The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

(Page 2 of 2)

br> Sen. John Edwards is hitting the campaign trail hard, now that it appears the opportunity is ripe for his presidential candidacy. Earlier this week he made a high profile policy speech on the economy, and because his background is so thin on foreign affairs he's also taking his show overseas. /p>

Edwards staffers recall how their boss traveled to Israel two summers ago for photo-ops and to get a handle on the Middle East situation. Last winter he traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Now in early December, Edwards will travel to Europe.

The planned itinerary calls for him to meet with NATO officials to discuss Iraq. He also hopes to meet with government leaders. According to an Edwards campaign staffer, the now-senior senator from North Carolina asked his sometime adviser, former President Bill Clinton, to make calls on his behalf to British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to see if they might meet with him.

p>It won't just be Edwards in the rooms with them. He's bringing along an all-access video crew to shoot much of his trip. "The idea is that some of those shots will be used for campaign ads down the road to blunt Republican criticism that he's not plugged in enough on the international front," says the staffer. br> /p>

topics:
Bill Clinton, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, NATO