Edwards Evening News Roundup-Wednesday 5/03 Edition

Due to some ugly storms we are experiencing right now in my area, I am going to go ahead and post tonight's diary a little early. We have already lost power for a couple of minutes so just to be on the safe side, I'm posting now.

Lots of good Edwards news today! It looks as if the south may really be in play if Edwards is the 2008 Presidental candidate. For more news on this, please follow below the fold.

This article from MSNBC on Edwards dominating the South

John Edwards dominates money race in South
From Louisiana to the Carolinas, Democrat tops all other 2008 hopefuls
WASHINGTON - North Carolina’s John Edwards says he’s the only Democratic presidential candidate with any chance of winning the coveted South.

If early fundraising is any indication, he might be right.

Edwards placed a distant third behind Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in first quarter fundraising, tallying $14 million compared to Clinton’s $26 million and Obama’s $25 million.

But in money raised in the South, Edwards was the leader. From Louisiana to the Carolinas, Edwards easily beat his Democratic rivals and—perhaps more importantly—raised more money than the top three Republican candidates combined.

snip

‘A very conservative guy’Rep. Jack Kingston, a Georgia Republican, said the lackluster fundraising by the Republican candidates underscores what he’s heard from party activists at home: that Southerners are on the fence about the GOP field.

"I think people are just not that fired up, and the intensity level just isn’t where it should be," he said. "You have strengths and weaknesses in every one of the candidates."

snip

‘The true Southerner’On the Democratic side, Rick Dent, an Atlanta-based political strategist, said it’s little surprise that Edwards won the region’s money race given that the South is his base. About half of Edwards’ money came from North Carolina.

But he said the strong support illustrates that many Southern Democratic leaders would prefer to see Edwards atop the party ticket.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

Here is a good article on how Edwards remains a very very strong candidate

The Nation -- Three new polls from early caucus and primary states suggest that John Edwards, who has had a rough couple of months as a candidate, remains very much in the race for the Democratic nomination for president.

In Iowa, the first caucus state, an American Research Group survey of likely caucus-goers has Edwards at 27 percent. Hillary Clinton is next with 23 percent, followed by Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) at 19 percent, Joe Biden at 6 percent, Bill Richardson at 5 percent, and Chris Dodd and Dennis Kucinich with 2 percent each. In New Hampshire, the first primary state, an ARG poll has Clinton leads with 37 percent. But Edwards is next with a solid 26 percent. Obama has dropped back to 14 percent, while Richardson, Biden, Kucinich and Dodd are all at 3 percent or less.

snip

For Edwards, who has been battered in recent weeks by bad news about his wife's health and campaign missteps such as his costly haircut, the poll numbers represent very good news. They suggest that, despite challenges for his campaign, Edwards continues to enjoy some success in his effort to make himself the clearest progressive alternative to Clinton among the front runners.

http://news.yahoo.com/...

Edwards in Oregon
Edwards finds friendly reception in Portland

By the Associated Press

PORTLAND (AP) - The stakes are too high for Democrats to lose the presidential election in 2008, and party members have an obligation to choose a candidate who can win in the general election, former U.S. Sen. and 2004 vice-presidential candidate John Edwards told the crowd at a packed union hall in Portland Wednesday.

Questioned by reporters later, Edwards said he wasn't suggesting that his two main rivals for the Democratic nomination, Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, didn't meet that criteria, but that electability is a factor voters must weigh when making up their minds about the crowded field.
Edwards is the first of the candidates from either of the two major political parties to hold a public event in Oregon this year. He was scheduled to remain in Portland overnight, to meet with local Democratic activists, his aides said, before departing for Tucson, Ariz., on Thursday morning.

http://www.eastoregonian.info/main.asp?SectionID=13&SubSectionID=206&ArticleID=62024&TM= 56527.07

And to back up that Edwards is the most electable candidate, I give you this recent poll. Edwards is the only Dem that beats Giuliani across the board with the exception of New York and New Mexico out of the eleven states that were polled. I can't copy and paste the poll numbers but you can look.
http://www.pollster.com/...

More endorsements today!!!!
Congressman Raul M. Grijalva and Arizona Leaders Endorse Edwards for President

Tucson, Arizona - As Senator John Edwards visits Tucson today for a community meeting, several Arizona Democratic leaders are endorsing Edwards for president, including Congressman Raul M. Grijalva.

"I am honored to have Raul's support and the support of all these great Arizona leaders," said Edwards. "Working together we can restore America's place of moral leadership in the world and lift up all Americans."

"I strongly believe that John Edwards is the right man for the Democrats to nominate for the White House in 2008," said Grijalva. "He has shown principled leadership on the way in Iraq and on economic opportunity in America."

Also endorsing Edwards are:
State Senator Leah Landrum Taylor
State Representative David Bradley
State Representative Steve Farley

http://johnedwards.com/...

WE THE PEOPLE
You can watch the WE THE PEOPLE remix here
http://blog.johnedwards.com/...

You did it! Yesterday we made our goal of raising $100,000 to put our "We the People" ad on the air in Washington, DC urging Congress to stand up to President Bush and end the Iraq War.

We also asked you to become a part of this ad, and add your voice to the call for Congress to stand firm.

Last night we created the first remix version of "We the People" , and you can watch that video above.  But we aren't backing down - we still want your voice.  

So here is what you do: record a short clip of you, your friends, or your family saying "we the people." We'll add in your clips to the ever-expanding online version of the ad to show the broad support of the American people for ending this war.

You can upload your clips via YouTube here. Or (if it's a small file) email them to us as an attachment at [e-mail]

Whatever you do, please do everything you can to help us get this message out. Contribute what you are able to help us keep the ad on the air. And send the link to the ad to your friends and ask them to join our campaign.

www.johnedwards.com/wethepeople

In his e-mail today, campaign advisor, Joe Trippi said:

I never thought I would ever be in another Presidential campaign. But I watched as John and Elizabeth Edwards decided they would continue the fight to make a difference for our country. And it made me ask myself what I could do to make a difference.

If they could continue to fight--then how could I stay on the sidelines?

And with our troops in Iraq, how can any of us not do everything we can to bring them home?

We have joined John Edwards in his fight. He, our troops and our country need us now. Right now.

He's right.  The time to act is now and we have to act together.

Watch the ad.  Become a part of it. Donate what you can.  Spread the word.

More on the ad buy at USATODAY...glad the media is picking up on it.

Edwards' first TV/Web ad challenges Bush on Iraq
Following closely on President Bush's veto of the Democratic-sponsored Iraq War funding bill that would have put a timetable on the withdrawal of U.S. troops, John Edwards has released his first television ad of the 2008 presidential campaign. It accuses the president of not listening to the nation and calls on Congress to "send him the same bill again and again."

The Democratic candidate's campaign says the spot will be on the air in Washington, D.C. It's already available at Edwards' website (where he's also asking for help in raising $100,000 to pay for airing the ad) and at his YouTube page. The visuals are a series of nine "real Americans" speaking to the camera. A transcript follows:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/...

More good Iowa news

DES MOINES - Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards took a pretty standard question last week during an Iowa campaign stop about his vote in favor of the now infamous Iraq war resolution.
It's the question all Democratic hopefuls face. And in many ways it's a question that's defined the opening act in the race for the party's presidential nomination.
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois says he was against the war long before it started. U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York voted for the resolution, says she was misled by the Bush administration and refuses to say it was a mistake.
His foresight helped him raise a jaw-dropping amount of campaign cash. Her refusal drives the anti-war crowd nuts and is one reason she's in a real race.
But Edwards is a hybrid. He's one-part clear hindsight, one part heartfelt apology and one part self-psychoanalyst.
So far, it's working, especially in Iowa, where Democratic activists loathe the war and where Edwards leads most polls.

http://www.zwire.com/...