Editor’s note: The Daily invited registered student

organizations supporting presidential candidates to write columns

in support of their candidates.

Integrity, hard work and helping those who need it most are

values many of us can appreciate. While shopping for a presidential

candidate to support, I looked for these values and found them in a

man with a similar background and similar ethics.

Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina is someone I can relate to,

understand and respect. After growing up with working-class parents

in rural Iowa, I wanted to support a candidate who would best

represent a core value system similar to my own. Edwards embodies

what I feel are not only the most important ideas and values of the

Democratic party, but also the values of anyone worthy of the

presidential office.

Like many of us here at Iowa State, he didn’t go to a private

Ivy League school but attended a large state school, North Carolina

State University, and worked his way through college. He later

attended the University of North Carolina and became a successful

trial lawyer, beating large corporate firms and proving his

tenacity to help the average Joe.

He ran for Senate against an incumbent Republican senator using

his own money, not funds supplied by lobby groups, and successfully

took a seat in the Senate in 1998. He has fought in the Senate to

protect average Americans by not only voting to protect their

investments but also by refusing to take any money from Washington

lobbyists. He wants to ensure that all Americans, not just the

super rich, have an equal opportunity to live with a sense of

personal and financial security.

John Edwards believes in the American dream — hard work and

perseverance. He has not only embraced this idea, but he has lived

it out and now wants to instill the same type of inspiration in

every person in the United States.

Many students here at Iowa State, including myself, see the

carrot of the American dream and strive for it every day. The very

backbone of Edwards’ run for presidency is to ensure this dream

will not be lost for this generation or the next.

Many say that Edwards lacks political experience. He is

innovative, passionate and energetic about fixing problems, not

only in the White House, but in an entire system that leaves out

too many Americans. Perhaps it his inexperience that will bring

forth real progressive change and inspire this country to believe

in itself again.

He lays out his plan in his booklet “Real Solutions for

America.” His plan to improve education from pre-school through

college speaks to his desire to help a younger generation. Under

the plan, first-year college students would get a free year of

school through a community work program. This would not only help

young people enter school, but also encourage them through their

first year to finish their degree. He plans to improve education by

investing in teachers. He has a real plan to pay back student loans

to anyone willing to teach for five years after graduation. By

making this type of investment and improving teacher pay, it will

vastly improve the public educational system.

Although he voted for the Patriot Act, along with all other

congressionally elected officials running for president except Rep.

Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, he has spoken out against the provisions

that violate the Constitution. His plan is to remove the provisions

that violate constitutional rights and maintain the provisions that

improve communication between various branches of government and

update technology. The integrity to admit he made a mistake and the

willingness to change that mistake speaks well of his

character.

Edwards also plans to improve the United States’ image around

the world and stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons. His plan

includes a “Freedom List,” which will highlight those who have been

wrongly imprisoned and help to set them free.

His progressive ideas include real plans to improve the

environment, create affordable health care for all Americans and

revitalize rural America. I plan to caucus for John Edwards because

I believe in his plan for the future of this country and the

inspiration he gives to all Americans.