Sunday, December 16, 2007

"Edwards offers 2 reasons to back him, not Obama"

Des Moines Register:
Manchester, Ia. -- John Edwards said here Friday that he would be a stronger Democratic nominee and a more effective president than rival Barack Obama.
Edwards refrained from mentioning his competitors by name in a short speech he gave to about 150 people at a steakhouse here. But then an undecided voter stood and asked Edwards to give one reason why Iowans should back him instead of Obama in the Jan. 3 caucuses.

"Well, I'll give you two reasons," Edwards said. "One is substantive, and one is political."

As president, Edwards said, he would be more successful in fighting the powerful corporations and interests that he says control America's health care system and other important areas.

Obama, he said, would take a more conciliatory approach. "He talks about bringing drug companies, insurance companies, oil companies ... to the table and working with them and negotiating and compromising," Edwards said. "I just think that'll never work. If that would work, it would have worked years ago. If that worked, we'd have universal health care. We don't."

Edwards said he respects Obama and the rest of the Democratic field.

"You know, we've got a lot of good and talented candidates, we've got a lot of smart candidates, and we've got a lot of people with good ideas," he said. "But we need somebody who's ready for this battle."

On the political side, the former North Carolina senator said, he is more likely to win the general election because he can appeal to voters in states that have gone Republican in the past.

Edwards cited a recent CNN poll that shows him as the only Democrat who tops every leading Republican in hypothetical, head-to-head matchups.

"If you want to win, you're looking at the guy who can go everywhere in America with a real message of fighting for change ... and can compete in every single place in this country," he said.

The voter who asked the question, Ken Bichell of Dubuque, said afterward that he was impressed with the answer. Bichell, a nursing student, said that most of Edwards' proposals are similar to Obama's. "The only thing you can look at is a difference in attitude," he said.

Bichell, 48, said he probably would caucus for Edwards. "I have never struggled this long to make a decision. I think I just made it," he said.

When asked to respond to Edwards' claim, Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor disputed the idea that his candidate would not be a fighter. "Barack Obama has done more to take on the special interests and win than anyone else in this race," he said.
Howie P.S.: Newsweek (via Political Wire) offers up a third reason why Edwards can win Iowa.

No comments: