Edwards Asks College Grads To Help End War

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards appealed to college graduates Saturday to join him in demanding an end to the war in Iraq.

"Congress' real power to end this war is to use its funding power. But while that's Congress' only real power, it is not the only power in America," Edwards said in a commencement speech at New England College. "The irresistible power of America lies in your hands, in the hands of the American people."

Also Saturday, Edwards launched a Web site — www.supportthetroopsendthewar.com — that outlines his plan to end the unpopular, 4-year-old war.

"Each of us has a responsibility as an American, as a duty to our troops and to each other, to do every single thing we can to support those troops and end this war," Edwards said.

He said young people helped to bring about civil rights, end the Vietnam war and promote anti-Apartheid causes.

"Today, we are at that place again. It is time for you — all of you — to take responsibility for your country, for your government, for your community," Edwards said. "Help our nation break its silence, speak out."

He said anything less is a failure.

"Silence is a betrayal," Edwards said, borrowing from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous anti-Vietnam sermon.

Edwards, his party's vice presidential nominee in 2004, was visiting the first-in-the-nation primary state this weekend seeking support for his second run. Trailing Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in most polls, he has been criticizing them for not doing enough to end the war.

"We can't wait for the next elected leader to solve this country's problems," Edwards said.

Obama spokesman Reid Cherlin responded: "Senator Obama is focused on getting the 16 votes we need to override the president's veto and end this war. He's been encouraging people across the country to hold their elected officials accountable in respecting the will of the American people to end this war and bring our troops home."

Later Saturday, Edwards spoke by phone with active and retired military members to explain his new opposition to the war.

Alex Cornell du Houx, an active reservist Marine from Maine who was on the call, said "the best way to support the troops is to end the war in Iraq. We've turned from protecting the Iraqis to protecting ourselves."

Edwards then visited a carpenters' union picnic near Nashua and asked them to help him end this war.

"George Bush has used the word 'patriotism' to justify every bad thing that he's done, everything to Guantanamo, to the illegal spying on Americans to the ongoing war in Iraq," said Edwards, who had changed from his academic robes into jeans and a button-down shirt.