Lance Armstrong arm's-length from John Edwards

Armstrong, left, and Edwards, at Livestrong Presidential Cancer Forum today. AP photo by Charlie Neibergall.

by Rick Pearson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and Democratic presidential contender John Edwards may have a close friendship, but that doesn't mean the cyclist is riding tandem with the former North Carolina senator's view on how to achieve universal health care.

Only a month ago, Armstrong and Edwards were riding together through north central Iowa for a photo-op along the route of the Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, known as RAGBRAI. Armstrong is a cancer survivor and Edwards' wife has had a reoccurrence of the cancer she suffered two years ago.

But after Armstrong's foundation hosted a presidential forum on cancer for Democratic contenders in Cedar Rapids today, the cyclist peddled away from Edwards' call to keep the insurance and pharmaceutical lobbies away from the negotiating table when it comes to developing and enacting a plan for national health care.

Edwards has continually chided rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York for taking campaign donations from lobbyists and said she should know that it was the industry that killed her efforts as First Lady in the early 1990s to enact national health care. Edwards said all Democrats should reject special-interest money.

"I believe that the insurance companies, the drug companies and their lobbyists killed the health care reform that was attempted in the 1990s by Sen. Clinton and we applaud her for her work. But I think they're the people who killed it," Edwards said in the forum.

"My lesson is not the same as her's. Her lesson is, 'give them a seat at the table,' the former senator said. "I think if you give drug companies and insurance companies and their lobbyists a seat at the table, they'll eat all the food."

Clinton, who appeared at the forum prior to Edwards, said her acceptance of contributions did not buy any influence with her.

"I believe in working with everybody and being influenced by nobody," Clinton said.

Armstrong told reporters later that he believed all parties should get together to construct a health-care plan.

"I do think there has to be some cooperation and collaboration there," he said, noting that while Bristol-Myers Squibb has been a corporate sponsor of his, it was "their drugs that saved my life" and that he held a "deep personal connection" with the firm.

"I think that there needs to be open and honest collaboration and communication," he said.

While the Democratic forum featured appearances from Edwards, Clinton, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, one major no-show was Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. Obama had previously said he was cutting back on appearances at forums to try to do more retail politicking.

Tomorrow, when Armstrong hosts another forum for Republicans, only former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas are slated to attend. Armstrong called Huckabee "a rising star" on the Republican side but said it was a "disappointment" that two cancer survivors on the GOP side, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani of New York" and Sen. John McCain of Arizona were not attending.

Still, Armstrong said he understood that the plethora of candidate forums was taxing to a contender's calendar and personal life.

"I understand they have other commitments. Perhaps they committed to stuff previously. I know Sen. McCain was on a family vacation and 'happy wife, happy life,' I know all that. At least I thought I knew that," said Armstrong, who was divorced in 2003.