Abundance of Warmth At Democratic Forum

[gateley]

By Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 2, 2007; Page A06

DES MOINES, Dec. 1 -- Could former senator John Edwards and Sen. Barack Obama be considering a truce?

For a brief moment Saturday night, that unlikely prospect suddenly appeared possible.

Democratic presidential candidates had gathered here for the Brown and Black Forum, a panel on minority issues, and during a question-and-answer period, Edwards (N.C.) was given an opportunity to aim a question at any of his rivals.

Rather than hit Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) with a tough challenge, Edwards lobbed something of a softball to Obama: Would the senator from Illinois, he asked, join him in pushing to raise the minimum wage to $9.50?

"I think our voices together are more powerful than our voices alone," Edwards said, praising Obama even as he asked the question.

In his response, Obama did not hesitate. "The answer is yes," he said, drawing a large round of applause. "And John has done good work on this."

Less than five weeks before the Iowa caucuses, with Obama, Edwards and Clinton locked in a three-way tie in the first state to vote, the forum produced surprisingly few fireworks as the rivals sought out areas on which they agree. If anything dominated the evening, it was the cold weather: Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) arrived halfway through the event, filling an empty seat that had been waiting for him onstage for an hour, because a storm had delayed his flight in Chicago.

"I apologize," Biden said, adding in a nod to his better-financed rivals, "I don't have a plane."

...more..... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/01/AR2007120102024.html?hpid=moreheadlines

[Trajan]

1. Senate collegiality ???

It is great they can drop the pretense of a campaign for the moment and speak as members of one party. with the same essential goals ....

I like ALL the candidates, and feel fortunate to have the opportunity to vote for most any of them ....

Just my opinion ....