Is former Senator John Edwards trying to set up a squeeze play with Senator Barack Obama against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in advance of the Democratic debate on Sunday?
Mr. Edwards sought Thursday to enlist Senator Obama to join him in asking the Democratic Party and all Democratic presidential candidates to refuse to accept contributions from registered Washington lobbyists and their political action committees.
Mr. Obama’s campaign declined the invitation, noting that Mr. Obama already refuses such contributions and has started his own efforts against lobbyists.
Mr. Edwards has been adamant about the pernicious effect of lobbying money. And his appeal to Mr. Obama may be an attempt to revive a glory moment from earlier this month at the YearlyKos convention, when Mr. Edwards suggested that all candidates should pledge not to take money from federal lobbyists.
In an energetic performance, Mr. Edwards railed against the lobbyists, setting up a question to Senator Clinton, who said she would continue to take money from lobbyists, that they represented “real Americans” and that she would not be influenced by their money. Her answer was widely booed, and Senator Obama went in for the kill.
“I disagree with the notion that lobbyists don’t have disproportionate influence,” Mr. Obama said. “The insurance and the drug companies have spent $1 billion in lobbying over the last 10 years. Now, Hillary, you were talking about the efforts you made back in 1993 _ you cannot tell me that money did not make a difference. They are not spending that just because they’re contributing to the public interest.”
It was probably the “now, Hillary” part of his answer that won him the point.
The Obama campaign today gave short shrift to Mr. Edwards’s proposal that they unite forces, saying in a statement: “Senator Obama appreciates what John Edwards is saying about lobbyists, which is why Obama doesn’t accept contributions from federal lobbyists and PACS. But it’s not enough just to refuse their money, we have to curb their influence.”
From the Obama campaign’s point of view, why share the limelight with another campaign on an issue that Mr. Obama is advancing quite well on his own?
Joe Trippi, an adviser to Mr. Edwards, said on a conference call with reporters this morning that Mr. Edwards was not trying to inject himself into the back-and-forth between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama.
“This is about leading the party to real reform,” Mr. Trippi said.
The matter of lobbyist money is likely to come up when the Democratic candidates meet for another televised debate, this one on Sunday morning on ABC.
An Edwards Squeeze Play Foiled?
By Katharine Q. Seelye |
