U.S. Democratic presidential candidates wrapped up their marathon campaigns in Iowa on Wednesday night as the state caucuses loom.
Democratic forerunners -- Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards -- grasped every last minute to reach out to voters through television advertisements ahead of Thursday's caucuses in Iowa.
Obama, vying to become the country's first African-American president, aired his two-minute message, entitled "Leader," during dinner time, saying "this country is ready for a leader who will bring us together."
From fighting poverty as a community organizer to passing sweeping ethic reforms, Obama tried to convince voters that he has the judgment and ability to unite the American people to bring real changes to the nation.
"That's the only way we're going to win this election," he said. "That's how we'll actually fix health care, make college affordable, become energy independent and end this war."
The New York Senator Clinton, seeking to become America's first female president, in her closing remarks called on voters to show their support on Thursday night.
Highlighting her plans to withdraw troops from Iraq and to provide a universal health insurance program, Clinton urged voters to take the first step to create "a new beginning" by voting for her.
"If you stand with me for one night, I will stand up for you every day as your president," the former first lady said. "I'll work my heart out to bring the country we love the new beginning it needs and I will be ready to start on day one."
Edwards reaffirmed his promise to protect labor rights and to increase job opportunities through a televised pitch from an Iowan laid-off worker, Doug Bishop.
"I want a guy that's going to sit down and look a 7-year-old kid in the eye and tell him, 'I'm going to fight for your dad's job,'" Bishop says as he introduces Edwards to an Iowa rally.
"That's what I want. I'm going to do my best to make sure that my children aren't the first generation of Americans that I can't look them in the eye and say, 'You're going to have a better life than I had,'" he added.
A total of eight Democrats will kick off their first bout to compete for the party's presidential candidacy as Iowan voters convene on Thursday night in schools, churches, libraries and other public places to discuss their preference for a certain candidate and choose delegates pledged to a particular candidate to go to party conventions.
A strong performance in Iowa caucuses can give candidates momentum and carry them on to additional victories while poor showings usually stop their campaigns in their tracks.
As the last attempt to boost support, Edwards persisted with a 36-hour marathon campaign on Wednesday, during which he raced through 12 stops, while Obama deployed his campaign staff onto the streets to appeal to more voters.
Clinton started the day by serving her campaign volunteers with "thank-you" bagels and coffee, and rushed through five appearances.
A Zogby daily tracking poll on Wednesday showed that Clinton and Obama are tied on 28 percent, closely followed by Edwards with26 percent.
Source:Xinhua
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