For full coverage of Oregon politics, go to my Basie! on Oregon page with news, polling and analysis

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Yesterday John Edwards made a foray into the Democratic-friendly state of Oregon to talk healthcare and raise some money, and on both fronts he was successful. Edwards left the state with both $500,000 in the bank for the Democratic National Committee and a spate of positive stories in the state's media outlets.

The Oregonian's Jeff Mapes has a front page story in the state's largest paper entitled "Edwards gives Oregon voters dose of battle with Bush over health care." Though it is placed below the fold, it is accompanied by a great picture and nonetheless is featured somewhat prominently (you can see the front page here). Mapes leads with this:

Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, continuing the new war of words over health care by both campaigns, said Tuesday that President Bush has no realistic plan to expand coverage and control rising costs.

The story is not particularly well-written--it suffers from the "one one hand, on the other hand" type reporting that the Columbia Journalism Review's Campaign Desk so often derides. Nonetheless, it does contrast the Kerry-Edwards plan favorably to the President's plan in many wats, showing how the Democrats offer would cover a significantly larger number of Americans than that of the President.

The Salem Statesman Journal today has three stories on Edwards' trip to the Beaver state befitting their status as the state's top political news source (after all, it is the paper for the state capital). Steve Law pens the main coverage of the Edwards trip, a writeup entitled "Edwards offers dose of optimism." He lead's thusly:

Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards shifted the campaign spotlight to health care Tuesday during his first Oregon visit since being named John Kerry’s running mate.

[...]

Known for his charm, positive demeanor and speaking skills, Edwards has turned up the heat on President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney since Kerry’s recent slip in the polls.

Edwards highlighted Kerry’s $650 billion plan to insure 27 million more Americans, including every child in the nation while deriding Bush’s progress in health care.

“The best I can tell, his plan for the last four years is, ‘Pray you don’t get sick,’” Edwards said.

This article has a much better explanation of the Kerry-Edwards plan without the equivocation evident in the Oregonian piece. Overall, it is a highly positive piece.

The Statesman Journal's Tara McClain also writes up crowd response from the first Edwards rally under the headline "Edwards dazzles Democrat-friendly Oregon City crowd." Among the various audience quotes recorded by McClain:

• “I loved everything about Edwards,” Pfeiffer said Tuesday. “Everything he said, I believe in it.”
  
• “They’re like celebrities to me,” a breathless Andrea Hauge, 18, said after shaking Edwards’ hand.
  
• Elsewhere in the gym, Enrique Arias told friends that his 75-year-old father this year changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat.
  “When he listens to Bush on TV, he feels like he’s listening to (Fidel) Castro,” Arias said of his father, an immigrant from Cuba.
  
• “To me, he’s a guy who’s speaking how he really feels. He’s not just telling you what he wants you to hear,” [Audrey Schackel] said, rarely taking her eyes off the door from which Edwards was to exit. [...] “There he is,” Schackel said, excited. “Look at that smile!”

The Statesman Journal also prints up an interview they had with the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee. It's a good read, if you're interested. Eugene's KVAL-TV, who claims to be "one of only two Oregon television stations to be granted face to face interviews with Edwards" (which I would assume makes the Statesman Journal the other one) also has a good interview with Edwards.

Overall, this was a great trip for Edwards to this Democratic leaning state and it will go far to help ensure that John Kerry gains Oregon's seven electoral votes this year.

For more complete coverage of Oregon politics, visit my "Basie! on Oregon" page.