Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards wraps up a swing through the state today. He has been in New Hampshire a great deal. This time, he came with musical accompaniment.
NHPR Correspondent Sheryl Rich-Kern files this report from Nashua.
Musician Bonnie Raitt is part of John Edwards' "star power" in the New Hampshire primary. (Courtesy Peter A. Smith, Boston University)
Song: I am a patriot, and I love my country…
Fade down, hold under and cross fade to the ambiance sound of the crowd waiting.
Obama has Oprah, and Clinton, Barbara Streisand.
With only three weeks of campaigning left in New Hampshire, John Edwards is bringing in his own band of celebrity supporters:
Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Brown.
Ambience, crowds sounds
An hour before the doors opened, a large crowd wedged into the lobby of the Daniel Webster College auditorium.
True, some had come just for the music.
But more had politics on their minds.
I’m Patsy Roberts from Hollis, NH. I’m here to hear what John Edwards has to say. I haven’t made up my mind yet but I think he is a viable candidate.
Raitt (while strumming guitar): We don’t throw our endorsement around lightly. We rarely get out on these presidential campaigns.
Clapping, music
Singer Bonnie Raitt told the audience that of all the candidates, only Edwards took a strong stance against nuclear energy.
Edwards gave his reasons.
Number one, there’s no safe way to dispose of the waste. Number two, they are dangerous and create a great, inviting target for attack. Three, it costs a fortune. It takes forever to get one online.
In tune with the folksy style of the performers, a relaxed John Edwards greeted New Hampshire voters wearing worn jeans and a gray, Mister Rogers-style sweater.
But his delivery was anything but casual.
Edwards wasted no time attacking insurance companies and Washington lobbyists.
Why do we have that mess of a Medicare prescription drug law? Because drug company lobbyists wrote the thing. I was there. I know where it came from.
Edwards touts universal health care, but not socialized medicine.
He says citizens should have a choice.
You can choose between the government, you can choose private. The reality is there’s a real chance that over time it will become very apparent which is working better, which provides the best care.
But one young student wondered how the country could afford his 120 billion dollar a year plan.
I pay for it by cutting Bush’s tax cuts for people who make over 200 hundred thousand a year. (Applause)
One mother of four asked why her oldest child’s student loan is higher than her mortgage.
Edwards says America’s biggest banks intermediate between the government and loan recipients, and make four or five billion dollars a year because of it.
With his College for Everyone plan, Edwards says that money should go to students willing to work at least 10 hours a week, and then,
America pays your tuition and books to a state university or community college. And you pay for it by getting rid of that intermediary.
Edwards spoke to the crowd for about 30 minutes.
Undecided voter Sheila Charles left feeling better about him.
I really thought he was very eloquent, dealt with a lot of issues, handled them very firmly, and I’m very impressed.
But Charles still doesn’t know what she’ll do when it comes time to vote, three weeks from now.
For NHPR News in Nashua, this is Sheryl Rich-Kern.
