I Returned

a little bit ago from the John Edwards townhall meeting held at Damonte Ranch High School in south Reno. Several hundred people were in attendance. No, it wasn't as big as the Hillary event, but it was still a good turnout considering the last night of the Reno Rodeo was going on.

Edwards, who was about 20 minutes late, thanked everybody for showing up, and he said he heard from Elizabeth, who was in Las Vegas to open up a new campaign headquarters there, and he said she was doing well and was going to go to San Francisco tomorrow.

Edwards talked about the Two Americas and how important the concept it is and how we should build One America so people can do better. He talked about a "dysfunctional" health care system in this country. He believes we should have universal health care in this country. He was the first candidate to come out with a universal plan. While his plan is not single-payer, it does give consumers a choice between a government-sponsored health care plan ala Medicare ("Medicare Plus"), and the private system. He thinks if enough people people opt for the government-provided care, then we can convert to a single-payer type system. He wants "Americans to make that choice." He talked about the various ways his plan would save money, including better technology. He also takes on the "big drug companies and the big insurance companies." That will endear him to the special interests in the health care field. Health care is a critical part in bridging the gap between the Two Americas.

When he talks about Two Americas, he's not talking about the rich and the poor, but instead about the "very rich and everybody else." The top 300,000 earners earned more than the bottom 150 million last year. Everything is going up, health care costs are responsible for half of the bankruptcies in this country. His plan mandates every man, woman, and child to be covered, and it will be paid for by repealing our dictator's tax cuts.

JRE brought up poverty and the millions who are in poverty and many more who are on the edge, and many more who are trying to get by. It says a lot about our character about 35 million in poverty. Edwards brought up Katrina and how devastated New Orleans and other areas were. We can do something about this problem. He talked about the successful move to raise the minimum wage in Nevada and his work and the help of other people to raise it in other states. He mentioned his new book on poverty and his work at the poverty center. The issue has been important to him, meeting with families, and such.

Since it is late tonight, I will have the rest of his remarks tomorrow posted for posterity.