Edwards?
Edwards spoke plainly about ending corruption in our government. I like that.
He gave a very thoughtful response to the father of a young soldier who asked what Edwards would do to keep his son safe. While he was considerate of the man's concerns, he spoke of cutting defense spending in wasteful areas, committing to do what's necessary to equip soldiers but not to spend on useless hi-tech weaponry.
He also said he would like to be the President who helps rid the world of Nuclear weapons.
His talk did leave me with several questions:
1) How does John Edwards propose dealing with the apparent contradiction between his call to make sure our's is not the last generation to do better than our parents and his commitment to convincing the world that we are not selfish and greedy? -- For several generations the American Dream has been realized in part by building on resources from around the world. I work a lot in countries that provide these resources and people there are fed up watching their natural wealth disappear only to enrich their corrupt leaders and improve life for Americans. How the next President deals with this will, in turn, have implications for other concerns like the environment, terrorism and immigration.
2) I am also more broadly concerned that Edwards lacks either the Foreign Policy/Diplomatic experience of Richardson or the personal understanding of key international matters like Obama.
3) Watching the Bush Administration continue the trampling of Church/State separations that began during Reagan makes me fearful of another deeply religious President. How does Edwards see the influence of his faith?
Among the 3 front-runners, Edwards seems most 'real.' Smart but grounded.