"Edwards, Dean make Seattle visits for Dems"

Seattle P-I:

Elizabeth Edwards has no problem with gay marriage, even though her husband, who's running for president, does.

In a brief campaign fundraising stop in Seattle, a city with one of the nation's most prominent and politically influential gay communities, she suggested that the difference between her upbringing and that of her husband, Democratic presidential contender John Edwards, accounted for her acceptance of gay marriage and his inability to do so.

"Whereas I had a more eclectic background ... and saw a lot of different lifestyles, John was raised in rural Southern mill towns and very conservative places," Elizabeth Edwards said during a news conference at the Seattle Hilton Hotel.

But she emphasized that her husband, a former senator from North Carolina and the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, "is for complete rights for gay and lesbian couples, for eliminating 1,100 federal distinctions that are made between same-sex marriage and straight marriages, and he's for rights for gay and lesbian individuals in our country."

John Edwards supports civil unions among gay couples. No major presidential candidate, Democrat or Republican, has publicly endorsed gay marriage.

"Our daughter is 25; she said this will not be an issue when her generation has the White House," Elizabeth Edwards said, adding that some families with gay or lesbian members have come to accept gay marriages while other such families have not.

"It's just a journey I think we're all on as a country," she said.

Her remarks came two days after Seattle's big annual gay rights celebration and echoed comments she first made in San Francisco on Sunday while taking part in that city's annual gay rights parade, when she said, "I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage."

Elizabeth Edwards, a popular campaigner for her husband, attended a closed luncheon at a private residence in Laurelhurst, in one of two money-raising forays to Seattle by prominent Democrats on Tuesday.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean headlined a party fundraising event at the Westin Seattle Hotel on Tuesday evening, with supporters paying $500 each to attend a "Trailblazer Council" reception that preceded a $50-a-head "Join the Party" reception.

John Edwards, stuck in third place in Democratic presidential polls, has sought to portray himself as a more outspoken advocate of pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq than are front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Elizabeth Edwards said that if her husband were president today, he would remove "40,000 to 50,000 troops" from Iraq as quickly as possible.

She said he believes it would take "something in the 9-, 10-, 11-month range" to get all U.S. troops out, "but he would work with the Joint Chiefs of Staff" to do so in a manner to ensure the security of the troops and of Iraq.

Howie P.S.: I attended the Dean event and had a chance to spend some time with The Governor. I was asked to introduce Washington State Chair Dwight Pelz, who then introduced Dean. I have known Dwight for twenty years, back when he still had hair and was slim. I teased him about the hair and teased myself about no longer being slim. I am expecting some photos and will post them along with my account of his visit. Sneak preview: Dean acknowledged that the Dems in Washington, D.C. have had a "bad few weeks" lately and talked about how that happened and how they should proceed in the future.