Aspen – Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards used a Thursday speech at The Aspen Institute to take on the Bush administration, Washington lobbyists and – unexpectedly – former Aspen Mayor Bill Stirling.
Edwards took the stage about noon, asking, “Am I the only one here with a tie on?” (He was.) He rolled up his sleeves, tossed his coat and tie aside, and abandoned his script.
Though the speech was billed as an economic address, Edwards used the hour to touch on an array of campaign topics, including America’s global leadership, health care reform, trade policy and special-interest money.
The capacity crowd of nearly 700 often interrupted Edwards with applause. However, Stirling sparked some fireworks during the question- and-answer period, chiding Edwards for not addressing global warming despite its effects on Aspen and the West.
Edwards responded that his climate policy is arguably the most aggressive of all the candidates’ and that global-warming initiatives are among his top priorities.
Edwards has called for an 80 percent reduction of U.S. carbon emissions by 2050.
Railing against the influence of lobbyists’ money on campaigns, Edwards continued his recent criticism of his Democratic rivals, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has defended her acceptance of hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Washington lobbyists.
“I don’t believe we can change America by sitting at a table with drug companies and oil companies,” he said. “You need to take them on directly.”
Reacting to President Bush’s Thursday morning news conference, in which he advocated corporate tax relief, Edwards called Bush’s tax policy “completely out of whack” and said that only tax credits and cuts for the middle class would allow America to continue to compete globally.
