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Politics : WHO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2004 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (1718)	4/16/2003 1:17:25 PM
From: Tadsamillionaire	Respond to of 10965

Defections set Edwards’ hopes back By Sam Dealey Despite his impressive fundraising performance, the presidential campaign of Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) has suffered a rash of defections to rival candidates and lost key endorsements in recent weeks. The defections and missed endorsements since late March suggest that despite outward appearances, including netting $7.4 million in the first quarter, all may not be well inside the Edwards campaign. The latest blow came Sunday when Alex Sanders, a prominent South Carolina Democrat and former president of that state’s Trial Lawyers Association, endorsed Sen. John Kerry (Mass.). A former judge, college president and politician, Sanders ran unsuccessfully for the Senate last year against Republican Lindsay Graham. “John Kerry, his family and his campaign were enormously helpful to me during my run for the U.S. Senate,” Sanders said Sunday in an endorsement statement the morning after Edwards made a campaign swing through the state. “I saw first hand how well he connected with, and how well he was received by, South Carolinians last year when he campaigned for me.” Edwards campaigned for Sanders in 2002, and his New American Optimists PAC donated $10,000 to Sanders’ campaign, according to the Political Money Line Web site. Kerry’s Citizen Soldier Fund PAC contributed $6,000. “I think that’s got to be a real blow because [winning] South Carolina was a major strategy for Edwards,” said Celinda Lake, a Democratic consultant not affiliated with a presidential campaign. Edwards’ campaign spokeswoman, Jennifer Palmieri, downplayed the impact of Sanders’ endorsement of Kerry, saying: “We have more endorsements in South Carolina than all the other candidates combined and we feel very good about how we’re being received in South Carolina.” A poll conducted in South Carolina earlier this month by Zogby International shows Edwards trailing Sen. Joseph Lieberman (Conn.) and Rep. Richard Gephardt (Mo.) among likely Democratic voters, with nearly 46 percent of respondents undecided. There have also been several upheavals among Edwards’ campaign team. On March 24, media consultant Bob Shrum and partners Tad Devine and Tom Donilon left the Edwards campaign for that of Kerry. Although Shrum has worked for Kerry in the past, the departures came just three weeks after the high-powered team signed on. Described at the time by an Edwards spokesman as the “best media firm in politics,” the arrangement ended bitterly. “It was not a good fit,” Palmieri told The Washington Times, saying Shrum “just couldn’t get John Edwards.” Shrum is the only media consultant to have worked with Edwards. One week later, on March 30, rural strategists Steve Jarding and David Saunders left the Edwards campaign for that of rival candidates Sen. Bob Graham (Fla.). Jarding and Saunders ran Edwards’ New American Optimists leadership PAC. The next day, Edwards’ political director, Katreice Banks, resigned for family reasons. Banks was a deputy finance director for Vice President Gore’s 2000 bid and a deputy political director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Washington. Edwards also has been unable to bring on board two influential Democratic politicians in New Hampshire, David Nixon and Jim Craig. Despite heavy lobbying by Edwards, Craig signed on with Gephardt. Nixon appears to be leaning towards Kerry. The early rush of departures from the Edwards campaign surprised many political observers. “That is a lot, particularly this early,” said Lake. “Usually your initial support is from die-hard loyalists. I think if he didn’t have the money people would say his campaign is in real trouble,” she said. “I’d say it raises some questions that need to be answered,” said Whit Ayres, a leading Republican political consultant in the South. hillnews.com