Clinton and Edwards Square Off In Ames<snip>
Over on Lincoln Way, John Edwards, Elizabeth Elizabeth, and Mari Culver held court in front of a larger crowd -- maybe 500 people -- younger, generally, than Clinton's. There was no security to speak of; no one barking at the press to stand here or there, or telling potential caucus voters they can't get to close to Elizabeth.
Edwards spoke for about 20 minutes; he was upbeat, optimistic, used the word "fight" about a dozen times, strayed not that much from his "Marathon for the Middle Class" text and seemed to rouse his crowd more than Clinton roused hers. Stories of Americans who've fallen on hard times are the staple of his speech; I don't recall him mentioning America's role in the world more than once, briefly.
"Why did my parents do it? Why did your parents do it? Why did they work and struggle and sacrifice. Why? They did so that you could have a better life. They did it because they wanted to leave America, this country they love so much, better off than they found it. And that is the great moral test of this generation."