"If that is true and it makes you happy, so be it!"
Rich - it is not if it is true - it is true. Did you just get interested in this campaign. You are here to debate and you don't have the basic background required for the discussion. Read about it below!
boston.com
A BATTLE OF THE SENATORS
Edwards challenges Kerry to series of debates
By Raja Mishra and Anne E. Kornblut, Globe Staff, 2/19/2004
NEW YORK -- Fresh off a strong second-place finish in Wisconsin, Senator John Edwards prepared yesterday to run an underdog campaign against Senator John F. Kerry, challenging the Democratic front-runner to a series of public debates before 10 states vote a week from Tuesday.
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"It's clear from the results in Wisconsin yesterday that the voters in Wisconsin and throughout the country are looking for a debate," Edwards said. "I make myself open and available for debates, and I hope Senator Kerry will do the same thing."
"At first glance, it sounds unfair and undemocratic to freeze out candidates who have already finished ahead of John Edwards in multiple contests," a senior Kerry aide said yesterday.
The Democratic candidates, including Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and the Rev. Al Sharpton, have been invited to a Feb. 26 forum in Los Angeles.
With former Vermont governor Howard Dean out of the race, the Democrats' presidential nominating contest has essentially become the two-senator showdown that Edwards has been seeking for weeks. Edwards, who trails far behind in election wins, delegates, and funds, said yesterday that evidence of his electoral strength could be found in Wisconsin exit polls, which showed him running stronger than Kerry among Republican and independent voters. Edwards called those groups "the kind of people we have to have this fall to win the general election."
The same polls showed Kerry stronger among Democrats, antiwar voters, and those whose priority is to oust Bush. Six of the 10 primaries March 2, called "Super Tuesday," are open only to Democrats, which will limit the benefit of Edwards's appeal to Republicans and independents.
Asked about that, Edwards said yesterday that Democrats, too, "will see clearly that one of these candidates is more attractive to the voters we have to attract in the general election." He predicted New York, Ohio, Georgia, and California voters would react well to his economic populism. He called them his "natural" electoral battlegrounds.
While Edwards's unexpected showing in Wisconsin stunned many Democrats, Republican officials looked on with great interest and some concern.
With Edwards set to campaign in New York, Ohio, Minnesota, and Georgia over the next few days, Bush campaign officials have quietly sounded a note of concern about the North Carolina senator, whose upbeat approach, practiced speaking skills, and lack of a long voting record could combine to make him a much harder candidate than Kerry to tarnish with criticism.
Howard Dean was a "dream candidate" for Republicans, one Bush strategist said, his fiery rhetoric and unconventional style easy to contrast with the steadiness of President Bush. But if Dean were not the nominee, several Republican officials said on the condition of anonymity, their second choice would certainly be Kerry -- not only for his liberal voting record, but also because of his sometimes-stilted speech and a wealthy lifestyle.
In a match-up with Bush, Edwards now fares about as well as Kerry. According to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released yesterday, Kerry would beat Bush, 55 to 43 percent, while Edwards would beat Bush, 54 to 44 percent, putting the two Democrats statistically even.
Publicly, Republicans insist they are indifferent to the outcome of the Democratic primary.
"Regardless of who the candidate is, we're going to be running on what the president is for," said Marc Racicot, former Republican National Committee chairman.
But Kerry cites his constant battering from the current RNC chairman, Ed Gillespie, as evidence the Massachusetts has the ability to beat Bush. "Ask the GOP why they keep attacking John Kerry; it's because they're afraid to face him in November," a Kerry spokesman, David Wade, said Tuesday.
Edwards has also taken his share of GOP criticism.
"Senator John Edwards asserted that President Bush couldn't `walk and chew gum at the same time,' " Gillespie said in a speech in Edwards's hometown of Raleigh, N.C., earlier this month. "This is from the positive candidate. You know, attacking in a Carolina drawl instead of a Vermont scream doesn't make you positive."
Edwards's campaign yesterday wielded Wisconsin exit polls to make the case for his electability, emphatically noting to reporters that Edwards did far better among Republican and independent voters. But some analysts said they were not so sure his current appeal would necessarily extend into the general election.
"There's some truth to it, but you can't make the inference that this is what will happen in the fall," said a University of Wisconsin at Madison political scientist, Kenneth Mayer.
According to Wisconsin exit polls, Kerry beat voters who named as their top issues taxes, education, health care, the Iraq war, or national security. Edwards did better among the 41 percent of Wisconsin voters most worried about jobs and the economy.
Raja Mishra reported from New York and Anne E. Kornblut from Washington. Raja Mishra can be reached at rmishra@globe.com.
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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