Down With Politicians!

It seems that when all else fails, ignore the politicians.

That appears to be the common mantra these days among our nation's major political figures.

On Tuesday, October 25, 2005, I had the opportunity to listen to Senator John Edwards speak at UC Berkeley on poverty. Engaging and polite, Edwards spoke on the face, color, and nature of poverty in the United States, highlighting the failure of the Bush administration to provide for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the psychological success of the War on Poverty policy from former President Lyndon Johnson's administration.

Edwards revealed his personal side to the audience when he admitted that though he may have been successful, he didn't do it alone.

"I did not get here by myself," he insisted, listing his education, relative wealth, and supportive parents as reasons for his success. From there, he pointed to the need of the impoverished for the same, if not increased, external help from the rest of America to aid them in their daily struggles to succeed in this society.

"Where is America?" Edwards quipped several times throughout the evening, citing the need for the United States to step up its efforts to eradicate poverty from society. "Where is our voice?"

Cue Edwards' solution to the poverty problem: raise the minimum wage, integrate racially segregated neighborhoods, build good housing for all, stop cutting education funds... and ignore the politicians.

"We can't wait on them [politicians] anymore," Edwards stated, a statement which received applause from the audience, consisting mainly of Cal students. Throughout the evening, Edwards continued to defend America's need for young people and college students such as ourselves get involved in community service for poorer neighborhoods.

Despite the division in party lines, several of the assertions that Edwards made on Tuesday night were an echo of the statements Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made this past Monday on October 24, 2005 during a forum for California's November 8 special initiatives election.

"Let's give the power back to the people ... not let the politicians go in the back room, slap each other on the back and smoke a stogie," Schwarzenegger insisted, and made similar statements several times the rest of the evening.

Ironic though it may be that it's politicians asking the people to take power from them, it makes sense considering that both Edwards and Schwarzenegger are considering running for election soon, with Edwards in the running for the 2008 Democratic Presidential candidate and Schwarzenegger campaigning for reelection in California's next gubernatorial race. With the coming elections, both candidates seem to feel the need to relate to the people on a personal, rather than political, level - and if that means bashing their fellow political leaders, so be it.

In comparing their styles, Schwarzenegger and Edwards appear to be at ease with crowds, giving off an easy-going, down-to-earth attitude while up at the lectern. Both are good at elicting applause from the audience, and both do well handling mobs of adoring fans: immediately following the conclusion of his speech, Edwards was surrounded by a large group of audience members eager to snag a photo shot with the Presidential hopeful; Edwards remained calm and composed, and what glimpses I could get of him through the crowd showed a smiling and cheerful man comfortable with the attention. Finally, both have physical fitness and, dare I say it, handsomness on their side: Schwarzenegger built his movie career around body building, after all, and judging from the comments I heard from a few female fans of Edwards standing nearby in line to the event, Edwards is one good-looking guy, too.