I think Edwards could be a good campaigner for "the poor," since every special interest group needs a spokesperson. His "Two Americas" message is a good one, but it is far than enough to carry him through the primaries to win the nomination. If Edwards wants to maintain this personna and campaign on it again in 2012, he needs to spend the next 4 years as the head of a group who actively works towards improving the lives of those who are in need. That means starting up local chapters, providing individuals with job and housing, and creating something that shows a visible positive impact in the lives of many. If he is successful there, then he can return in 2012 election and be quite successful.
Oh please. Economically left campaigns, while rarely successful in the US, depend upon economic conditions, not upon the charitable resume of the candidate! FDR wasn't piddling about in the Salvation Army soup kitchen for experience - he was an aristocrat who deigned to tap into the desperation of the majority.
Edwards needs more fire in the belly and gravitas, and he won't get those from some sort of petty, pointless activism.
I think your confusion, MODU, is that you don't understand the mind-set of lower working class and poor people. They're angry. And they're not dumb enough to believe that private efforts to 'help people' really change anything.
