Why I'm Still Voting for John Edwards Tomorrow: UPDATED

As I write this, I realize that John Edwards met with Hillary Clinton on Thursday, and is meeting with Barack Obama today, so an endorsement may well be coming before I vote tomorrow. on Saturday, after her meeting with John Edwards, I know that Hillary Clinton had something very interesting to say:

“There is a lot John and I have in common. I will be a fighter, and I intend to ask John Edwards to be a part of anything I do in the White House.”

As of this moment, I still plan to vote for John.

If he does endorse before I vote, I will listen to and consider what John Edwards has to say, and I will take it very seriously since I will have to assume any candidate he endorses has made a serious commitment to his issues, but I have one thing to say right now.

John, if you or Elizabeth are reading this, I want you to know that I would have great difficulty voting for a candidate who doesn't have a real universal health care plan, with or without your endorsement, and that the celebrity hype surrounding our remaining candidates makes me not hopeful for our country, but frightened that we do not vote for rational reasons.

There's one major reason that I haven't been able to get behind either the remaining candidates since John Edwards dropped out of the race, and you can read a summary of it here. It is the most comprehensive and smartest platform I have ever seen a presidential candidate put forward. It also comes with the rare understanding that there are certain problems, such as corruption of our government by corporate special interests, that currently stand in the way of any real reform on any other issue.

My own top concerns are as follows, although which one takes precedence varies depending on the day:

1) Universal Health Care.
2) Stopping Global Warming.
3) Ending Poverty.
4) Restoring Democracy in the United States.
5) Removing the Corrupting Influence of Corporate Money from our Government.
6) Ensuring Verifiable and Democratic Election Results.
7) Reforming the Media and Guaranteeing Net Neutrality.
8) Ending the War and Preventing Future Wars.

To one degree or another, John Edwards addressed every one of these issues during the course of his campaign. On most of these issues, he was the first candidate, or sometimes the only candidate, to address them, and furthermore, he understood and could articulate the interrelatedness of all these problems.

There is now a widespread acknowledgement, even among the slow-witted punditocracy, who should have noted it BEFORE John Edwards dropped out of the race, that Edwards set the agenda for the Democratic Party and its candidates in this election. His is the original vision, and the deepest understanding of that vision. The other candidate's platforms are truly but pale imitations.

I miss his voice. I miss it sorely. Probably almost nothing could convince me that John Edwards was not the best person to lead our country at this time. He should have been our president. This is why, barring a statement from Edwards himself that changes my mind, I am casting my vote for him tomorrow in Maryland.

UPDATE: Edwards and Obama Cancel Meeting.

From NBC's Mark Hudspeth and Mark Murray
When asked about the AP report that Obama and Edwards meeting is not happening today, the Obama campaign told us to talk to the Edwards camp. However, when pressed, they said it wouldn't be inaccurate to report that the meeting will not happen today or tomorrow.

A source close to Edwards confirms that the meeting has been canceled. But the source doesn’t know the reason behind it; it could be something as simple as a scheduling conflict.