Edwards presses on in SC
Posted: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 3:47 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC/NJ's Tricia Miller
CLEMSON, S.C. -- It was business as usual in the Edwards camp following the former North Carolina senator's third-place finish in New Hampshire. At his first event of the day, an outdoor rally at sunny Clemson University, Edwards came armed with the same staff and the same stump speech.
The only changes came toward the end of his speech. First, Edwards emphasized his Southern upbringing.
"We have to make certain that every primary voter in South Carolina knows that I was born here," he said. "I know what your lives are like. I do not have to read this in a book. I know it first-hand. I grew up in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, in mill towns, in mill villages."
Then, after expounding further on his son-of-a-mill-worker biography, Edwards pivoted to counter the pessimism directed at his campaign following losses in the first two primary states.
"Listen, no matter what the media says, so far there have been two contests," he said. "Two states -- Iowa, where I finished second, and New Hampshire, where I finished third. There are 48 states left to go, and your voice here in South Carolina is gonna be heard."
Taking questions from reporters after the rally, Edwards said he isn't worried about the momentum his rivals gained from their wins.
"I've said it all along, I'm in this for the long haul," he said. "And I'm very optimistic about what's gonna happen. I mean, I'm running against two candidates who have a $100 million each, so I'm very much the underdog. But if you look at what happened in Iowa, I finished between those two $100 million candidates. We were competitive in New Hampshire, and now we come to South Carolina, a place that I won in 2004 and a place that I know very well."
Edwards is the only Democratic candidate who flew directly from New Hampshire to South Carolina. Republicans Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee are also in the Palmetto State today.
