Edwards hopes labor puts him in race Chicago Sun Times

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/novak/180933,CST-EDT-novak21.article

Edwards hopes labor puts him in race

December 21, 2006
BY ROBERT NOVAK Sun-Times Columnist
While Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama soak up news media attention, John Edwards has pushed for organized labor's support. No decisions have yet been made, but the former senator from North Carolina and 2004 vice presidential nominee is the front-runner for winning over the big unions who left the AFL-CIO 18 months ago.

Edwards is a leading prospect for backing from Andrew Stern's Service Employees International Union and James P. Hoffa's International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the unions that led the breakaway forming the Change to Win Federation. Stern and Hoffa are wary of early decisions, and there are things about the Edwards operation their unions do not like. But their interest in him reflects largely unspoken discontent in Democratic ranks over choice limited to Clinton and Obama.

Withdrawal from presidential consideration of former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana prompted the analysis that Clinton and Obama consume all political oxygen, leaving nothing for another candidate. But many labor leaders question Clinton's electability and worry about Obama's inexperience. While Warner and Bayh would have been positioned to front- runner Clinton's right, Edwards is on her left. That is no liability in seeking support from Change to Win unions.

While some of these unions fret about Edwards' closest political associates, he personally is a big hit with labor leaders who left the AFL-CIO unhappy about lack of fervor in recruiting new members. With the same eloquence and careful preparation that made him a multimillionaire trial lawyer, Edwards boosts trade restrictions and other elements on organized labor's agenda.

Edwards' game plan begins with the caucuses in Iowa, where in 2004 he finished second. A Des Moines Register poll last summer showed him ahead of Clinton there, and an October survey conducted for an environmental group gave Edwards a 20 percentage point lead over her. An Iowa win in 2008 could propel him into the New Hampshire primary with momentum, leading next to South Carolina -- the only state where he won a 2004 primary.

FULL story at link.

[waiting for hope]

1. Edwards is the man....

I'm sticking to it - I think he's playing his cards very smart at the moment.

[Gloria]

2. The unions are smart to hang back from Billary and Obama...

their priorities are NOT the union workers

[UrbScotty]

3. Getting Bonior on board was a good idea in that respect (nt)