North Carolina Sen. John Edwards brought his message to New Mexico on Saturday, saying the 2004 presidential election is a fight for the future of the country.
"I have been getting ready for this fight my whole life," Edwards said, stumping for votes prior to Tuesday's caucus. "I am so ready for this fight. You give me a shot at George Bush, and I'll give you the White House."
Edwards, speaking to a crowd of about 400 at the Barelas Community Center, outlined his plans for the nation's education and health care systems, promised to help the poor and middle class and attacked Bush's policies.
"I believe this election is about making Americans be proud to be Americans again," Edwards said. "This campaign is about lifting up the American people and making them believe again that anything is possible."
He said there are two different systems for health care, taxes and education under the Bush Administration.
"The truth is this, we live in a country where there are really still two different Americas," Edwards said. "One for all the families that get whatever they need, whenever they want and one for everybody else. It doesn't have to be that way. We shouldn't have two economies in America, one for families that are secure, and one for everybody else - people who live paycheck to paycheck."
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He said he would fight the discrepancies by raising the minimum wage, providing affordable housing, expanding tax credit programs and bringing jobs to the areas that need them.
Edwards touted his plan for revamping the education system.
"We start by ending the damage done by No Child Left Behind," he said.
Edwards said he would start a national initiative to raise teacher pay, push for bonuses for teachers willing to teach in middle class and poor areas and expand the availability of after-school programs. He added he would implement a plan called "College for Everyone," which would provide free tuition to any state university or junior college.
Edwards also launched an attack on Bush's foreign policy, saying he would work to bridge the gap Bush has created between the United States and other countries. All Americans should be worried about the proliferation of nuclear weapons he said, but the United States should work with other counties instead of acting unilaterally.
"We can bring nations of the world together and set up global nuclear contracts," Edwards said. "We can bring the power of the world to sanction those countries who are spreading nuclear weapons."
He added if elected he would put a stop to the United States acting alone in Iraq.
"What is going on in Iraq is wrong," Edwards said. "For this to be an American occupation and an American operation is wrong. Right now our troops and our taxpayers are carrying the burden."
