Sarkisyan family endorses...

John Edwards.





And since someone's bound to ask, the family contacted the Edwards campaign and asked to do this.

Health care blogger nyceve has come out in support of John Edwards now.

Which brings me to John Edwards. This isn't an easy diary for me to write, because truthfully I admire all three of our leading Democratic candidates.

I am mesmerized by Barack Obama. I think Hillary Clinton, if elected, would return to her progressive roots. And yes, I am shamelessly the unelected president of the Bill Clinton Fan Club. So I have a real conundrum. But I couldn't walk away from this conversation and not recognize that what is going on in this country is far worse than a garden-variety catastrophe. This is a nation bought, paid for, and owned by merciless special interests, chief among them the health insurance industry.

It is a catastrophe in which the government, regulators, and elected officials conspire together to perpetuate the status quo. This is about as serious an evil as I have ever encountered and David Rosen confirmed all my, and our, worst fears.

It is bad my friends. It is very bad.

Let me turn for one moment to the family of Nataline Sarkisyan and why they are standing standing shoulder-to-shoulder with John Edwards. First, I was advised after Nataline died, that the family was in all likelihood going to become healthcare activists. This was a well-considered decision to support the candidacy of John Edwards. They wanted to do something important to honor Nataline's memory. Clearly, John Edwards is the one candidate who seems to appreciate that we are facing a truly vicious foe--the foe responsible for the death of Nataline Sarkisyan.

So, if you are a healthcare voter, it seems to me there is only one candidate who really appreciates the nature of the looming fight.

After speaking to David Rosen, I have no doubt that Edwards is correct about the the epic battle we Americans are facing. You will have no doubt either after you read my upcoming diaries. Edwards is correct--you can't negotiate with these people, you must fight them with every ounce of your being.

And that's a message Barack Obama, given his progressive record, should take to heart as well. But he doesn't. He still wants to give those insurance companies a seat at the table and negotiate with them. We already saw this happen in 1993, when Hillary tried to do it. Guess what happened?