Edwards hits Clinton, Dodd says general to be close

by Rick Pearson

DES MOINES—Former Sen. John Edwards lashed out at Democratic presidential rival Sen. Hillary Clinton today for staging a question at a voter meet-and-greet session and compared it to something that President Bush would do.

"That's what George Bush does. George Bush goes to events that are staged where people are screened, where they're only allowed to ask questions if the questions are favorable to George Bush and set up in his favor," Edwards told reporters after speaking to the Iowa Farmers Union.

Edwards' comments were prompted by the admission of a Grinnell College student that a staffer for the New York Democratic senator had planted a question about global warming with her to ask Clinton at an event in Newton earlier this week.

The Clinton campaign acknowledged the incident and said it would not happen again.

"That's not the way democracy works in Iowa and it's not the way it works in New Hampshire," Edwards said of the incident.

"I mean, if you actually want to be president of the United States, you go out, you face people, which I've done in every one of the 99 counties in Iowa and answered their questions," he said. "And we don't stage questions. We go in and answer the questions that are asked and that's the way it's supposed to work in the caucus process."

In speaking to the farmers' union, Edwards touted his small-town background today in contending his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination do not understand the need to preserve rural communities like he does.

"We need to give America hope. But we need to give these people who are driving you out of business hell," Edwards said as he railed against corporate agriculture and the influence of special interests in Washington. He said voters should not "replace a crowd of corporate Republicans in Washington with a crowd of Washington Democrats."

"I do have to say, we have some good Democrats running for president," he said. "But you're looking at the Democrat who grew up in rural America. I know what's happening in rural America. I don’t have to read about it in a book somewhere. I don't have to have somebody explain it to me. I've seen it up close. I've seen it in my own hometown."

Later, he said, "One of the things that worries me about these presidential candidates is sometimes I think they think of farmers and agriculture and rural America as a place to fly over when you're going from New York to California."

After his speech, Edwards continued his criticism of Clinton for accepting campaign contributions from lobbyists. He and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama have refused to accept contributions from federal lobbyists.

"We had a Democratic Congress and a Democratic president in the early '90s and the corporate interests and their lobbyists still killed universal health care," Edwards said in referring to former President Bill Clinton's administration.

"Sen. Clinton defends the system. She has taken more money from Washington lobbyists than any candidate, Democrat or Republican, who's running for president," he said. "I don't think you can take money from Washington lobbyists and then say you're going to take their power away from them."

Earlier in the day, Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd also spoke to the farmers union and said voters should take a look at his candidacy and background as a consensus-builder, noting "we don't elect a king a queen or a dictator."

Dodd also said Democrats should not be complacent in thinking they will win the White House.

"It's going to be tough and close," Dodd said. "Anyone who thinks that any nominee we come up with is automatically going to be elected is deluding themselves."