John Edwards Speaks Out
How would you approach fighting terrorism and mending the country's international reputation through foreign policy?
I think that there have been serious structural problems with America's foreign policy over an extended period of time, and Bush has certainly been the worst by a long shot. But those deficiencies have been the lack of an underlying strategy to undermine the forces of terrorism. Education, stopping the spread of HIV-AIDS, stopping the spread of disease, creating some hope in economic development in parts of the world where it doesn't exist. And I think it's fine for us to talk about keeping America safe, but [we should] also be willing to entertain a new vision for what's necessary to keep America safe.
Will the Republicans this election still be able to use national security as an effective issue against Democrats?
Not if we're strong and clear. Their idea of national security is the war in Iraq. The war in Iraq has not made us safer; it has made us less safe. And you're going to get years of war in Iraq with any of these Republican candidates. The second thing, I will as president of the United States find bin Laden, al Qaeda, other terrorist organizations where they're operating and stop them using every tool that I have available as president. ...
Bush was a fearmonger, and he's been effectively fearmongering, he and Cheney, until they've completely lost their credibility. They no longer have any credibility. The Republican candidate will carry the mantle of George Bush.
The war in Iraq, on every other front, and they're going to carry that albatross around their neck in the general election. And I will hold them accountable for that.
Has your campaign moved, as some suggest, from an emotional appeal to Iowa voters that proved effective in 2004 to a more cerebral, issues-oriented approach?
I think it's the opposite. I think what you're seeing from me now is coming, all of it, from here [touches heart]. It is true that I have very specific, substantive policy proposals that caucusgoers insist on and they're right to insist on. That's true. And that is a distinction from 2004. But when I talk about the outrage that I feel, there is nothing intellectual about that. It's very real.
What do you make of Iowa polls that for the first time are showing you not leading in Iowa, where you've staked your success?
I'm still ahead. Based [on own polling] and on what I see here on the ground, both.
But what matters is not who's ahead now. What matters is who's ahead in January. I know from having been through this that I start from a very strong position, but you have to be able to maintain the belief that you are ready to be president and that you're the strongest candidate for the general election. We know how to run in Iowa, and we know how to run in New Hampshire, because I've done it. I know what it takes.
advertisement
