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Dueling TV Addresses

September 13, 2007 4:36 PM

ABC’s Raelyn Johnson blogs:

So what do the unlikeliest of allies -- George Bush and John Edwards have in common? They are both addressing the nation tonight on issues of Iraq. (At left, Edwards in Milwaukee on Monday.)

Breaking into the late summer slump that is primetime TV President Bush will address the nation this evening. He is expected to endorse Gen. Petraeus’ plan to withdraw as many as 30,000 troops by next summer.

Leading up to the address, the press shops of the democratic candidates have been firing off statements about the potential troop withdrawal. Tonight, John Edwards is trying to do something different -- by addressing the nation himself, with 2 minutes of airtime on MSNBC following the president.

It’s a bold move for Edwards, but it isn’t a far-fetched concept. Sure it was expensive, (the ad is estimated to cost between $100-150,000), but it falls right in line with Edwards’ push to be the most visible, most vocal anti-war candidate.

For months he’s been pushing Congress, including his top rivals Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to push for a firm timeline for troop withdrawal. Tonight he gets another chance to push them in front of a large cable audience, and gets some headlines in the process, something Clinton and Obama have managed to do more successfully.

Edwards taped the address at his Chapel Hill, N.C. home. Sitting at a desk with an American flag in the background -- very Oval Office-esque, Edwards will say, “the president is pressing on with the only strategy he’s ever had -- more time, more troops, and more war,” and tell Congress it must answer to the American people. “Tell Congress you know the truth -- they have the power to end this war and you expect them to use it.”

But Edwards’ strategy tonight points to something else. The Iraq War has been the biggest issue of the 2008 race. And with the democratic candidates divided on who has the best Iraq plan with press releases, policy speeches and now by purchasing airtime for rebuttals, it seams the Dems are first running against Bush and only second to each other. But alas, the one thing that unites them in 08 -- the belief that after their party took power in the midterm election, Americans showed they believe a democratic president would most improve the situation in Iraq.

Nonetheless, the race is still on, to see which democrat that will be…

September 13, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

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