June 18, 2009 6:25 PM
- Text
Edwards Touts Trial Lawyer Experience
(AP)
Democrat John Edwards says his experience as a trial lawyer makes him the presidential contender best able to give voters hope - and to give the establishment grief.
Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, has focused his campaign on pledges to change a government system he says is rigged against most voters.
"While you shop (for candidates), I hope you will think about two key things: Who can you trust to tell you the truth about what's wrong in Washington, and who can you trust to fight like hell to make it right?" Edwards said during a town hall-style meeting. "Those are the two things we need in the next president of the United States."
Edwards then turned to his background as a trial lawyer and work on behalf of plaintiffs.
"What I did was I gave them hope. And then I walked into that courtroom and I gave the company hell because they deserved it," he said. "That's the kind of fight we need. 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."
Edwards said he is the candidate with a record of upsetting the system and standing firm.
"I won. I just didn't fight, I won and I won ... not just because I was right, but because I never gave up and I will never give up."
He also joked about the wealth his courtroom-based work gave him.
"Today, as many of you have heard, I don't live in a small house," he said to laughter.
Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, has focused his campaign on pledges to change a government system he says is rigged against most voters.
"While you shop (for candidates), I hope you will think about two key things: Who can you trust to tell you the truth about what's wrong in Washington, and who can you trust to fight like hell to make it right?" Edwards said during a town hall-style meeting. "Those are the two things we need in the next president of the United States."
Edwards then turned to his background as a trial lawyer and work on behalf of plaintiffs.
"What I did was I gave them hope. And then I walked into that courtroom and I gave the company hell because they deserved it," he said. "That's the kind of fight we need. 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."
Edwards said he is the candidate with a record of upsetting the system and standing firm.
"I won. I just didn't fight, I won and I won ... not just because I was right, but because I never gave up and I will never give up."
He also joked about the wealth his courtroom-based work gave him.
"Today, as many of you have heard, I don't live in a small house," he said to laughter.
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