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
Nor Kerry either. Both are more restrained than crazy Algore... and he almost won!
We won by The Electoral College and the SCOTUS.
Hello ambulance, my old friend, I've come to chase you once again,
Because a money vision creeping, Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain,
Still remains, within the sound of sirens.
In restless dreams I ran alone, through the streets on my cellphone,
'neath the halos of the street lamps, I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a rescue light
That split the night, and heard the sound of sirens.
And in the naked light I saw, Ten injured people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking, People hearing without listening,
Suing others, without any care.
Since Johnny's there, Amidst the sound of sirens.
"Fools" said I, "You do not know, how sirens set my heart a glow.
I use the courts that I might teach you, I use lawsuits that I might reach you."
But my words like heavy raindrops fell,
And echoed, Like the wail of sirens.
And those alike bowed and prayed, To the flashing gods they made.
And the strobe flashed out its warning, In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, "The words of the juries are written on the ER walls
And patient halls." and whisper'd in the sound of sirens.
...in the sound of sirens....
That is so he can campaign against John F. Kerry's 1960 John F. Kennedy hair helmet.
Wheeeeeeeee! :)
Women "go for his boyish looks and big hair and the vast majority of voting females don't care that he is an intellectual moron.
But...but...but I thought that Republicans were the ones that were against immigration. They always repress minorities! /sarcasm
I wonder how quickly this one will get kicked under the rug when Edwards realizes that he needs the Hispanic vote to carry California.
BUMP to that!!
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