This Time Around, Edwards Is Talking Tough

This Time Around, Edwards Is Talking Tough

(CBS) If you think of John Edwards as a sunny candidate with a positive tone, things have changed, CBS News correspondent Chip Reid reports. Listen to him on the campaign trail now, where he sounds like a man looking for a fight.

"Hell yeah I'm confrontational and I'm not ashamed of it," Edwards said. "We need a fighter in the White House."

In the Democratic debates, no one punches harder, especially when the target is front-runner Hillary Clinton, who accuses Edwards of throwing mud.

"She continues to defend a system that does not work, that is broken, that is rigged, and is corrupt," Edwards said.

[...]

Critics say he's changed from four years ago when he was known for his smiling disposition and his refusal to go negative. "If you are looking for the candidate that'll do the best job of attacking the other candidates, I'm not your guy," Edwards said then.

Now, Democratic rival Chris Dodd says: "I am surprised at just how angry John has become. This is not the same John Edwards I once knew."

But Democratic strategist Steve McMahon says that with Clinton and Barack Obama running so strong, Edwards has no choice but to turn up the heat.

[...]

In New Hampshire today, Edwards insisted his message is still positive. It's not anger, he says - it's passion.

"What voters want to see is that what you stand for, what you believe, comes from within here," he said, pointing to his heart, "that it doesn't come from just your head."

At first i didn't know who this guy was. Now i know who he is and how he acts. I like him. I think he would be a good candidate. I like him more than i like Hilary. I think he would do a better job at being president. I think it is interesting how he changed his attitude and the way he talks. He is showing that he will not be pushed around and he will put a fight.

Clinton lags behind top 5 GOP presidential rivals

Clinton lags behind top 5 GOP presidential rivals

US Democratic presidential forerunner Hillary Clinton lags behind all five top Republican rivals in general election match-ups, according to a poll released on Monday.

Clinton would lose a general election to Republicans Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, John McCain and Mike Huckabee by three to five percentage points in a head-to-head race, the survey by Zogby Interactive showed.

In July, Clinton held a five point lead in the same poll over Giuliani, edged out McCain by two points and had a clear lead over other contenders.

[...]

Clinton's top Democratic contenders, Barack Obama and John Edwards, still hold narrow leads over the Republican candidates in a hypothetical 2008 race, the survey showed.

"It all points to a very competitive general election at a time when many people think the Democrats are going to win the White House," Zogby said.

I am surprised and at the same time glad by these news. I don't think Hilary should win. I don't like her. I want Obama to win and the fact that she went down is good. I think she talks too much trash and she is not a very good candidate.

Obama discusses racial inequities

Obama discusses racial inequities

Obama, speaking to a racially mixed audience of about 500 people at a local high school, conceded some progress had been made on racial issues -- but not enough.

"On every measure, on income, on health care, on incarceration rates, on the criminal justice system, on housing, on life expectancy, on infant mortality, on almost every single indicator, there is still an enormous gap between black and white," the senator from Illinois said.

Obama said urban areas and minority communities often suffer first when problems spread across the nation. "There's an old saying that when America gets a cold, black America gets pneumonia," he said.

Iowa's first-in-the-nation status in the nomination process is often criticized because the state does not have the same level of diversity as the nation. It is 93 percent white, although the state capital where Obama spoke is 81 percent white.

Clinton, meanwhile, continued her theme of touting experience in challenging Obama and other Democratic rivals. Citing her tempestuous relationship with Republicans, she maintained she does not take GOP criticism personally.

"I believe I am by far the most electable Democrat, because I know exactly what I am getting into," she told about 300 people at a community center in the north-central Iowa community of Nevada.

"I think my political experience of having been on the receiving end of so much incoming fire over the years equips me for understanding you don't take this personally. You can't take it personally," she said.

The former first lady said Republicans are welcome to continue to try to make her a polarizing figure.

"I drive the Republicans crazy because they've spent hundreds of millions of dollars attacking and defaming me," she said. "I don't care. I mean, if that's how they want to spend their time and their money, let them do it. Ultimately, I trust the American people."

I chose this article because i thought it was interesting. I think it is weird that Obama went to Iowa to talk about the racial inequities. I thought it was surprising that there are still gaps.