John Edwards is finishing his Iowa campaign with a heavy dose of the middle-class-focused populist message his campaign believes has left him tied for first among Democratic presidential contenders in polls of the state's first-in-the-nation caucus-goers.In a strategy memo sent to reporters today, the former North Carolina senator's campaign declares itself focused on the economy, well-positioned in the state and "ready to use the momentum from a strong Iowa finish to propel us in New Hampshire and beyond"
"Edwards is closing the campaign talking about the kitchen-table issues that matter most to people: jobs, health care, trade, education, and financial security," deputy campaign manager Jonathan Prince writes in the memo. "America Rising is compelling because it relates the challenges and triumphs of EdwardsÂ’ own life to those the country faces right now and calls on Iowans, and all Americans, to rise up and use the power they have to bring the change we need. On the stump, Edwards makes the case that in the face of powerful interests holding the country back, America will rise."
Conventional wisdom is Edwards needs a strong finish in Iowa - if not a caucus-night win - to keep pace nationally with the better-funded campaigns of Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. For months, Edwards has focused on four early voting states, starting with Iowa, in hopes of aquiring the sort of steamroller string of victories that gave Sen. John Kerry the Democratic nomination in 2004.