Elizabeth Edwards says husband ‘most electable’ Democrat

Stumping in Nashville for her husband’s presidential campaign, Elizabeth Edwards said Tuesday that John Edwards was the most electable of the Democratic hopefuls, partly because he could take back the Republican stronghold south.

U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), respectfully, have been leading most national polls of Democratic presidential candidates.

But in the south and battleground states, Elizabeth Edwards told attendees at the low-dollar fundraiser in Nashville that her husband was the most electable candidate.

“In the areas where the race will be decided, they are not the candidates we need,” Edwards said. “John is.”

Edwards said the Democratic Party has “written off the south” in past elections through not devoting advertising dollars to southern states.

She listed states like Tennessee, Oklahoma, Kansas and her and Edwards’ home state, North Carolina, that have Democratic governors as states where Democrats could have successes.

“We can win in these states,” Edwards said.

The $15 per person fund-raiser, part of the Edwards campaign’s series of events called “Small Change for a Big Change,” took place at The Bound’ry Restaurant.

The Edwards have a history in Nashville. They practiced law here, and their son, Wade, was born here.

Against Republicans in the south, Edwards said the party “did not need to be drawing up Republican turnout” and then said that the GOP didn’t have “Fred (Thompson) in or out.”

“We didn’t mind going against him in a court of law then and we wouldn’t mind going against him (now),” Edwards said, referencing that they practiced law in Nashville at the same time.

Her “dream” Republican candidate was former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani because she said the south “ought to be Democratic.”

“I think that with a southern candidate at the top of the ticket who understands the area and a New Yorker who never, ever talks about any of the issues important to us, I think we have a great capacity to win back the area that we should own by right,” Edwards said.

Edwards started her talk focusing on the south and how Democrats could win there. She came back to the topic later in the talk after a questioner in the crowd said Clinton and Obama could not run successful general election campaigns.

“Hillary is not electable and neither is Barack Obama,” the questioner, who could not be located for follow-up comment, stated, expressing some Democrats’ concerns about the two frontrunners.

Edwards responded that “Democrats, above all, want to win” and that would “serve John very well.”

“Not to disparage other candidates, except that are you really going to see them here in Tennessee?” Edwards said.

Obama has come to Nashville for a fundraiser. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson also came to Nashville for a state Democratic Party event in June.

At the event, Edwards talked about her husband, a former Senator and Vice Presidential nominee, and where he stood on the issues.

Those included a “universal health care” plan that would be funded through rolling back President Bush’s tax cuts, a statement that garnered a big round of applause from the audience. Also, Edward’s plan to withdraw some troops from Iraq but leave others and support for federal funding for embryonic stem cell research was discussed.

After the event at The Bound’ry, Edwards headed over to Sunset Grille for a more expensive fundraiser.