Edwards Sticks to the Positive

[babylonsister]

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/edwards-sticks-to-the-positive/


Edwards Sticks to the Positive

By Julie Bosman

John Edwards appeared on Sunday political talk shows this morning and put forth a consistently positive demeanor, declining easy opportunities to hammer his Democratic opponents.

He was particularly hands-off when it came to Senator Barack Obama. On “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” Mr. Stephanopoulos noted that the Clinton campaign has been making the case that Mr. Obama is “untested, unexamined and ultimately unprepared and unelectable.”

“Are they right?” Mr. Stephanopoulos asked.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say those things,” Mr. Edwards replied. “I think that Barack Obama –­ I’ve gotten to know him during the course of the campaign. He seems to be a good man. He’s thoughtful, and I have respect for him.”

Mr. Edwards then pointed out what he called a “fundamental philosophical difference” ­ that Mr. Obama is more willing to compromise when working for change.

After deploying a sharp, sometimes angry tone throughout much of the campaign, Mr. Edwards has been careful in television interviews lately to stay positive and upbeat and declining to engage in attacks with his opponents.

On the stump, he is more pointed, while being careful to criticize opponents without mentioning their names. Yesterday in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Mr. Edwards took Mrs. Clinton to task for failing to fight for the universal health care plan she introduced while first lady, reports Kit Seely of The Times.

“We need a candidate who’s got a little guts,” he said, to applause. “If you want to see universal health care, you better have somebody who’s willing to take on the drug companies.”

Aides to Mr. Edwards have said that he intends to go into the last days of campaigning in Iowa, before the Jan. 3, caucus, by staying above the fray and avoiding the recent crossfire between Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, while pointing out what Mr. Edwards believes are substantive differences between the candidates.

He also wants to avoid what harmed Richard A. Gephardt and Howard Dean in the final weeks before previous Iowa caucuses, when their negative tone made them less palatable to caucusgoers.

[IndyOp]

1. Good job. He needs to stay on message for the next

18 days...

He must be exhausted.

[creeksneakers2]

2. Edwards was better able to get his message across

because he held off on the mudslinging. As long as Edwards slung mud at Hillary, that's all the media wanted to talk about with him. Today, they talked about Edwards' core message. He gave three great interviews.