Edwards follows campaign trail to Columbia

Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards told a crowd gathered at Benedict College on Monday that President Bush needs to stop using the war in Iraq to judge America's patriotism.

"It's time for the president to ask America to be patriotic about something other than the war," Edwards said, drawing applause from the crowd.

Edwards also said he thought Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should step down in the wake of the federal prosecutor scandal. Eight U.S. Attorneys have accused the Justice Department of firing them for political reasons, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are calling for Gonzales to resign.

The campaign stop is part of Edwards' college tour aimed at getting students excited about politics.

Andrew Collins, a first-year pre-pharmacy student, came out to the rally to see what Edwards had to say.

"I think it's good to listen to all the presidential candidates before deciding," Collins said.

Edwards marched into the rally to the Benedict College drum line after an introduction by Miss Benedict College, Nadia Muhammad.

Edwards said we must work to polish the image of America abroad, starting with the genocide in Africa, which the U.S. acknowledges but does little about, Edwards said.

"What would you think of us?" Edwards asked the crowd. "It's not just about us feeling good, it's about more than that."

He drew numerous applauses in a sermon-like speech that mainly focused on health care, education and global warming.

Pointing to his own efforts in education, Edwards talked about how he used his own money to help jumpstart a college tuition program for poor rural communities in North Carolina. The program covers the cost of books and tuition for any eligible high school student in the community.

"We have to be willing to be bold," Edwards said. "Education should be a birth to death experience."

He prides his campaign on having the only comprehensive health care reform plan. Edwards supports a universal health care system, calling the current system "dysfunctional."

Edwards challenged the crowd to do more than just cast a vote in the fall of '08.

Using a quote from Gandhi, Edwards said, "Be the change that you believe in. Don't wait for someone else to do it for you."

Edwards is considered by many to be a long shot candidate, running well behind Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., in the polls.

Born in Seneca, Edwards moved with his family to North Carolina at a young age. He served one term in the U.S. Senate representing North Carolina from 1998 to 2004.

Edwards ran as John Kerry's vice-presidential candidate in 2004, and has since been directing the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Law School.

Zach Pippin, a first-year political science student, said he thought Edwards' ideas were vague.

"It was kind of crazy how he wants to solve our health care crisis," Pippin said.

Edwards was taken aback when he took a final question from the audience - What makes you different from anyone else?

After hesitating a moment, Edward's reply earned him a standing ovation.

"You must be willing to change. Let's do it together."

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