Democratic and Liberal political analysis and commentary

During a taping of Iowa Press today, John Edwards showed the confidence and knowledge of the issues that he'll need to win the nomination.

Edwards displayed a command of the issues as they were fired at him by veteran Iowa journalists Mike Glover (AP) and the Des Moines Register's David Yepsen. These guys are pretty careful to match the civil tone of public television, but aren't known for floating many softball questions, either.

After running Edwards through his paces on a litany of issues such as the war in Iraq and the immigration bill, they allowed Edwards to talk about his univeral health care plan. To his credit, he was the first democratic presidential candidate to come out with a comprehensive plan. The only other candidate to offer a plan is Obama.

I've compared the two, and Edwards' is by far more universal and comprehensive. Obama's will still put middle class Americans in jeopardy by not providing enough security when employment status changes.

After getting through the pleasantries, Edwards was asked point-blank about the impression by some that he is a phony, bolstered by his recent $400 hair cut story.

He gave a smart answer. "Just look at what my whole life has been dedicated to, what I've done when no one else was watching. That is the measure of a life."

Afterwards, there was a press availability, and I'm always amazed at how few questions are asked. But it was good to catch up with my old buddy Jason Baker, who works advance for Edwards and used to do that for Gore in 2000.