supporting a particular candidate. I've never been interested in screaming at other candidate's supporters. It's not a very effective way to communicate and quite frankly it is just plain rude.

Thanks again for your comments.

Obama has not indicated any intention of compromising with the insurance & drug companies! He said he'd give them a seat at the table instead of all the seats as is the status quo. Edwards calls himself a fighter, but when he was in the Senate HE WENT ALONG - with NAFTA, the Patriot Act and authorization for the Iraq war. He is only a trial lawyer with the ability to evoke emotion with rhetoric.

Katy, with all due respect, by telling them they would have a seat at the table and that he would negotiate with them about his healthcare plan it clearly signals to them he is willing to compromise and allow them to help write the legislation. In my opinion we need to stop having insurance & drug companies writing the legislation for healthcare.

This blurb is from the NW Herald in Chicago:

"In some instances, Obama didn’t just listen to lobbyists. He worked with them to draft legislation, hammering out the specifics in long negotiations with lobbyists from both sides."

By the way Edwards was not in the Senate when they passed NAFTA but he was against it at the time. He was in a situation very simliar to Obama who was against the war but was not in the Senate when the Iraq war resolution was passed.

Edwards IS a fighter as his record shows. He helped write and pass the Patients Bill of Rights which the Insurance Companies were very much against. And his track record as a trial lawyer fighting for the little guys is one of the best in the country. He knows from experience how the insurance companies work and that's why he knows we have to fight them.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion about Obama, I just disagree. No hard feelings.

The bottom line here is that Edwards' mandate is a serious threat to survival for me and mine. We can't afford anything for insurance premiums, but it's clear from past experience that we would not qualify for free coverage. Moreover, we do not use allopathic medicine - we are alternative medicine people. In other countries, such as England, such health care is covered - and they get better health results for far less cost. ($2,000 per capita for everyone vs. around $7,000 with many uninsured). Why is it that those who talk about a woman's right to "choose" an abortion to "do what she wants with her own body" don't recognize our right to choose our health care of that body?

I'm still vacillating between Edwards and Obama - mostly towards the latter because of this issue. My problem is that I appreciate Edwards' stand agains the nuclear energy boondoggle - and he is the most electable.