Press Writer
Mon Feb 18, 12:05 AM ET
CHICAGO - Barack Obama sneaked down to North Carolina Sunday and met
with former rival John Edwards, who has yet to make an endorsement in
the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
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Officials at North Carolina television station WTVD said they have
video taken from a helicopter of Obama leaving Edwards' home in
Chapel Hill. A producer said the station was "tipped off" about the
meeting, but said the source was confidential.
The Obama campaign confirmed the meeting. Although reporters normally
travel everywhere with Obama, he left them behind to fly down in
secret from his hometown.
"Senator Obama visited this morning with John and Elizabeth Edwards
at their home in Chapel Hill to discuss the state of the campaign and
the pressing issues facing American families," said Obama spokesman
Bill Burton. He wouldn't comment on the possibility of an endorsement.
In an interview Sunday night with WITI-TV in Milwaukee, Obama
said, "The meeting with John, we just wanted to talk about how we can
move the party in a direction that focuses on middle-class issues —
relieving poverty, reducing the influence of special interests in
Washington."
People close to the Edwardses, speaking privately, say they have been
torn about whom to support. The former North Carolina senator is
concerned that Obama may not be ready for the presidency and that his
health care plan is inferior. But Edwards was highly critical of
Clinton — her policies, her ties to special interests and her
character — during his campaign, making it more difficult to support
her now.
The couple has been impressed with Clinton, who has more effectively
courted them since the 2004 vice presidential nominee dropped out,
people who talk to the Edwardses say. Obama has been less attentive,
they say, and some of those close to the Edwardses have been annoyed
that Obama has continued to ridicule him for once saying his biggest
weakness is that he has a powerful response to seeing pain in others.
Still, since Edwards has left the race, Obama often praises him in
public. This week he told Wisconsin voters that Edwards will "be a
major voice in the Democratic party for years to come, and I want him
involved and partnering with me in moving this country forward."
None of the other former Democratic presidential candidates — Chris
Dodd, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson or Dennis Kucinich — have endorsed
Obama or Clinton, reflecting the party's split over who would be the
best president.
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