Got big bucks? Meet Edwards, other presidential candidates

VALLEY ELITE GET POLITICAL ACCESS TO EDWARDS, OTHERS - FOR A PRICE

Many of the multimillionaires gathered Tuesday afternoon at the Los Altos Hills estate of high-tech entrepreneur Steve Kirsch have been at these presidential fundraisers before, dropping a couple thousand dollars at the Thompsons in Woodside to meet Barack Obama or at the Hasans in Saratoga to get a personal word with Hillary Clinton.

The fat checks they write to gain entrance to these intimate get-togethers buy them a rarefied, front-row seat to the spectacle of a presidential campaign, where they are able to assess the candidates not through CNN clips and blog postings, but up close and personal, over afternoon lemonade and tomato and basil sandwiches on fresh baguettes.

So when Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards stepped lightly up the Kirsch's limestone steps, past the commissioned bronze sculpture and reflecting pools and into the midst of the 30 paying guests, he had an impression to make. And with his poll numbers in California showing him trailing Clinton and tied in a distant second with Obama, it had to be a good one.

In this mostly Democratic crowd, his talk about solving the global warming and health care crises, opposing the war in Iraq and ending poverty was eagerly embraced.

But to the party's host - a serial entrepreneur who founded Infoseek - Edwards has something Clinton and Obama don't: electability. Even though Edwards is struggling for support in California, he's in a dead heat in Iowa and other battleground states.

"You have to think a little bit beyond who you like and think about the bigger picture - and that's who's more likely to win in the election in November," said Kirsch, who was first attracted to Edwards for his strong stand on global warming. "Edwards has a really compelling story."
In an interview after the two-hour event, Edwards - no surprise - agreed he has the best shot against a Republican.

"We need the strongest general election candidate and there's a lot of evidence that I'm the strongest general election candidate," Edwards said in a telephone interview as he left the party. "The key to winning the Democratic nomination is to do well in the early states and come into the California primary with momentum."

And Edwards hopes the voters of Silicon Valley, including those who collectively anted up $50,000 for him at Kirsch's party, will help generate that momentum. They are taking advantage of the candidates' frequent swings through Northern California to look them in the eye personally.......