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Warning: You Could Be Written Into John Edwards' Stump Speech

January 11, 2008 7:57 PM

ABC News' Raelyn Johnson reports: John Edwards has knack for weaving personal narratives into his stump speech. 

Consider James Lowe, the coal miner Edwards met on his poverty tour last summer, who for much of his life was unable to speak, having been born with a cleft palette.  Lowe, who didn’t have health insurance, was able to get corrective surgery in his 50s after a doctor volunteered his services.

Lowe’s story took center stage in many of Edwards’ town halls since last August.  In arguing for universal health care and fighting corporate greed, Edwards would often tell voters, “James Lowe finally got his voice back; now it’s time for you to get your voice back.”

Leading up to the Iowa caucuses, Edwards campaigned with Lowe, as well as Sandy Lakey, the mother of a young girl who was injured by a defective swimming pool drain.  It was one of the last cases Edwards tried.  In front of caucus goers, the Lakey family made a compelling case for Edwards -- just as he had done from them.

But then there are those who may be unknowingly weaved into Edwards’ narrative.

In December, Edwards visited a homeless shelter with Iowa first lady Mari Culver -- an experience he often retells when describing what’s wrong with America.

On Thursday night, Edwards visited a food bank in Charleston, S.C.  Less than 24 hours later, the food bank line made an appearance in his stump speech during a town hall in Summerville, S.C., on Friday morning.

Edwards would argue that in telling these stores, he’s giving a voice to those who go unheard.

Out on the stump, Edwards began talking about Nataline Sarkisyan, a 17-year-old girl who passed away in need of a liver transplant.  Her insurance company initially declined to pay for the operation but later reversed the decision shortly before her well-publicized death.

Nataline’s mother began campaigning with Edwards, who related her story on the national stage of the ABC News/Facebook debate.

That’s when a rival campaign made it clear they weren’t impressed with Edwards ripped-from-the-headlines approach. 

“In order to be president, you need to do more than read articles about people who need help and talk about them,” said Clinton spokesperson Jay Carson, adding that Clinton is “somebody who’s actually going help people and not use them as taking points.”

Edwards replied that the Sarkisyan family contacted him after hearing about Nataline in a stump speech.

January 11, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

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Posted by: benintn | Jan 11, 2008 8:41:04 PM

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