Edwards Touts Investments in Health Care

U.S. Presidential candidate John Edwards speaks at a rally of supporters, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2006, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Edwards has announced that he is running in the 2008 presidential election. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker) (Karl B Deblaker - AP)

Vilsack said the polls show he would win his state's caucuses if they included individuals who may become Democrats just to attend the caucus meetings.

Both Vilsack and Edwards said energy conservation would be a major campaign issue.

Vilsack, asked whether he would take on Democratic interest groups that might disagree with him, said members of a blue ribbon panel told him, "Look, you've got to do some things that the Republicans won't like; you've got to do some things that the Democrats won't like."

Vilsack said he's not sure that opening up more areas to drilling is the answer to energy problems.

"And it's not because of special interests. It's because of the situation involving oil today," he said.

"Ninety-five percent of the oil that we know of in the world today is going to be extracted at very high cost. We're going to have competition for oil from India and China and other expanding economies.

"We should not be relying on oil. We should be looking for alternative sources. We should be aggressively promoting alternative sources."

Edwards said Americans must make sacrifices in energy use, including changing their personal vehicles.

"There has to be a willingness to give up some of the vehicles they drive, and I myself have driven," he said.

Edwards said he is not advocating a gasoline tax increase at this time but added, "You can't take it off the table."