Who's nostaligic?

You know, for someone who says he is against "outdated answers...rooted in nostalgia", John Edwards sure seems inclined to support outdated answers.

His answer for the poverty rate in America? Tax the rich, give to the poor, despite evidence that this has not decreased poverty.

His answer for fighting global warming? Apply economic hurdles to the auto industry, despite evidence that this has not decreased total emissions.

His answer for health care? Apply a government-run HMO like they have in France, the U.K., and Canada, despite evidence that this has not increased overall health care quality.

I'm in complete agreement with Edwards' priority on these topics. However, while his priorities on these (as well as on education) are in the right place, his methods are exactly the sorts of nostalgic, outdated answers that he's decrying. The answer to poverty is not transfer payments. The answer is improvements to education and economic growth, creating new jobs. The answer to the energy crisis is not mandating thousands of dollars of improvements to every car but investment in CNG, Fuelcell, and other future technologies while addressing the issue across all industries - switching from coal to nuclear power generation, dramatic improvements in home insulation requirements, movement to more energy efficient technologies like compact fluorescent bulbs and programmable thermostats - instead of focusing on one industry which is already highly efficient. The answer to health care is not scrapping a system which works for 85% of Americans but rather to refocus on how we spend money in emergency situations for the uninsured to give them a basic level of primary care to extend their lives, expand their quality of life, and to spend the same money more wisely.

Edwards slams Clinton, 'establishment elites'
CNN

WASHINGTON - John Edwards didn't mention a chief Democratic presidential rival by name, but it seemed clear whom the White House hopeful was targeting in a fiery speech Thursday in New Hampshire.

The former U.S. senator from North Carolina, who finds himself lagging significantly behind Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in most national polls, told New Hampshire voters to reject "establishment elites" and "outdated answers...rooted in nostalgia."

"The trouble with nostalgia is that you tend to remember what you liked and forget what you didn't," Edwards said. "it's not just that the answers of the past aren't up to the job today, it's that the system that produced them was corrupt - and still is."

Clinton often touts the successes of her husband's administration on the campaign trail as does the former president.

But Edwards said that voters shouldn't replace "a group of corporate Republicans with a group of corporate Democrats." Seeming to take a page out of Republican talking points from the '90s, he added, "The American people deserve to know that their presidency is not for sale, the Lincoln Bedroom is not for rent, and lobbyist money can no longer influence policy in the House or the Senate."