Kerry, Edwards Differ More in Style Than Substance
Fri Feb 27, 2:01 PM ET Add Politics - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The differences between John Kerry (news - web sites) and John Edwards (news - web sites), the two prime contenders in the Democratic presidential race, are more stylistic and biographical than substantive, as both men have similar Senate voting records and views on key issues.
Kerry, a blueblood war hero and son of privilege from Massachusetts, and Edwards, son of a Southern textile mill worker and first in his family to go to college, share plenty of common ground in the competition to become the Democratic challenger to President Bush (news - web sites).
At a debate in Los Angeles on Thursday night, the two men differed by degrees in a few policy areas -- primarily on the death penalty and trade -- but agreed on far more, from foreign relations to education, taxes and health care.
Both voted to authorize the war in Iraq (news - web sites), but opposed $87 billion to help pay for it; both oppose gay marriage, but do not want to amend the Constitution to ban it, and both would repeal tax cuts for those making more than $200,000 annually and provide targeted cuts for lower-income earners.
On the campaign trail, both have criticized the education overhaul known as "No Child Left Behind" and the Patriot Act, which expanded police powers in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But both voted for them in the Senate, where Kerry is a four-term veteran and Edwards a lame-duck freshman.
Even on trade, the issue that Edwards has placed in the spotlight, the two candidates have at least one major vote in common, to grant permanent normal trade relations with China.
"The differences between them are more a matter of emphasis," said Democratic consultant Doug Hattaway of Boston, an aide for Al Gore (news - web sites) during his 2000 presidential bid who is not aligned with either candidate.
"Kerry's message on the economy isn't all that different from Edwards' message," he said. "But Edwards has made it the centerpiece of his campaign and focused on his biography."
In the debate, Edwards said the "fundamental choice" for voters was between a candidate with his outsider perspective and a candidate like Kerry with "20 years in Washington."
"We come from different places and we present different choices," said Edwards, who has emphasized his working class background and self-made resume.
Kerry said Edwards' story was "an American story, but there are many other American stories. I've had experiences that John hasn't had and others here haven't had, and we all bring to the table our life."
KERRY IN COMMAND
Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, has charged to wins in 18 of the first 20 Democratic contests and heads into next week's potentially decisive "Super Tuesday" round of 10 state contests in a commanding position.
He and Edwards rarely mention each other by name on the campaign trail, with both focusing more on their disputes with Bush.
Both support abortion rights, broad expansions in health care coverage, new initiatives to help send children to college, restrictions on lobbyists and special-interest influence and crackdowns on companies that send jobs to foreign countries.
The one issue where Edwards has tried to draw contrasts with Kerry is on trade. He opposed trade pacts with Chile, Singapore, and other nations that Kerry backed, and has voiced opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Kerry supported.
Edwards says he would renegotiate NAFTA, not repeal it. But he was not in the Senate when it voted on NAFTA in 1993, and Kerry has questioned the depth of their differences on the topic.
Kerry, who has called for 120-day review of all trade pacts, said they both want to ensure that all pacts have strong environmental and labor standards and workable enforcement mechanisms.
While neither brings it up on the campaign trail, they differ on the death penalty. Kerry opposes it except in cases of terrorism, while Edwards supports it.
Kerry, who was endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters, supported increases in fuel economy standards for pickup trucks, which Edwards opposed.
But neither candidate, millionaires who live within blocks of each other in Washington's ritzy Georgetown neighborhood, can point to major philosophical differences after standing side-by-side on scores of Senate votes.
"The differences between them are like theological disputes over obscure points of doctrine," said John Pitney, a political scientist at California's Claremont McKenna College. "They are exactly the kind of differences that come up in a primary, when candidates tend to have the same position on most issues." |
