Washington Post
03-10-07
Edwards shows a little more edge since 2004 campaign
By DAN BALZ
Washington Post
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA — When he first ran for president, former North
Carolina senator John Edwards was the fresh face in the Democratic Party, a
perpetually buoyant campaigner who built his candidacy around his own
biography and whose success in the primaries earned him a place on the 2004
Democratic ticket.
Fast-forward to today, and there is a new John Edwards on the campaign trail.
His demeanor is more serious and his elbows far sharper than four years ago.
Two years after leaving the Senate, he rarely mentions his time in Washington.
Nor does he talk about his experience as Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's vice
presidential running mate.
His political positions also have more edge. Emphasis on biography has given
way to focus on issues, where there has been a demonstrable shift to the left —
on the Iraq war, health care and the federal budget deficit. The changes have
given him entree to the liberal voters and constituencies who are influential in
selecting Democratic presidential nominees.
Although he labors in their shadows, Edwards has drawn attention from the
party's two glamour candidates, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, this year's fresh face. Both rivals recognize the
potential threat he carries to their candidacies, particularly in Iowa, Nevada,
South Carolina and New Hampshire, where the nomination battle begins.
Edwards' moves have raised eyebrows inside the party among those who
wonder whether the differences indicate a genuine evolution or pure political
calculation.
He defended himself as someone whose compass has remained fixed. "I should
make absolutely clear, nothing has changed about John Edwards as a human
being and my value system," he said. "It's exactly the same as it's always been,
which is wanting to give people the chances that I've had."
Steve Elmendorf, who managed Richard Gephardt's 2004 campaign, said the
changes could give rise to questions of authenticity. "His challenge is to show
that, if he is different, experience caused him to change where he is," he said.
Aides to rival candidates and unaffiliated party strategists describe Edwards as
an undervalued stock in the Democratic race, despite the attention given to
Clinton and Obama.
They believe he is well positioned to win some of the early states, starting with
Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses. Edwards has led most of the polls of Iowa
Democrats, and the organization he built last time is still highly regarded.
He is in Iowa again this weekend on his 19th trip to the state since early 2005, far
more than any of his Democratic rivals.
He is investing heavily here in the belief that a victory in the Iowa caucuses on
Jan. 14, 2008, could make him unstoppable in the dozen or more contests from
coast to coast that will quickly follow. The unspoken corollary is that a loss here
could spell the end of his try for the White House.
Steffen W. Schmidt, a professor of political science at Iowa State
University, said Edwards' fate here hinged in large measure on what happened
to Clinton and Obama in the coming months.
"It depends on whether they self-destruct or essentially massacre each other and
leave Democrats wondering who else is out there," Schmidt said. "Unfortunately
for Edwards, the answer for many Democrats is Al Gore."
Edwards also will have to prove he can compete with Clinton and Obama in
fundraising, with the first indicator — his first-quarter totals — due at the end of
this month.