Senator John Edwards

Today I was able to make Senator John Edwards' policy speech on fighting terrorism at Pace University. This is my first time hearing Edwards in person and I will say I liked him. Again, I remain undecided among Edwards, Richardson and Obama, and remain happy with all the Dem candidates. But hearing Edwards today did boost my estimation of him.

Edwards' speech started just a tad flat and unconvincing. A few lines of it made me think he needed new speech writers. However, he rapidly moved into some real solid material. The first part struck two main themes: BOLD and smart.

BOLD as in a bold, new strategy to fight terrorism, breaking away from the out-dated, failed flailing of Bush.

Bold was the most repeated theme, with smart coming in second. As a combination it is a powerful shift from the current Bush failures which are neither bold, merely bullying, and about as far from smart as anyone can get.

The speech ended with a Kennedy-esque call to service, an "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country" moment calling on the young students of Pace to join in and face the challenges that the 21st century have thrown at us.

Here is my analysis of Edwards' speech and the policies he presents.

He began with a reference to 9/11, an introductory theme that was introduced by a 9/11 widow who introduced Edwards to the crowd. To me the key point, damning of Bush and the do-nothing Republicans, is this: