Edwards is first Dem to air ad in S.C.; spot plays up his biography as son of mill worker

CNN: November 14, 2007
Edwards will be first Democrat on TV in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) – Former Sen. John Edwards will become the first Democratic presidential candidate to run television ads in South Carolina on Wednesday morning when his campaign launches a new TV spot tailored to Palmetto State voters. The 30-second ad — entitled "America's Jobs and America's Workers" — echoes the populist themes Edwards has used during his campaign. According to the Edwards campaign, the ad "highlights Senator Edwards' experience growing up in rural Carolina mill towns."

"My father worked in this mill and others like it for 30 years," Edwards says in the ad, which will run statewide. "I worked in it when I was young. Now it's closed, the jobs are gone. For too many, it's just about profit and greed. They're wrong. It's about the dignity of a job and doing what’s right for America's workers." The ad was filmed outside the mill in Robbins, North Carolina where Edwards' father Wallace Edwards worked for years.

"I'm John Edwards and I approve this message because we don’t need another president that puts wealth above work," the ad concludes. "So, if you're ready to stand with me for American jobs and America’s workers, your time is now."

Edwards trails Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama significantly in state polls. Both Clinton and Obama have run radio ads in South Carolina aimed at African-Americans, who make up an estimated 50 percent of Democratic primary voters in South Carolina. Still, Edwards won the primary here in 2004 after capitalizing on momentum from his second-place finish in Iowa, and his campaign routinely states that voters will remember the fact that Edwards was born in South Carolina to a rural, working family....

LINK TO TV AD: http://johnedwards.com/media/video/sc-americas-jobs-ad/

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/11/14/edwards-will-be-first-democrat-on-tv-in-south-carolina/

I didn't remember that, considering he only said it 456,000 times in 2003 and 4.

My dad worked on auto parts. Maybe I should run for president.

I feel a president who came from more humble beginnings more closely fits my views. IMO.

Nixon came from humble beginnings....is he more your cup of tea?

Hillary's mother was a homemaker, and here's her dad's wikipedia bio.

Hugh Ellsworth Rodham
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Find out more about navigating Wikipedia and finding information •Jump to: navigation, search
Hugh Ellsworth Rodham
Born April 2, 1911
Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA
Died April 7, 1993 (aged 82)
Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

Known for Father of Hillary Rodham Clinton
Spouse Dorothy Emma Howell Rodham
Children Hillary, Hugh, Tony
Hugh Ellsworth Rodham (April 2, 1911 – April 7, 1993) was Hillary Rodham Clinton’s father.

He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Hannah Jones and Hugh Rodham, Sr.,<1> English immigrants descended from a line of Welsh coal miners<2> in Pennsylvania and worked in the Scranton coal mine industry.

He attended Pennsylvania State University on a football scholarship, playing for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team<2> and joining the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education<2> from the College of Education in 1935, at the height of the Great Depression.

He briefly worked at his father's employer, Scranton Lace Company,<3> then freighthopped to Chicago without telling his parents.<2> There he found work selling drapery fabrics around the Midwest, sending the money he made back home.<2>

In 1937 he met Dorothy Emma Howell, who was applying for a job at a textile company that Rodham was making a sales call at.<3><2> After a lengthy courtship they married in early 1942.<2> Rodham enlisted in the United States Navy, where he became a Chief Petty Officer stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Station, performing training duties for sailors headed for the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II.<2>

After the war he began what was to prove to be a very successful career in the textile supply industry, starting with Rodrik Fabrics, a drapery fabric business located in Chicago's famous Merchandise Mart building.<2> He later opened a fabric print plant building on the North Side.<2>

The Rodhams had three children: Hillary (born 1947), Hugh (born 1950), and Tony (born 1954). In 1950 they moved to the more affluent Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, Illinois.<2> The family still maintained ties to Scranton; all three children were christened there, and they spent summers at a cottage overlooking Lake Winola located in Overfield Township, Pennsylvania in the nearby Pocono Mountains.<3><2>

Rodham was a staunch supporter of Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential campaign and remained a committed Republican until his death. Even after his daughter married Democrat Bill Clinton, he (according to Bill Clinton) "never gave up hope that his son-in-law would join him in the Republican Party and support a cut in the capital gains tax."<4>

Hugh Ellsworth Rodham died in Little Rock, Arkansas on April 7, 1993, and was buried in the Washburn Street Cemetery, Scranton, Pennsylvania, in a funeral that included a Presidential entourage of the Clintons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Ellsworth_Rodham

She didn't grow up in poverty, but it sounds like her dad worked hard for a living.

Son of a poor mill worker born in South Carolina....then...

Some stuff happened in between...

Then he ran for President in 2007...

Some "stuff" that shall not be mentioned.

His dad was a manager and a consultant for various mills - hardly the rank and file.

:eyes:

You really should check your facts. His father worked his way up at tha mill. He started on the ground floor. The way most of us in the working world do. It was a wonderful ad.

his father worked his way up the ladder, but eventually became an efficiency, or time management supervisor I believe. Do you have a link that shows how many years this took? His mom worked for the postal service, so it was a two income household.

What is wrong with working hard and doing well? Nothing. His father WAS a mill worker. His mother worked at the post office. Wow, they must have really had some 5 star dinners in that house. Wonder where they went on vacation. Since you know so much about Edwards and his family, can you tell me where he went to college? Was it Harvard or Yeal... I forget.

Wow, the only thing I ever see you do here is take snipes at Edwards. I don't believe I've ever seen a positive thread started by you. Can't remember anything, as usual, you have pointed to with any substance.

When all you have is hate, what are you really holding in your hands.

Good luck to your candidate.

and doing well. My family probably had less income than the Edwards' when I was growing up, but I don't wear that little fact as a badge of honor nor do I use it to try to ingratiate myself with people. I worked my way through college, and it was neither Yale, nor Harvard, so who gives a flying f**k where he went to school.

I don't start threads about John Edwards. Never have, not a single one, but I do step into some of the rah-rah factually incorrect threads about him to try to set the record straight. My candidate isn't running, and I haven't decided who I'll eventually support, but I know it won't be JRE.

When you start personally attacking, you lose credibility. Knock it off, and stick to the issues.

If I did, for that I apologize. Also, I believe I never said I've seen you start a thread at all. All I've seen you do is wait for a thread on Edwards to start, then jump on and say whatever you can say to disagree if it is positive, and agree, if it is negative. And rarely if ever, with any substance at all. In fact I don't ever remember you starting a post. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry, I've not been here that long. Again, I didn't mean to personally attack you in any way.

Best of luck to you.

But this is a public forum, and I am allowed my opinion. And my observations. So far, my observations tell me all I see you do here is attack Edwards. And that is perfectly within your rights. Just saying...

Have a nice day.

And good luck to you.

but it's seems very strange to see someone who's fairly new here, choosing to post about my alleged posting habits instead of focusing on the issue at hand. I've been here for awhile, and have only done that once under very different circumstances.

Carry on, but don't come too close ... there are rules about stalking and I will alert if you cross the line.

it's that Edwards tends to bend the truth. His father was a mill production manager and consultant and his mother was a government employee - that family was NOT dirt poor as Edwards would have you believe.

BTW, not speaking for seasoned above, but I don't have a candidate.

What is wrong with working hard and doing well? Nothing. His father WAS a mill worker. His mother worked at the post office. Wow, they must have really had some 5 star dinners in that house. Wonder where they went on vacation. Since you know so much about Edwards and his family, can you tell me where he went to college? Was it Harvard or Yeal... I forget.

Wow, the only thing I ever see you do here is take snipes at Edwards. I don't believe I've ever seen a positive thread started by you. Can't remember anything, as usual, you have pointed to with any substance.

When all you have is hate, what are you really holding in your hands.

Good luck to your candidate.

Nearly every facet of Edwards story is dreamed up to make it sound like he was dirt poor - he wasn't. His parents were decidedly upper middle class to wealthy.

Maybe a link to back up your opinion?

They did start out poor.I think you should really check your facts.The only "wealthy" Edwards is John and any wealthy life style the senior Edwards may have is because of John. I believe he has bought them a house. They have never been personally"wealthy".

Even what you post says"solidly middle class".Not "wealthy".

http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/a-populist-make-over/2034

The origninal story in the Raleigh newspaper is no longer available online.

and I didn't post that they were solidly middle class. There's a link above.

he and my mom started off in a very humble house pretty much identical to Edwards' first home. My dad also worked his way up to management and a more comfortable standard of living.
Edwards' story resonates with many.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

And I'd never be jealous of a war-voting, PATRIOT Act-supporing, two-faced neo-liberal like John Edwards.

DLC ring a bell, much?

"I'm John Edwards and I approve this message because we don’t need another president that puts wealth above work,"

That's rich coming from someone who worked in part time job for a hedge fund while making a tidy sum in the process.

obscene amounts of money while sending jobs over seas because of NAFTA and CAFTA which has under minded American jobs. Why do you personalize it and make it about him instead of the issues?


There is not one thing about John Edwards that speaks to his need to bolter his ego by becoming POTUS.

Your assertions are absurd.

Your logic is not logical.


For you and the other anti-Edwards detractors to be right about every insinuation you have thrown at him, would make him the most immoral candidate ever.

It is simply not the case.

you can interpret it any way you want to. You can even call it a message from the bully pulpit.

open to interpretation. It is what it is..

Only High Level Elected Officals have the Bully Pulpit.

ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: February 24, 2004

Senator John Edwards said yesterday that his proposal to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, a pact he has repeatedly blamed for economic distress, would not significantly cut the flow of jobs abroad.

And even as he criticized the trade agreement, Mr. Edwards described it as ''important'' to economic prosperity. He said he wanted to promote global trade but that trade pacts should include measures to slow the loss of jobs to other countries.

''I believe that Nafta should exist,'' Mr. Edwards told editors and reporters of The New York Times at a meeting yesterday in New York, as he sought endorsements heading into next Tuesday's primary. ''I think Nafta is important -- it is an important part of our global economy, an important part of our trade relations.''

''It's important to be straight with people about the jobs issue -- about trade and jobs,'' said Mr. Edwards, of North Carolina. ''The kind of trade policy I'm talking about -- not an extreme trade policy, but the kind of trade policy I'm talking about -- is not going to save all those jobs. And I think people deserve to know that.''

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE3DF143CF937A15751C0A9629C8B63

to take matching funds for "moral reasons" only after first saying he'd FOREGO matching funds in order to remain competitive with the others. :shrug:

Edwards was born on June 10, 1953 to Wallace Reid Edwards and Catharine Juanita "Bobbie" Wade in Seneca, South Carolina. The family moved several times during Edwards' childhood, eventually settling in Robbins, North Carolina, where his father worked as a textile mill floor worker, eventually promoted to supervisor; his mother had a roadside antique finishing business and then worked as a postal letter carrier when his father left his job.<2>


High School and College
A football star in high school,<3> Edwards was the first person in his family to attend college. He attended Clemson University and transferred to North Carolina State University. Edwards graduated with high honors earning a bachelor's degree in textile technology in 1974 from North Carolina State University, and later earned his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) with honors.

--I have nothing against rich people, really I don't. As in, FDR and JFK. I do however, base my life on a lot of personal experience. That been said, those who have known hard times, are better suited to help a nation through hard times. IMO

No go ahead everyone.... attack.

eom

He's been "running" for higher office since 2000 when he was hoping to be Gore's VP yet had an undistinguished Senate record and has been apologizing for virtually every major vote he made, has bounced back and forth from being a DLC Centrist to being a hardcore populist when the situation changes, took a job after his one term stint to help re-make himself into a champion of the poor yet we all knew where he was going with that...I could go on and on.

Just a little more info re Edwards home town of Robbins NC where he spent most of his formative years:

I saw Robbins, NC in the 1960's, and it would be hard to find a more economically depressed, and yes depressing area. Back then it was truly nothing more than a mill town - but one that was hanging on to survive. The poverty in that town is wrenching. Unless you have personally seen an economically depressed southern town you probably have no idea what I am talking about.

Middle class in a town such as Robbins, NC is NOTHING like what most of us consider middle class to be. In fairness to Robbins, maybe it has changed since the 1960's, but I am telling about how it was back then. So when someone from Robbins says the Edwards family was closer to middle class - it is not what it seems. I would say that meant that the Edwards were very lower middle class if that. Growing up in that town, John Edwards couldn't help but be aware of the plight of the working man.

Does anyone else remember that Daily Show skit? Colbert actually cracked a smile for a second.

I remember it, too funny!

Hopefully he'll do more of this.