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

To: calgal who wrote (10284)	2/20/2004 12:43:16 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

Edwards wants to debate Kerry in Georgia The Associated Press Published on: 02/19/04 Looking to fellow Southerners to help keep his presidential campaign afloat, John Edwards challenged front-runner John Kerry Thursday to debate him in Georgia, saying the stakes are too important for Georgia voters not to hear their views. The North Carolina senator, who despite his Dixie roots has carried only one of three Southern states so far, avoided calling Georgia a "must-win" state on March 2 in the "Super Tuesday" round of primaries when bigger states like New York and California also vote. "Georgia is a place where I expect to do well, but I'll let you guys set those standards," he said in a round of one-on-one interviews with Atlanta television stations after a rally at the historically black Atlanta University Center near downtown. Edwards won South Carolina, where he was born, but stumbled in Virginia and Tennessee. Kerry has won 15 states. "If he does well in Georgia, it keeps him alive," said University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock. "On March 9 you've got four Southern states. We're an important bridge for him." At the rally, Edwards appeared on stage with a pair of important backers — former Gov. Roy Barnes, a longtime supporter, and Chip Carter, the son of former President Jimmy Carter and until Tuesday a backer of withdrawn candidate Howard Dean. "Dean people are going to go with Edwards because he's got the best chance of winning," said the younger Carter. "I think he talks like us but what's happening here is him understanding the 'other America,' being born in the other America and talking about jobs. And he really feels the pain of those folks who've been hurt." Barnes called Edwards "the best hope that we have" of persuading key independent voters to vote Democratic. He told the crowd, "He can beat George W. Bush." Edwards, hoping to capitalize on a closer-than-expected second place finish in Wisconsin this week, promised a vigorous campaign for the 86 Democratic delegates at stake in Georgia on March 2. He will participate in a rally in Savannah on Friday. His campaign also is focusing on New York and Ohio. He shrugged off endorsements which swung his rival's way on Thursday when Kerry picked up the backing of the AFL-CIO and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a veteran of the Civil Rights movement. "My campaign is focused on the problems that people face in their lives. It's not focused on either the other candidate or other politicians," he said during one of the media interviews. In his speech, Edwards kept up the drumbeat of criticism of America's trade policy, again calling it a moral issue and pointing to Georgia's loss of 67,000 manufacturing jobs in recent years. A debate with Kerry in Georgia would highlight the Democrats' differences over trade and other issues, he said. "He supported NAFTA. I voted against NAFTA and other trade agreements that he supported, and I think it's been devastating to our economy. But I think more importantly the voters of Georgia need to hear what our differences are across the whole broad range of issues," he said. Emanuel Wilson, a 39-year-old telecommunications worker from Atlanta, walked into the rally leaning toward Kerry but walked away believing his vote now will go to Edwards. "He's articulate. He's sincere about what he says. You can really feel him talking from his heart," he said. "I think he's closed the deal with me."