Super Tuesday looms for Democrats

Atlanta ? John Edwards hunted for votes Saturday in Super Tuesday states where he saw the best prospects for slowing John Kerry’s march to the nomination, portraying himself as the Democrat who can attract the most independents and swing voters.

“I am a good closer,” the North Carolina senator said, predicting a come-from-behind surge and shrugging off polls that show him behind in all 10 states choosing delegates Tuesday.

Kerry returned east after two days of campaigning in California and picked up the endorsements of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and his son, Andrew Cuomo, who was Housing secretary in the Clinton administration.

Kerry, campaigning in New York, rejected a suggestion made this week by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to cut Social Security benefits for future retirees. He said he would “take the politics out of Social Security” by forming a commission of experienced statesmen who are no longer running for office to advise on the future of the program.

“We should not be funding George Bush’s tax cuts by cutting benefits for Social Security,” Kerry said. “Period. End of issue.”

Courting ‘Deaniacs’

With three days to go before the biggest showdown of the primary season, Kerry stuck to his criticism of Bush in anticipation of a general election fight. Edwards made a conference call to former organizers for Howard Dean in 10 states to enlist their support in his underdog primary campaign.

He told them he realized that many had not made up their minds, but appealed to them to join his campaign, promising to carry their fight for change forward, Edwards campaign manger Nick Baldick told reporters.

“I think support from ‘Deaniacs’ is critical right now. In states that are close, ‘Deaniacs’ are going to make a huge difference,” Baldick said. One convert, Ryan Beam, of Cleveland, founder of Generation Dean, an organization aimed at college and other youthful voters, said he was supporting Edwards because “he clearly has the charisma and appeal to younger people that Howard Dean had.”

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., left photo, speaks to supporters Saturday during a rally at Atlanta's Fox Theatre.

Many Dean supporters already have lined up behind him, and “we’re moving forward” with their help, Edwards told a rally in Atlanta’s Fox Theatre. “All of us believe we need real change.”

The former Vermont governor, once the presumed front-runner, bowed out of the race winless after a disappointing third-place finish in the Wisconsin primary 1 1/2 weeks ago.

Preparing for debate today

Kerry campaigned Saturday night in Brooklyn, and at a town-hall meeting listened to the story of disadvantaged young people like 22-year-old Michael Parker, of East Harlem.

Parker said he couldn’t afford school and searched for six months before finding a minimum wage job at a drug store. He said Kerry was “a cool brother” for coming to hear their stories.

Both Kerry and Edwards were spending Saturday night in New York to prepare for today’s televised debate, the final one before Super Tuesday, which offers more than half the 2,162 delegates needed to win the nomination. Edwards said he would spend Tuesday night in Atlanta.

Edwards campaigned in Georgia and Ohio on Saturday and was in Minnesota on Friday. His advisers believe the three afford him the best opportunities to advance, but they conceded that odds of an Edwards breakout were long.

¢ Edwards and Kerry oppose marriage for gays and lesbians, and say states should have the right to allow or ban it.¢ Both want to expand health care for the uninsured, but would leave the existing network of private insurance in place.¢ Both want to raise taxes for those who make more than $200,000 a year by repealing the tax reductions that benefited them, while retaining tax cuts for lower- and middle-income people.¢ Both voted to authorize war in Iraq, but both now say President Bush waged the war in a dangerous way.¢ Edwards and Kerry do differ slightly on trade. Kerry voted for the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement. Edwards, who wasn’t in the Senate at the time, says he opposed it. But both want to add labor and environmental protections to future trade pacts, and neither would cancel NAFTA, as rival Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich has urged.¢ Kerry, 60, is a veteran of 35 years in public life, from his days as a decorated naval officer in Vietnam through 19 years in the Senate.¢ Edwards, 50, first was elected to the Senate in 1998. Short on experience in national affairs, he tells voters he’s free from the taint of a Washington culture of special interests.