Edwards Focuses His Efforts on 3 Promising Constituencies [View All]

[maddezmom]

By RICK LYMAN

Published: February 25, 2004


TLANTA, Feb. 24 — If Senator John Edwards is to span the imposing gap separating him from Senator John Kerry, he knows he must directly appeal to every possible wavering constituency, especially those most amenable to his message of economic disparity and working-class empowerment.

That is why he is focusing his efforts on three fertile constituencies — Southerners, union workers and Dean supporters — in the days before Democrats in 10 states vote for their party's presidential nominee.

Mr. Edwards, of North Carolina, made frequent mention of his Southern roots in appearances on Tuesday in Atlanta and on Monday in Albany, Ga., and Columbus, Ga., emphasizing that he understood the concerns of ordinary people in the region.

"I grew up in the rural South," Mr. Edwards said after an evening rally in Columbus. "I share the values that rural Southerners share; faith, family, integrity. Those are the things I've believed in all my life, the things I've been standing up for. We have somebody like me at the top of the ticket, we can do very well."
~snip~
more: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/25/politics/campaign/25EDWA.html?ex=1078290000&en=ede84173005d7815&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE