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Opinion: Edwards proudly uses the L-word (that’s “lawyer”)

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Most politicians began as lawyers (or, at the least, obtain a law degree before trolling for votes). Few politicians, however, spotlight their legal background (well aware that lawyer jokes don’t exist in a vacuum). John Edwards is an exception.

Speaking today at a town hall meeting in Bow, N.H., the Democratic presidential contender called attention to the many years he spent as a trial lawyer, often representing plaintiffs suing manufacturers or other corporate interests.

‘What I did was, I gave them hope,’ he told his listeners. ‘And then I walked into that courtroom and I gave the company hell because they deserved it. That’s the kind of fight we need.’

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As the Associated Press reported, he continued: ‘We need a president of the United States who will give you hope, who will stand up and fight for you to reclaim democracy. ... But we also need somebody who is ready for that fight, somebody who has been engaged in that fight. I’ve been in this fight my entire life. It didn’t start last year. It didn’t start in 2004.’

Some Democrats, recalling his performance as John Kerry’s running mate, might dispute that last sentence. As noted in this USA Today story late in the ’04 campaign, ‘For months, Democrats worried that Edwards had all but disappeared, taken too low a profile and maintained the nice-guy image that had made him the last man standing other than Kerry in the primaries.’

-- Don Frederick

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