MANCHESTER, N.H.—Former Sen. John Edwards was the first out of the gate in New Hampshire this morning, joining a rally in downtown Manchester as early light led a brittle New Hampshire morning from night into dawn.
"Well, good morning!" Edwards hollered to a crowd of some 300 supporters just before 7 a.m. "Boy, there’s energy in this room."
He flashed his grin to cheers in the dim innards of an old mill, the kind of textile factory in which his daddy toiled down South, pumping up the middle class here in the Granite State on the tide of his second-place finish in Iowa, Barb Barrett reports.
His voice was hoarsened and his shouts for change emerged more like squawks, but Edwards gave a version of the stump speech that has carried him this far: corporate greed bad—middle class good—change is tomorrow and tomorrow begins today.
"What we learned last night is that the status quo is yesterday," Edwards told the crowd. "Now we have four days, four days in New Hampshire."
More after the jump.
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The primary Tuesday night here will prove critical to the Edwards campaign. He must show that, coming off his finish in Iowa, he isn't just a one-state wonder. Polls have him lagging here behind Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. And though New Hampshire voters are famously ornery when it comes to their voting. Edwards’ supporters hope voters will send him to a strong finish here.
Edwards was introduced by his wife, Elizabeth, who was joined by daughter Cate. Elizabeth compared her husband to the famous come-from-behind racehorse, Seabiscuit. And John Edwards liked it.
He built to the metaphor with digs at the better-financed, loved-by-the-media campaigns of Clinton and Obama. His campaign isn’t about celebrity, Edwards taunted. Playing to the steelworkers and carpenters and auto worker unions in the crowd, he called the election “a cause” and “a movement.”
“We are Seabiscuit,” he hollered. “I am not the candidate of money. I am not the candidate of glitz. I am not the candidate of glamour. And I do not claim to be.
"But what I am is, I am the candidate for president of the United States that is the people's candidate," he said.
The crowd drowned him out with shouts, devolving into chants: "We want John... We want John..."
This morning's rally kicked off days of work here for Edwards. He'll meet voters in Nashua early this afternoon, then heads to Plymouth for an evening gathering, an overnight stay and a canvassing rally early Saturday morning. At some stops before Tuesday, he’ll be joined by his parents. At others, he'll be joined by Elizabeth. She has her own schedule and will do a couple of events without him.
Pat Wilson, 56, of Exeter, has been rooting for Edwards since August, drawn by his attacks on lobbyists. The dental hygienist has spent countless hours knocking on doors and making calls on Edwards’ behalf. She said this morning she was thrilled to hear the pundits finally take Edwards seriously Thursday night.
"What encouraged me the most was finally people were saying this is a three-person race," Wilson said, wearing an Edwards sticker in the back of the packed crowd. "Finally they get it."
She hopes undecided voters and those now rooting for Sens. Chris Dodd and Joe Biden—both of whom dropped out—now will come to Edwards.
"I'm working every day until Tuesday," she said.
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