This contains out and out slander, lies, and flip flops from the White
House about John Edwards. Note that even a fellow republican wants the
drivel from BushCo to stop. From the Progress Center: Oh, and Calif
Bill, again, just like SFGate, it's not copyrighted, so don't ask to
show it.

Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) is scheduled to address the Democratic
Convention tonight, bringing his "Two Americas" theme that propelled
him to such a strong primary showing. While wealthy elites on Wall
Street, well-paid pundits and the Bush White House try to deny the
economic chasm that divides America, Edwards has given voice to
millions of Americans left behind by the Bush administration's
policies. As the Minneapolis Star-Tribune notes, Edwards has "blended
tales of his working-class roots with passionate denunciations of 'two
Americas' and a down-home brand of economic populism." With wages
stagnating, few Americans feeling any tax relief, and the Bush
administration pushing policies that would squeeze working America
even more, Edwards' message appears to be resonating. And the only
thing his critics seem to come up with is the fact that he was a trial
lawyer – an attack that allows Edwards to talk about his experience
representing average people against the corporate interests that fund
the Bush campaign.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE SHOWS THE TWO AMERICAS: Slate's Daniel Gross puts
some numbers behind Edwards' Two Americas theme. In the past,
different income groups have generally trended the same direction in
terms of consumer confidence. And if the economy were undergoing a
broad-based expansion, if a rising tide were lifting all boats
equally, you might expect that trend to continue. But under President
Bush, that has changed. Today, the over-$50,000 and under-$50,000
groups are moving in opposite directions: between December 2003 and
June 2004, confidence in the over-$50,000 set rose from 99.3 to 104.1.
In the under-$50,000 set, it fell from 87.4 to 85.5." As Gross notes,
"the growing pessimism of the poor and the growing optimism of the
rich—suggest the economy's improvement isn't helping everyone."

WHITE HOUSE ATTACKS INEFFECTIVE: The White House has unleashed a
series of vicious attacks on Edwards for his experience representing
average Americans in court. The problem with this tactic, however, is
that Edwards can counter with all the stories of how he helped average
people defend themselves against corporate abuse. As one Republican
lawyer asked, "If the rap on Edwards is that he is the friend of
personal-injury trial lawyers, where does this leave the Republican
National Committee? Is the RNC the friend of the drunken driver?"

EDWARDS' DEFINING MOMENT IS AN ASSET, NOT AN ALBATROSS: As the "trial
lawyer" attacks continue, the Washington Monthly reports, "the
defining case in Edwards' legal career" occurred in 1993, when a
five-year-old girl "became caught in an uncovered drain so forcefully
that the suction pulled out most of her intestines." Edwards filed
suit on the Lakeys' behalf against Sta-Rite Industries, and soon
discovered that 12 other children had suffered similar injuries from
Sta-Rite drains. Attorneys "describe his handling of the case as a
virtuoso example of a trial layer bringing a negligent corporation to
heel."

THE HYPOCRISY OF THE TRIAL LAWYER ATTACKS: The dirty little secret of
the White House's trial lawyer attacks is that a cadre of key
Republican Senators started their careers as trial lawyers. Sen. Orrin
Hatch (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a former
trial lawyer. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) was a trial lawyer "in a state
where juries have awarded numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts in
plaintiffs' cases." And Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) said, "I have a
number of trial lawyers that support me personally – they are friends
of mine...I don't look at ATLA or trial lawyers as an enemy by any
means."

REPUBLICAN SENATOR DEMANDS WHITE HOUSE STOP ITS ATTACKS: Earlier this
month, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a former trial lawyer, went on
national television and told the White House to stop its baseless
attacks on Edwards' legal career. Calling Edwards a "great guy,"
Graham told ABC's This Week on 7/11/04 that "people in my party beat
on John Edwards for being a trial lawyer. As far as I know John made
his money honestly. I used to represent people in courts in the south.
So I wish we'd get off that." Two weeks later, Vice President Cheney
said "Lindsey Graham is doing a great job for the people of South
Carolina," though moments later he delivered another diatribe against
lawyers.

TRIAL LAWYER ATTACK WON'T FLY IN FLORIDA: The Gainsville, Florida Sun
reports that the White House is trying to take its trial lawyer
attacks to Florida, but may find some stiff resistance. While Gov. Jeb
Bush has been outspoken in his criticism of the profession, promising
''to whack'' the trial lawyers, "even some Republicans say making
trial lawyers the 'boogeymen' of this year's election may prove
difficult." The leading GOP contender is former Bush Cabinet Secretary
Mel Martinez, a successful trial lawyer who was president of the
Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers. Similarly, the president of the
state trial lawyers' association is a lifelong Republican, whose
father once ran for governor.