John Edwards Talks to Students, Voters at University of New Hampshire

Last week Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards held a Town Hall Meeting at the University of New Hampshire, located in the quaint New Englad college town of Durham. Running a distant third to Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama in the polls in New Hampshire, Edwards sought to use the event to differentiate himself from the rest of the candidates in the minds of the voters in attendance. He touched upon a number of key issues and took questions from the crowd.

At the start of the event Edwards was introduced by a twenty-something UNH alumni, who was also a veteran of the Iraq war. The veteran recalled his own experiences in Iraq, calling the conflict there a civil war and praising Edward's plan to withdraw American troops. He also appealed to voters to consider the bigger picture for the Democratic Party, which is will face a defining general election in 2008. He called Edwards the candidate with the most appeal outside of New England and asked the audience to consider electability as a factor in their vote. He also noted the importance of nominating a candidate who could campaign effectively for Democratic candidates running for other offices across the country. "We have an obligation to vote for a candidate who can deliver senate seats outside of New England," he concluded.

Edwards took hold of the microphone and stood before the crowd dressed in his trademark blue jeans and button up dress shirt, sans neck tie, sleeves rolled up. He began his speech by focusing on the issue of corruption in Washington. "Money and power have now been concentrated in the hands of the few," he told the crowd. Edwards told the audience that, once upon a time, lobbyists to lobby members of Congress in order to influence legislation. Today, he noted, lobbyists simply write laws themselves and Congress passes them.