Posted on 02/25/2004 8:42:19 AM PST by demlosers
Associated Press
ATLANTA - John Edwards cautioned President Bush on Tuesday not to assume the race for the Democratic nomination is over as he worked to close his gap with front-runner John Kerry. "Not so fast George Bush. You don't get to decide who our nominee is," Edwards declared.
The North Carolina senator's remarks, delivered at a rally in the Georgia Capitol, came a day after Bush made taunting references clearly aimed at Kerry in a speech to Republican governors.
Edwards campaigned in Georgia, one of 10 states with primaries March 2, before heading to Texas - which holds its primary March 9 - to await returns of three Democratic contests where he has not campaigned: Utah, Idaho and Hawaii.
Edwards said that, while he was running a national campaign, he did not have the resources to visit all states with primaries.
Appearing with more than 30 Democratic members of the Georgia legislature who have endorsed him, including House Speaker Terry Coleman, Edwards vowed to press on even though he has won only a single Democratic primary, South Carolina, where he was born.
Earlier Tuesday, Edwards met with a civil rights organization headed by longtime civil rights leader Joseph Lowery.
Lowery said even though the organization, the Coalition for the People's Agenda, did not endorse candidates, "I have not been as impressed by a candidate as I am by this young man in a long time."
Edwards, 50, said he believed those born in the South should "lead not follow" in making progress in civil rights. "You all know as well as I do how much work we have to do," he said.
At a news conference at the capitol after his rally, Edwards took issue with Bush's endorsement earlier in the day of a proposed constitutional amendment that would force states to deny same-sex couples the right to marry.
"I am against the president's constitutional amendment on gay marriage. I don't personally support gay marriage myself. My position has always been that it's up to the states to decide," he said.
Georgia is in the process of acting on its own to ban state marriages. As to that effort, Edwards said: "It's for the state of Georgia to decide - for every state to decide. I think the federal government should honor their decision."
Edwards also said he has not changed his opposition to the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement, which dismantled trade barriers for the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Edwards blames it on a massive loss of U.S. jobs and says he would have voted against it had he been in the Senate at the time. He used Kerry's vote for NAFTA as an example of how their positions vary.
Still, Edwards defended his comments in an interview in Tuesday's editions of The New York Times that NAFTA was important to the economy and "I believe that NAFTA should exist."
He said he believed the pact should be left on the books but renegotiated if possible to add environmental and labor positions, a stance he said he has consistently taken.
Edwards was looking beyond Tuesday's contests to the March 2 "Super Tuesday" races in hopes of finding a second victory after a string of second-place finishes.
Edwards has an uphill battle, and advisers were hoping for a strong showing in Georgia to bolster his claim that he can deliver Southern votes for Democrats in a November matchup with Bush.
President Tells Breck Girl To Get Some Testosterone.
Yep...she's not even laid a glove on Kerry, despite his indefensible record on National Defense and any number of other blemishes on his record. To tell you the truth, Edwards has run this campaign as if he were simply vying fer the second spot on the ticket, which he may actually succeed in obtaining.
FReegards...MUD
Alienate your voters -- what a brilliant Southern Strategy.
He should ask Lyndon LaRouche to tell him about how Terry McAwful and the networks choose to ignore his own campaign for the Democratic Party nomination.
I've been watching this whole thing with a great deal of amusement. I'm sure the strategy was to keep away from attacking each other and focus all attention and money on blasting Bush. All well and good except.......the only thing that can come out of that process is a weak leader who is totally vulnerable to the first punch Bush throws.
...to God's ear.
Yep...the nomination process is supposed to be a "vetting process" wherein a candidates' weaknesses are exposed and dealt with. Admittedly, folks went after Dean pretty hard, but the rest of these candidates got nothin' but softballs throughout the campaign...they're in fer a rude awakening when the general election picks up speed.
FReegards...MUD
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