Edwards outlines case for electability

DES MOINES — Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) on Saturday night ratcheted up his campaign's strident anti-corporate theme and made his case for electability in the general election.

{mosads}Edwards, in a tight three-way race for his party’s presidential nomination with Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), largely ignored his foes and instead focused his ire on corporate America while speaking and answering questions at a rally in a local high school gymnasium.

At the same time, Edwards made clear that he thinks he’s the Democrat with the best chance to defeat the Republican nominee next November.

Challenged by a questioner about how he could win a general election when he’s been relying on public funds in the primary, Edwards insisted he'd be well positioned to win because of his southern rural background and populist message, which he noted has worked for Democrats in the past and can resonate across party line.

"Democrats don’t win elections by raising more money than Republicans," said Edwards, who has trailed Obama and Clinton in fundraising. "We win elections when we stand on conviction and principle.

"Unless I missed something, the last two Democratic presidents who were elected were Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and both of them talk like I do."

Clinton and Obama, the top two fundraisers in the entire presidential field, have tussled over electability in recent weeks, but Iowa First Lady Mari Culver (D) referenced a recent CNN poll that showed Edwards as the only candidate to beat all the top Republicans head-to-head.

"I think he inspires people to their highest callings, to do their best," she said.

Edwards likened his message to three popular 20th century presidents – Teddy Roosevelt for his trust-busting, Franklin Delano Roosevelt for the antipathy he caused corporate interests, and Harry Truman who once mused that the truth he speaks “feels like hell.”

Edwards also pledged not to negotiate with health insurance companies and said he would never hire a corporate or foreign government lobbyist to work in the White House.

He decried the military’s reliance on Blackwater USA, which has been contracted extensively for security in the Iraq war, calling its contractors “mercenaries” who are paid too much.

Another questioner challenged the former trial lawyer about his stance on high malpractice insurance rates, charging this had led to a shortage in obstetricians and gynecologists. Edwards said he believes in the jury system but thinks independent arbitrators should decide whether cases have enough merit to go to court.

“If Americans can decide who the leader of the free world’s going to be, they can decide a dispute between one party and another,” he said.