John Edwards: Accidental Presidential Candidate, Lawyer, and Popular Figure

Summary

John Edwards is an accidental politician, but his influence and impact on the American political landscape should not be underestimated. Edwards started his career as a lawyer and practiced law for many years before entering politics. After serving on the Board of Directors for the Center for American Progress, Edwards announced his intention to run for president in 2004. Although he eventually lost the primary to eventual president John Kerry, Edwards enjoyed two successful runs for U.S. Senate and was selected as the Vice Presidential nominee in the 2008 presidential election for the Democratic Party.


Since leaving politics, Edwards has taken to teaching and advocating for social justice. He created his own foundation, The Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity, and he is passionate about helping the underserved in all walks of life. Edwards also created the College For Everyone program, which works to make a college education accessible to disadvantaged students.

John Edwards' influence on the American political landscape has been substantial. His passion for helping the underserved and his commitment to creating a more equitable society are the cornerstones of his legacy. He has stood up for the rights of those experiencing poverty, those in the middle class, and those who are vulnerable to discrimination. Edwards has also been a major proponent of campaign finance reform and believes that everyone should have a voice in the political process.

John Edwards' rise to the national stage was accidental, but his commitment to social justice and progress has made him an important figure in American politics. His advocacy and platform of equal access to opportunity and services, no matter one's economic class, has resonated with many. Edwards' passion for helping those in need has made him a leader in the fight for a more equitable society. His work continues to shape the American political landscape and will likely remain a powerful force for years to come.
 

John Edwards: The Accidental Candidate

In 2008, John Edwards was a leading presidential candidate. He was a powerful and articulate spokesman for the Democratic cause.

John Edwards was a successful lawyer who had worked his way up from humble origins. He became a partner of a North Carolina law firm, and was later elected to the US Senate. He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and surprised many by coming in second to John Kerry.

John Edwards was a natural politician. His background as a lawyer and his successful bid for the US Senate gave him the experience he needed to make a strong run for the presidency. He was articulate and passionate, and his message resonated with the public.

John Edwards was a strong advocate for the poor and middle class. He campaigned on a platform of economic fairness, universal health care, and a commitment to fighting poverty.

John Edwards was an accidental candidate in the 2008 presidential race. He had been a longshot contender in the 2004 election, but he had gained enough of a following to make a strong run in 2008. He was a powerful voice for the Democratic Party and a champion of progressive causes.
 

John Edwards: A Political Heavyweight

John Edwards was a political heavyweight in the 2008 presidential race. His successful law career and term as US Senator had earned him a great deal of respect. He was a passionate and eloquent speaker, and his progressive message resonated with Americans. He advocated for the poor, middle class, and universal health care, and was a vocal opponent of poverty.

John Edwards was an experienced politician who had grown from humble beginnings. His experience in the law and in politics made him a strong candidate for the Democratic nomination. He had a loyal base of supporters who believed in his promise of economic fairness and his commitment to progressive values.

John Edwards was an accidental candidate in the 2008 presidential race. He had flown under the radar in 2004, but his message had gained enough traction for him to make a strong run in 2008. He was the perfect candidate to lead the Democratic party in an election focused on economic issues and progressive values.

John Edwards was about to wrap up his closing arguments. For the past ninety minutes, and without notes, he had expounded on how a faulty swimming pool drain had become dislodged, trapping a little girl named Valerie Lakey on the bottom of the pool and sucking out over eighty percent of her intestines before the girl was finally rescued. The jury listened with rapt attention as Edwards detailed the horrors of the ordeal that had left young Valerie unable to participate in the majority of her day-to-day activities, as well as estimates of Valerie's projected medical costs stemming from the accident that included twelve hours a day hooked up to a feeding tube. What the jurors didn't know was that the day before the trial, the company that manufactured the drain had offered a settlement of $17.5 million. It was a considerable sum, even given the devastating injuries the girl had suffered. But Edwards advised the family to turn them down. Throwing caution to the wind, Edwards pushed for $22.5 million, the maximum limit offered by the drain manufacturer's insurance policy. Valerie's family swallowed hard but something about their attorney's manner led them to trust him, and with that trust firmly in place, Edwards went home that night to get some sleep.

Only he couldn't. Tossing and turning with the full knowledge that a little girl's fate rested in his hands, Edwards instead spent the night rehearsing his closing arguments and didn't stop until it was time to appear in court. From all accounts, John Edwards then delivered a courtroom magnum opus worthy of inclusion in the Trial Lawyer's Hall of Fame, should it ever be built. A fellow trial lawyer who was there to witness it said that it was far and away ''the best closing argument (he had) ever heard.'' Even the judge who presided over the case that day couldn't help but be visibly moved as Edwards nailed point after point pertaining to the manufacturing company's knowledge of faulty drain covers in the past and how, upon Edwards' discovery of several tragedies that had ensued, the company had upped its offer from $100,000 to $1.25 million. When it was all over, Edwards, an attorney so renowned that his peers sometimes attended proceedings just to watch him work, had notched another victory on his belt, winning a record $25 million for the Lakeys.

Accident, followed by triumph.

It has been a recurring theme in Edwards' life. But it was a theme that would ultimately hit Edwards every bit as hard as it had the people he defended in court.

In a career that has been marked by record-setting high-profile settlements, John Edwards - the trial lawyer-turned-junior-senator-slash-Presidential-hopeful from North Carolina - has displayed a damn-the-torpedoes mentality that has distinguished him from his fellow Democratic candidates. He has displayed a fearlessness that at times borders on recklessness, yet has persevered due to an internal fire fueled by an unflappable pilot light. Edwards is a by-the-gut politician who seems interested in following solely what got him there in the first place. Flip-flopped on Iraq? Changed my mind; everyone's entitled. Gay rights for partnership but not marriage? Country's not ready to be torn apart by the issue yet. Edwards has a knack for sounding… well, honest, and if his surprising second-place finish in the Iowa caucus was any indication, this onetime hick from the sticks might just be the kind of real deal for a country that may just be starting to wonder if its trust in George Bush is a bit misplaced.

Johnny Reid Edwards (his birth name) was born on June 10, 1953 in Seneca, South Carolina to Wallace Edwards, a textile-mill employee, and Bobbie Edwards, who managed an antiques store. Edwards came of age at a time when many lawyers were rightly viewed as heroes. They included people like Thurgood Marshall, who used the law to bring down the system of legal segregation in the South, and Ralph Nader, whose lawsuits forced an arrogant auto industry to install seatbelts and airbags, thereby saving thousands of lives. ''My idealistic view of lawyers was that they could help people who couldn't help themselves, and couldn't fight for themselves,'' Edwards says. ''Since childhood, I thought that's what being a lawyer was all about. I still think that, by the way.'' But if Edwards was going to become a lawyer, he would have to first become the first member of his family to attend college. That Edwards did so and then some bears testament to a confidence that almost seems to work in reverse. For confidence, it has been stated time and time again, is a function of experience for most people; as time progresses, a person tends to become more comfortable not only with what they know, but with what they don't know. And yet throughout the years (and with age, no less!) Edwards has continued to refuse to accept that which is beyond him, a quality that was very much on display during his courtship of Elizabeth Anania, the law school classmate who ultimately became his wife. Edwards, reflecting on their courtship, recalls that ''she wasn't interested. I mean, you have to understand, she was the daughter of a Navy officer, a Navy pilot. They had lived all over the world. And here was this country hick from, you know, a small town in North Carolina, which I'm sure is exactly what she thought of me. In fact, most of our classmates were shocked when they found out we were going out and even more shocked when we got married.'' But get married they did, and rather than taking high-paying firm jobs right out of law school, both clerked for judges, a decision that would come in especially handy down the line when it came time for Edwards to plead his own case in court.

Following his clerkship, Edwards went to work for a series of firms and cut his teeth as a trial lawyer on Elvis Presley copyright infringement cases. He soon realized, however, that his talents would be best suited, not in the world of white-collar crime, but rather in the world of blue-collar pain. Edwards, who was already earning plaudits for his courtroom manner, knew that the John Grisham model of the trial lawyer as triumphant stuffed suit was every bit as empty as the prose Grisham employed in describing it. Because as far as Edwards was concerned, only one thing truly mattered as far as juries were concerned: credibility. And he had it in spades. As Edwards puts it, ''I worked extremely hard and took it very personally… I had represented a lot of badly disabled children. And I knew that if I couldn't help them, I mean, no one was ever going to help them. I mean, I struggled and suffered and bled with them. It was very personal for me.'' And as word got out that the real deal was alive and well and practicing law in North Carolina, the cases kept coming and Edwards kept winning. And, somewhere along the line, transformed himself from a hardworking kid from the sticks into one of the most formidable trial attorneys of all time, simply because, if he is to be taken at face value, he cares. Of course there is much more; for starters, his face. Which turned out to be extremely valuable, especially in a court of law. Edwards' wholesome visage was easy on the eyes and, combined with his down-to-earth delivery, made him difficult to resist. But mere looks and charisma can only go so far. And as much as Edwards' oft-repeated homily about staying true to himself and never forgetting what it was like to grow up poor, there is something to be said for someone who allows his experiences to change him for the better, but not any more than necessary. Ironically, Edwards would find his experiences changing him at the very zenith of the charmed life to date.

By 1996, Edwards and his wife had two children: Wade and Kate; boy and girl, the former the eldest as tends to be the case with picture-perfect families. And the Edwardses, if loath to characterize themselves as such, certainly were viewed that way by others. Until the night when Wade, who had just gotten his driver's license, decided to drive down one night to the family's beach house in South Carolina. The weather was bad and Wade, an inexperienced but not reckless driver, was in a Jeep. A gust of wind hit the car, which flipped over, killing the sixteen year-old instantly. And Edwards, who hadn't taken so much as a single vacation away from the son from whom he couldn't stand to be apart, was now facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life without him. Edwards, who never considered suing the manufacturer of the car, took a six-month leave of absence and mourned, surrounded by his wife and daughter. And when he decided that he was ready to appear in court again, he went on to win the biggest case of his career for Valerie Lakey and her family. Not one juror present that day ever doubted the pain lacing every word that came from Edwards' mouth. Shortly thereafter, Edwards quit law altogether and decided to run for Senate, financing his campaign with his own money, and in the election that followed was elected North Carolina's junior senator.

Accident, followed by triumph.

Edwards will face perhaps the most uphill battle of his life in the credibility arena in the weeks to come. Medical malpractice and its effect on insurance — long the bane of the Republican party — is an especially hot-button issue right now, and the millions that have lined Edwards pockets courtesy of the insurance companies could very well become a fat target for President Bush (although, it could be argued, not nearly as fat a target as the millions that line Bush's pockets courtesy of his father's wealth and connections). And if Edwards is going to have a chance at winning his party's nomination, he'll have to triumph over the vulnerabilities that have thus far plagued his candidacy; the money has gone out quicker than it seems to be coming in, and Edwards' good looks and youthful appearance have earned him the decidedly unflattering moniker of ''The Breck Girl.'' And yet as any professional athlete can tell you, a true competitor never really retires. While Edwards may no longer hold court before juries, he is a competitor at heart and is no doubt saving his best for the heat of the battle ahead, one that will require him to draw upon every drop of experience he has accrued in a career shaped by accidents but whose triumphs are, in no way, an accident. For as Edwards puts it: ''Everything I've been able to do has been a great surprise. I mean, even being able to go to college and becoming a lawyer. And then it was, 'He's the young lawyer in court against all these more experienced lawyers. What chance does he have?' And then, 'He ran for Senate and he's never run for office before. How in the world can he do it?' But what people figure out over time is there is a toughness inside of me that can take on any challenge.''

''It is not an accident that I have gotten to this place.''