As many of you know, I have been a committed supporter of Barack Obama's campaign for the Presidency for quite awhile. However, before I decided to back him, I looked very carefully at the records, backgrounds and proposals of each candidate in the Democratic field. John Edwards was, to me, an extraordinarily compelling candidate (and of course, Elizabeth is an amazing and accomplished woman in her own right). Up until Senator Edwards suspended his campaign, I felt very strongly that if he were to win the nomination, it would be very easy for me to work hard to elect him in the General Election.
One of the most compelling things for me has been Edwards' commitment to eradicate poverty; to ending the problem of the "Two Americas" he spoke so eloquently about in his 2004 bid. And I do want my candidate to make addressing poverty in this country a priority. So it was with great interest that I came across this very thoughtful article from Ben Brandzel today in the Huffinigton Post. For those of you who also admire and respect Senator Edwards and feel that his commitment to ending poverty should be of central importance to whichever candidate we nominate this year, please follow me below.
Ben Brandzel is the former Director of Online Engagement for the Edwards campaign, and the issue of addressing the poverty that so shamefully exists in this country is of extraordinary importance to him. It is this issue that led him to support Senator Edwards' campaign so strongly, and to drop everything in order to do so. As he states in his article (emphasis mine):
The first time I spoke to John Edwards about joining his campaign, I mentioned the Wellstone quote that's in my email signature, 'Politics isn't about big money or power games; it's about the improvement of people's lives.' His voice brightened considerably. "That, right there," he said, "is the point of this campaign." I believed him. I gave up everything and moved to Chapel Hill. And that remained the point of our campaign for One America through the very end.
Brandzel's passion about eradicating poverty is nothing new to him; it seems to be a central cause to his heart. As a Senior at Brandeis University (and Student Body President) in 2003, he made addressing poverty a very visible priority, developing an impressive contest for students sponsored by Oxfam America to get more young people aware of and involved in anti-poverty measures:
Here's how it works: the Oxfam Collegiate Click Drive is a national competition sponsored by Oxfam America and hosted on PovertyFighters.com, a click-to-donate site which sends all proceeds to support micro credit based, anti-poverty efforts around the world. The competition will last several months, challenging students to generate as many donations as possible on behalf of their school. At the end of the year the contest winner will get one of a number of possible rewards, including a big-name-band benefit concert and speakers event, or a featured spot in a popular media venue, such as The Simpsons or The Onion.
Oxfam also has a collegiate leadership program called the CHANGE Initiative. Participating students, called CHANGE Leaders, serve as Oxfam ambassadors on their respective campuses. Brandzel is one of two at Brandeis. There are 80 others at 40 different campuses across the nation, and they all unanimously voted to adopt this as a group project, so they will serve as the initial catalyst in the national outreach.
Naturally, the Edwards campaign was a perfect fit for this dedicated and talented young man, and his thoughtfulness in choosing who to support after his candidate departed the race taught me a few things I was unaware of about Senator Obama's similar commitment to eradicating poverty.
As Democrats, coming up with and implementing real plans to end poverty should be a priority for all of us. Check out Brandzel's well-written and thoughtful article here. I know I certainly learned something, and am even more proud of the outstanding field of candidates we Democrats have shown to the country during this primary season.