By JIM KUHNHENN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 2, 2007; 8:19 PM
WASHINGTON -- John Edwards is blending a new television commercial with his online Web message, giving his activist supporters a voice in demanding that Congress stand up to President Bush's veto of a withdrawal timetable for Iraq.
The ad promptly set off a rare public spat between Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, and one of his Democratic rivals.
"We wish that Senator Edwards was still in the Senate for this important fight," Christy Setzer, spokeswoman for Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said tartly.
The ad, which will air in Washington on broadcast and cable programs, calls on Congress to ignore the veto and to send Bush the "same bill again and again."
Edwards, who is lagging behind Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in the polls and in fundraising, is seeking to distinguish himself as an anti-war voice.
The timetable for pulling out of Iraq is contained in a bill that provides money to troops in Iraq. Unwilling to risk delays in money for the troops, congressional Democratic leaders are now struggling to adjust the bill to avoid a veto without angering the party's most liberal anti-war members.
It is that tension that Edwards is seeking to exploit with his new commercial.
Setzer, in a statement, noted that Dodd was the first presidential candidate to support a measure by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., to end the war within one year.
"If we can't get his vote in the Senate, of course we would welcome Senator Edwards' support for Senator Dodd's plan ... rather than the incremental, 18-month approach he has proposed," Setzer said.
Edwards has called for the immediate withdrawal of 40,000-50,000 troops from Iraq and a complete pullout of combat troops within 12 to 18 months. Edwards, like several other Democrats in the race, voted in 2002 to give Bush the authority to use force in Iraq. He is the only Democrat in race who voted against financing the war in 2003.
"John Edwards believes anybody who is running for President of the United States has to take responsibility for whatever position they take," Edwards spokesman Eric Schultz said. "We think the American people sent a clear mandate in this last election that they want a different course on Iraq. And the Congress needs to stand its ground."
The ad will also run on the Edwards' Web site as well as on YouTube, the popular online video site. Edwards wants viewers to post their own personal messages to Congress about Iraq. The campaign will then incorporate those messages into future Web ads.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Tennessee has joined the growing number of states, including California, New York and New Jersey, that will hold its presidential primary on Feb. 5.
Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen signed a bill on Monday that moves up the date. The primary had been scheduled for Feb. 12.
Some 12 states have moved their primaries to Feb. 5 and at least seven others are trying to switch their contests. The primary process begins Jan. 14 with caucuses in Iowa.
About 485,850 people voted in Tennessee's presidential primary in 2004, and about 2.5 million voted in the general election.
The Tennessee state Senate unanimously changed the date; the state House passed the measure on a vote of 91-2.
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ Ten Republican presidential candidates made the cut for the GOP debate in South Carolina on May 15.
John Cox didn't.
The Chicago investment adviser will not be invited because his poll results didn't meet the criteria set by the party and Fox News Channel. The state GOP and the media outlet had required candidates to garner at least a 1 percent showing in a state and a national poll.
"We've tried to be as inclusive as we can," said GOP chairman Katon Dawson.
He said he would have preferred a higher polling threshold of 3 percent, which would have cut four or five from the list of those being asked to appear.
Cox is not slated to take part in the first Republican debate Thursday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.
Dawson said invitations to the debate are to be sent Thursday to: Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Sam Brownback of Kansas; Reps. Duncan Hunter of California, Ron Paul of Texas and Tom Tancredo of Colorado, former Govs. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Jim Gilmore of Virginia and Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
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Associated Press Writer Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington contributed to this report.