Change Is Constant in Democratic Race

Democratic contenders battle to be seen as agents of change in Iowa.

ByABC News
December 31, 2007, 10:31 AM

NEWTON, Iowa, Dec. 31, 2007 — -- The Democratic presidential campaign in Iowa has been transformed into a freewheeling contest over the meaning of a single word: change.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards wants to usher in change in drastic fashion, with a populist wave he wants to use to swamp special interests. To New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and to several second-tier Democrats who are fighting to make their voices heard change is a more gradual process, requiring deep experience and expertise to massage a complicated process.

And to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, change is a deeply rooted campaign theme: It starts with his biography, and extends through his broad promise to remake the nation's politics.

"Ultimately it is the American people who are the real change agents in this country," Obama said Sunday in Newton, with a banner behind him reading "Change We Believe In," and a huge sign off to his right stating "Jasper County Stands for Change."

"We can't afford a politics that spends all its time tearing opponents down instead of lifting the country up," Obama said. "The real gamble in this election is having the same old folks doing the same old thing over and over and over again and somehow expecting a different result."

The Democrats' intense focus on change taps into deep-seated anger among party activists at the Bush administration. All of the Democrats regularly rail against President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, even though Bush and Cheney have appeared on their last ballot.

In appealing to the desire for change, the candidates are using different elements of their personal histories to present themselves as the person who is best prepared to deliver.

Edwards cites his working-class background and refusal to accept money from political action committees to craft a populist appeal that angrily denounces special interests. His central claim: that it's impossible to negotiate with "the big corporations and powerful interests who control Washington."