Ed Asner, Dennis Kucinich, and John Edwards
Originally published in the Quad-Cities Dispatch
'Lou Grant' rips President Bush in Davenport
By Stephanie Massick, Staff writer
DAVENPORT -- Using unflinching terminology that would have done his television alter-ego proud, actor Ed Asner described George W. Bush on Sunday as a "buffoon" and "village idiot" who "is suffering from mad cowboy disease."
Mr. Asner, best known as gruff newsroom boss Lou Grant on the 1970s sitcom "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and the newspaper show "Lou Grant," made the comments while appearing at the third annual Democrats With Labor Picnic and Folkfest, held Sunday afternoon at Carpenters Local 4 in Davenport. Live music, lunch and kids' games were offered to attendees, who listened as Mr. Asner spoke on behalf of U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, a Democratic presidential hopeful.
U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, another Democratic hopeful, also made an appearance at the picnic.
"When someone has a friend in Ed Asner, you know you have a friend," Mr. Kucinich said. "Ed Asner has always been a champion for workers. He's so much loved by the American people. It's so heartening to have that kind of support."
Although some of his words were harsh, Mr. Asner, 73, was grandfatherly as he interacted with the crowd, giving hugs and posing for photographs.
He said getting the message out to as many people as possible is his mission. "Look at America, for God's sake. We are down the sewers. We are being bankrupted."
Mr. Kucinich said American lives will change if the next president is a Democrat. "We'll have jobs. Put America back to work. Make sure every American has health care."
The candidate was impassioned during his speech, throwing himself down on his knees at one point, then jumping up onto a nearby chair.
"I'm outspoken," Mr. Kucinich said. "I'm not afraid. We've seen fear drop across this country. Shake off the fear! We are going to regain our country! We will work again! We are Americans!"
Sen. Edwards' message was more sedate, but he addressed many of the same issues as did Mr. Asner and Mr. Kucinich, including education, health care and the economy.
"A job is about more than a paycheck," he said. "It's about self-respect. We need to do more than to protect the jobs we have. We need to replace the jobs we have, in fact, lost."
He referred to the federal No Child Left Behind Act as a joke and said that, if he becomes president, he'll see to it that teachers are given better salaries, particularly those who are willing to teach in disadvantaged areas.
Stopping at the picnic offered voters an important message about him, Mr. Edwards said. "It gives folks the chance to hear what I'm about. And they get to hear it from me personally."
The candidates' appearances are part of their efforts to drum up support in Iowa's Jan. 19 presidential caucuses, the first statewide tests in the presidential campaign, and the second-earliest races of the political season. The Jan. 13 District of Columbia primary election is the earliest, but it doesn't draw as much national attention because of its limited voting pool.
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