Early in October, the spouse and I got a special invite to a John Edwards house party on the Dover Road, so I took along a few questions for the candidate. Just as I'd done many months earlier at an Obama event and not wanting to put the candidate on the spot, I didn't ask the questions in public, but passed some copies out. And, if I had the chance, I planned to hand one to the candidate in person. As it turned out, time didn't permit, so I forwarded a copy to Edwards' staff and actually remembered to mention it when John Edwards called our house later in the day.

John Edwards' staff, by the way, is probably the best any candidate has. Which is why I'm almost certain my questions were forwarded. Though not as certain as that John Edwards signs his letters himself in blue ink (it smears).

I'll let you judge for yourself the letter's intent.  And, of course, the questions', too:

When you were a member of the United States Senate and served on the Select Committee on Intelligence, did you receive information from the Pentagon about the plan to establish as many as fourteen "enduring" bases in Iraq from which the region could be monitored with radar installations and communications intercept facilities?

If so, did you approve of these plans and their funding as well as the effort to get basing rights from Saddam Hussein by diplomatic or other means?

Do you still think that deployment of over a hundred thousand non-combat forces on the bases that have been built (some as large in area as the island of Manhattan) is a good idea and is that why you anticipate leaving a significant number of these troops behind after the combat forces are removed?

Don't you think that these matters should be truthfully discussed with the American people?  Don't you think that the intelligence agencies of other nations in the region have a good idea of what's going on on these bases where our troops are virtual sitting ducks for missiles from Iran or Syria?

Are they loaded questions?  Yes.  Did I expect them to be answered?  Not really.  But, hope springs eternal. 

If I didn't have hope, I'd be content with a personal letter and not bother to write this up.

THE LETTER:

  October 17, 2007
Dear Monica and Julian,

  I want to thank you both for joining us at the house party in Dover on October 14th.  It was truly inspiring to see so many supporters filling the yard, and I'm glad both of you were able to join us.

  House parties like the one in Dover are a crucial part of our grassroots New Hampshire campaign.  They give me the chance to meet with Granite Staters face to face, answer questions in detail, and learn what matters most in New Hampshire.

  Both Elizabeth and I believe that America is at its greatest when we are all engaged and working for change.  Monica, I honor the work you do as Strafford and Rockingham DFA Chair.  Working with other grassroots activists across the state, you are bringing real change to New Hampshire.

  In the coming months, I will be traveling across New Hampshire, continuing to build grassroots momentum.  I would be honored to have your support in the race.  Working together, I know we can bring about the big, bold changes our nation so desperately needs.  I hope you'll both join us.

  Sincerely,

    John Edwards

P.S.--Monica, I wanted to apologize again that we missed each other at the event, but I'm glad we were able to speak on the phone afterwards.

If the current reality were being openly discussed by the presidential candidates, one might be reassured that the "big, bold changes" we are supposed to anticipate are going to represent a reversal from our current war-like posture.  But, that's not happening.  So, until it does, what's being reported in the international press about "lily pad" bases and the Pentagon's plans for "cyber warfare" suggests that the future is likely to be worse than the present, at least for those of us who prefer that America rely on "the force of our example, not the example of our force." 

In the event, since the thing left out is often much more important than what's included, I'm still waiting for the function and future of the hardened American bases in Iraq to be discussed.