Posted on 07/03/2002 6:48:41 AM PDT by jern
U.S. Sen. John Edwards' political action committee, the New American Optimists, has launched a Web site as part of a continuing effort to boost the North Carolina Democrat's national exposure.
The site is chock-full of personal and patriotic photos, positive national press clippings and accounts of Edwards' recent forays into states with early presidential primaries.
There's also an interactive map that lets visitors discover some of the candidates around the country whom Edwards' PAC is backing this year -- 124 at last count.
And the site features a way to donate money online to help pay for the senator's political work.
In an introductory message, Edwards says the new Web site, http://www.newamericanoptimists.com, is "the best way I have of staying in touch with all of the people I've met around the country."
Visiting the site's "pressroom" leaves little doubt as to what he's really up to.
Among the featured headlines are "Next stop, the White House?" and "Who can beat Bush in 2004?" The headlines link to stories that appeared in recent months in Vanity Fair and U.S. News & World Report.
The site also includes a biography of Edwards that starts this way:
"Born in Seneca, South Carolina, and raised in Robbins, North Carolina, a small town in the Piedmont, John learned the values of hard work and perseverance from his father, Wallace, who worked in textile mills for 36 years, and from his mother, Bobbie, who had a number of jobs, including working at the post office."
During his 1998 Senate bid, Edwards glossed over the fact that he was born in South Carolina and spent much of his first 12 years in the Palmetto State.
To this day, there's no mention of South Carolina in the biography that appears on Edwards' official Senate Web site.
But the senator's South Carolina roots could prove important in a presidential bid because Democrats there have moved their 2004 primary up in the political calendar. In 2004, it will take place almost immediately after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.
Among the featured stories on Edwards' new Web site is a piece about his South Carolina background that appeared recently in The State, a newspaper published in Columbia.
Bush vs. Edwards
Much to the delight of North Carolina Republicans, a new poll conducted for the state GOP shows Edwards trailing President Bush by 19 percentage points in a hypothetical presidential match-up in the Tar Heel State.
The poll, conducted late last month by Public Opinion Strategies, had Bush up 53 percent to 34 percent.
Aides to Edwards were dismissive of the poll, given its source. But perhaps they can take consolation from the fact that a similar poll by the same company found Bush leading former Vice President Al Gore -- by 25 points -- in Gore's home state of Tennessee.
Both polls were released late last week in advance of major gatherings of political donors held by Edwards and Gore. Each of the polls surveyed 500 likely voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.
Bill Cobey, chairman of the state Republican Party, said the results show that "support for President Bush and his compassionate conservative agenda in North Carolina and throughout the nation is undeniably strong."
By Washington correspondent John Wagner and staff writer April Bethea. Wagner can be reached at (202) 662-4380 or jwagner@mcclatchydc.com.
Heh heh henh...MUD
John "Blinky" Edwards in the dark.
John "Blinky" Edwards as a child.
John "Blinky" Edward's kitty cat.
NC PING!!!!
I see him as no theat at all to GW
p.s. In case you haven't guessed, Edwards is REALLY running for Vice-President.
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Very good, CD!
I'm feeling pretty optimistic that the Dems have NO chance to win the White House in 2004, if that helps.
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