Sunny Side Up for Edwards

Sen. John Edwards brought his sunny, populist message to Southern California on Thursday to rally voters and replenish his campaign treasury in a lightning detour from his intense appeal for votes in a critical presidential primary next week in Wisconsin.

The North Carolina senator ignited an exuberant crowd of about 500 supporters at the Culver City Senior Center with his critique of the “two Americas” he sees under President Bush -- the haves and the have-nots.

He drew laughs and bursts of applause from elderly voters, high school students and members of the United Union of Needleworkers, Industrial and Textile Employees, many of them Latinos.

His speech included an attack on the newly enacted Medicare prescription drug law written by Republicans in Congress and, in a nod to his California audience, a pledge to help immigrants navigate federal government.

“We have such work to do in this country for economic equality, for educational equality, standing up for judges that we know with certainty will enforce our civil rights laws -- that’s so important for moving America forward -- and standing up for immigration reform,” Edwards said, drawing cheers and chants.

Edwards, while an underdog to front-runner Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, expressed confidence in his prospects in the 10 state contests March 2, including California.

“I understand California very well; I spent an enormous amount of time here,” Edwards told reporters. “I will be campaigning vigorously in California. It’ll be clear that I’m offering voters in California a choice.”

Yet it remains unclear how much time and money Edwards can devote to the country’s most populous state, which has more pledged delegates at stake than any other state, 370, but may require a large financial commitment to compete.

After the stop in Culver City, Edwards was scheduled to attend a fundraiser at the Bel-Air home of television producer Frank Spotnitz before flying back to Wisconsin on Thursday night.

Today’s schedule calls for more of the same.

Edwards will surface once publicly in Milwaukee and then fly to Los Angeles again for a private fundraiser at the Staples Center (and a stop in Burbank to tape an appearance on NBC’s “Tonight Show”).

Edwards said he hoped to raise about $500,000 in the two days.

The tight schedule, hopping back and forth between Wisconsin and California, was a measure of the tough odds he faces as he seeks to overtake Kerry for the Democratic presidential nomination.

On Thursday, he held one public event in Wisconsin, a state where he trails in polls. Edwards drew a small crowd dotted with young students. Edwards, who has won just one of 14 nominating contests, insisted he would reap a benefit from the withdrawal of onetime rival Wesley K. Clark of Arkansas, even though the retired general is reportedly on the verge of endorsing Kerry.

“I intend to be the nominee,” Edwards told reporters in Racine, Wis. “I’m going to fight with all my heart for every vote I can get in Wisconsin, and I think this process is going to go on for a long time. And there’s certainly a possibility it could go to the convention.”

In Racine, Edwards sought to whip up the small crowd gathered in a community gymnasium. He declared a “moral responsibility” to help 35 million Americans in poverty and pledged to fight powerful interests that influence legislation in Washington, such as the recently enacted Medicare prescription drug law.

“This democracy, this government, does not belong to that crowd of insiders in Washington, the lobbyists,” Edwards told the audience. “It belongs to you.”

Invoking the legacies of Democratic presidents Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt, he added: “Our campaign is not based on the politics of cynicism. It’s based on the politics of hope, the politics of what’s possible.”

While Edwards has largely refrained from attacking other Democrats, he continued to press his case against Bush. He told reporters in Wisconsin that questions about the president’s National Guard service in the early 1970s were fair game. Edwards also told local reporters he opposes same-sex marriage but does not support a federal constitutional amendment to ban it.

“I think Wisconsin, Massachusetts, any state, ought to be able to make their own decisions about that,” Edwards said.

Anderson reported from Wisconsin and Rosenblatt from Los Angeles.

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The article refers inaccurately to 35 million Americans in poverty. The figure, based on Census Bureau data, refers to the number of people in America and does not specify whether they are citizens.

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