He signaled he would paint Clinton during the
debate as too connected to Washington, D.C., in light of her campaign
's acceptance of financial contributions from interest groups and
federal lobbyists.
"To bring about the change this country needs,
we're going to have to take on entrenched interests in Washington,
D.C.," Edwards said in a Des Moines Register interview last week. "I
think it's the difference between real change and trading one group of
insiders for another group of insiders."
The debate is a sort of milestone in a campaign
already eight months underway. Candidates have already headlined
hundreds of campaign events around the state and unprecedented
television advertising.
It caps an intense two week period of
presidential campaigning in Iowa that began with a Republican debate in
Des Moines on Aug. 5 and included the state GOP's high-profile straw
poll in Ames on Aug 11.
Sunday 's debate gives Obama and Edwards the
chance to revive campaigns that have stalled, Democratic strategist
Donna Brazile said.
National polls show Obama trailing Clinton, with Edwards in third place.
Iowa is the only state where Edwards has had an advantage, with Clinton in striking distance and Obama typically in third place.
"Edwards and Obama are stalled — competitive but stalled," said Brazile.
"This is an opportunity for them to come forward
with their second act. I think those two candidates are really going to
try to distinguish themselves in terms of their message."
Obama, like Edwards, has begun sharpening his
differences with Clinton, focusing on foreign policy in light of their
different answers to a question during a South Carolina debate last
month.
Obama said he would be willing to meet with the
leaders of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela in his first
year in office and without diplomatic preconditions.
Clinton, who called such a promise "naive," said
intense diplomatic spadework would have to come first, although she has
said the U.S. should negotiate with its enemies.
Obama referred to Clinton 's position as "Bush-light," and has continued to associate her stance with the past.
Sunday 's debate will be another opportunity for
Obama to set himself apart from not only President Bush, but the
Washington establishment, including Clinton, Obama 's chief consultant
David Axelrod said.
"The question is whether or not our fundamental
problem is simply George Bush," Axelrod said. "Bush may have
exacerbated it, but we've got this extraordinary polarity and
divisiveness in our politics and the question is: Who is the most
likely to change those things?"
Clinton plans Sunday to continue trying to
portray herself as the most experienced while chipping away at those
doubts about her electability, her campaign manager Howard Wolfson said.
"Our belief is the more people see of her, the
more people like her," Wolfson said. "I think it 's to ensure that
people are forming their impressions of her based on accurate
information about her and a debate in Iowa is another important
opportunity for people to see her directly."
Brazile said the debate will also be important
for Biden, Dodd and Richardson, who trail the three better-known
candidates in Iowa, but could receive a boost in their support if they
have a memorable applause line during the debate.
Biden and Dodd, both longtime senators with
foreign policy experience, have in recent weeks criticized the national
security credentials of Obama, a first-term senator. Meanwhile,
Richardson has advertised aggressively in Iowa, promoting his proposal
to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq and touting his experience as a
former congressman and U.S. energy secretary.
Richardson has recently begun polling regularly in fourth place in Iowa, while Biden and Dodd remain in the single digits.
One of the three could have an unexpectedly
memorable performance, similar to Republican presidential candidate
Mike Huckabee 's well-received speech and second-place finish at the
straw poll, Brazile said.
"This could be a big moment for Biden or Dodd or Richardson," Brazile said.
"They could do what Huckabee did and take advantage of some of the weaknesses in the top-tier candidates."
Gravel and Kucinich have scant support and little or no campaign organization in Iowa.
Source of information: http://wn.com
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