Posted on 01/01/2003 11:16:22 PM PST by kattracks
RALEIGH, N.C., Jan 02, 2003 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Democratic Sen. John Edwards will run for president in 2004, telling guests at a party at his home Wednesday he will form an exploratory committee.
The first-term senator from North Carolina told about 200 friends he will announce his plans publicly Thursday, said Walter Dellinger, a former U.S. solicitor general who attended the New Year's Day party.
Edwards' guests gathered in his back yard while the senator thanked them for their support during his time in the Senate and in "what I'm going to do next."
As he spoke, a loud cheer went up.
"John was talking about where he wants to lead the country," Ed Turlington, a former state Democratic party executive director, said afterward in describing the announcement. "He asked for our support. Our answer was yes."
Edwards' announcement gives him the jump on several of his colleagues in Congress who are also expected to join the Democratic field in 2004.
Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry are already running, and associates expect Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt to announce he's running within the next week.
Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman is leaning toward a run, though he hasn't set a timetable for his decision. Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle is still talking with supporters with a plan to decide by mid-January, and Florida Sen. Bob Graham has said he will decide this month.
Edwards, 49, a millionaire former trial lawyer, has spent months making the rounds at Democratic functions in Iowa, New Hampshire and elsewhere.
Standing with his youngest children, 2-year-old son Jack and 4-year-old Emma Claire, Edwards said before the party started that his family was uppermost in his mind as he considered whether to run.
"I've been thinking about North Carolina and the nation and what effect it's going to have on my family," he said.
He is scheduled to appear on NBC's "Today" show Thursday morning to make his announcement official. He also has two fund-raisers scheduled for Saturday in Raleigh.
Edwards would be up for Senate re-election in 2004, a factor that had to be weighed in making a decision on the presidential race.
Edwards' move toward a run has drawn a lot of attention. He was an early hit with Democratic activists who saw him as telegenic and able to connect with voters.
The last three Democratic presidents - Lyndon Johnson of Texas, Jimmy Carter of Georgia and Bill Clinton of Arkansas - have been from the South.
Edwards grew up as the son of a textile mill employee, born in South Carolina but spending his teenage years in Robbins, N.C. He became a successful trial lawyer in Raleigh, winning personal injury cases against big companies and amassing a fortune of $14 million.
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Associated Press writers Ron Fournier in Washington and Scott Mooneyham in Raleigh contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
Edwards' Senate Web site: http://edwards.senate.gov
By REBECCA MILLER Associated Press Writer
Copyright 2003 Associated Press, All rights reserved
People want substances to abuse - hey, Clinton was elected having no substance, that was abuse.
Beware of Blinkey Edwards and the Democratic recounters - one vote is more than enough for him to win....
No way will sinator hillary! let ANY demonrat occupy the WH before she has her shot. No way.
There is no viable third party to siphon votes away from President Bush, either. mclame's health won't allow him to challenge Bush, even though his ego may want to.
Or vice-versa. The Clintons don't do anything that isn't of a calculating political nature. Hillary! may sense that the country "isn't ready" for her yet, and wouldn't mind at all being "the first woman VP" (really a co-President once again) for President Edwards for four or eight years. There's plenty of time for her when "the country is ready for a woman President". My guess is that if she throws her lot in with Edwards it will solidify the arousal-gapped female vote behind Edcwards to the tune of 70-75% or so.
I think his candidacy it taken lightly at our peril.
Very wise words indeed. We took Clinton lightly and all it got us was eight years of defeat and wandering in the wilderness on the WH front. Two years is a lifetime in politics and the victory that Bush and the 'Pubs wrought in '02 will be a distant memory, made moreso if the economy is still down in the dumps come then. Mark my words, the Rats are just prepping a pretty-boy empty suit and saddling up the white horse again for him to ride into town and "save" the country from the grasp of the "evil Republicans" and "greedy corporations". They'll trot out the corporate wongdoers as posterboys (i.e., "Kenny-boy")for Bush II, and the Republicans as beholden to Big Business, and the presstitutes will eat it up.
I'd like to see Condi Rice in 2008. Aside from her qualifications, it'd be a real thumb in the eye to all the lib affirmative action proponents. Dunno if the country's ready for her yet, or not though. Electing someone who's a) a woman and b) black is a stretch for limited minds in both parties.
In 2004, there will be the usual 3rd party candidates......Buchanan, some green party idiot, etc etc etc. Whether any of them will be a viable contender for Conservative votes depends on how well GOP leaders reign in wildcards like McCain. I'd think that McCain would be everyone's worst nightmare because he steals votes from both sides of the aisle. He's also a raging egomaniac that shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a position of power....but the press will never see that. He just makes good copy.
One point I'd like to make. Last night, I watched a documentary that featured George Bush senior. My family and I were struck at how lame and weak-willed he was compared to his son. What many Republicans are forgetting is that George Bush senior really wasn't worth re-electing (though Bill Clinton wasn't either). But God forbid that I say that of George W. Bush (the incumbent Prez). Our current President Bush is more like Ronald Reagan than he is like his dad.
George H. W. Bush is a good, decent, and honorable man. He made his fatal mistake by trusting the Rats at their word. The 'Pubs in Congress did this as well. I hope and pray that finally, once and for all, Bush Jr. and the 'Pubs will learn this one truth: never, ever trust a Rat. Any good thing Bush and the Republicans want to do they have to start out assuming that they'll have to do it themselves. If some Rats join them, fine, but still don't trust them because they're only looking out for themselves and their party, and everyone else be damned.
Are you serious?? .. Oh Good Grief
Oh, please. Based on this morning's Today interview, it was obvious that Elizabeth Edwards is a dull, beaten-down congressional wife without a brain in her head. And someone, please, slap some makeup on this woman, she is hard on the eyes at 7 am.
Either it's Donny Osmond or a Robert Kennedy ..
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