John Edwards: The People's Champion

It's a few days old, but over at the Huffington Post David Sirota has an interesting analysis of the presidential race:

From William Jennings Bryan to Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Robert F. Kennedy to Howard Dean, the Democratic Party has a rich history of iconic People Party presidential candidacies.
...
If you are a voter looking for a candidate who is willing to confront the biggest issues facing America right now - Iraq, economic class, the middle class squeeze and skyrocketing inequality - then there really is no contest in the Democratic presidential primary right now: John Edwards is your candidate.

Some may say that because Edwards "only" raised a whopping $14 million in contrast with Clinton and Obama's $25 million each, it means he may not be viable. I tend to look at it the other way: The fact that a guy who spent most of his life challenging economic power can raise $14 million without taking money from lobbyists or PACs is unfathomable - arguably more of a feat than the sheer amounts that Clinton and Obama hauled in.

I've often thought that John Edwards is running an outsider's campaign, free from the often unimportant constraints that the Beltway establishment encourages for its candidates. The fact that Edwards has done as well as he has at fundraising and endorsements, then, makes me think he's even more effective an advocate than I thought.

Important note: The subject of this post is indeed a reference to the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. Finally, John Edwards has come back to the presidential campaign!