Coal miner stars in Edwards ad

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 14:48:28 -0500

DES MOINES—James Lowe, a former coal miner from Wise County, Virginia, has long been a mainstay of Democratic candidate John Edwards' political stump speech.

Now Lowe's story is being featured in a new TV ad that is being aired in Iowa, where Edwards is locked in a close battle with Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Rob Christensen reports.

Edwards uses Lowe, who he met in July during an anti-poverty tour, to illustrate how the health care system is broken. Lowe had a cleft palate which prevented him from speaking for the first 50 years of his life. His gained his voice after medical professionals voluntarily performed an operation.

"Fifty years without voice—in America," Edwards says in the ad. "This is wrong. It is immoral. When are we going to stop letting drug companies, insurance companies and their lobbyists run this country? America belong to us. James Lowe finally got his voice, now it's time for yours."

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Coal miner stars in Edwards ad