Ford stakes the middle ground to appeal to GOP in Eaststate
2006-10-04
Source: Tennessean.com
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rss feedAt a Kiwanis luncheon here, the guy on the front row wearing the "W" lapel pin told Harold Ford Jr., "You sound fantastic" after hearing the U.S. Senate candidate talk about being a pro-war deficit hawk.
But Republican voter Scott Moore told the charismatic congressman from Memphis that he reminded him too much of another Southern politician who could turn on the charm, former President Bill Clinton.
Then Moore got to his point: "You said your dad told you to write down, 'Take care of the people,' " a reference to the advice of Harold Ford Sr., who preceded his son in Congress. "What about taking care of the unborn people?"
The question was not unexpected here in East Tennessee, where in some places Republican voters can outnumber Democrats 2-to-1 or more.
And Harold Eugene Ford Jr., who has spent 10 years in the U.S. House readying himself for higher office, was prepared for the question, answering in a way that could appeal to voters on both sides of the issue.
In hoping to be the first Democrat from Tennessee to go to the Senate since 1990, Ford has tread a moderate line, which he says is consistent with his voting record but his opponent says is an election-year conversion.
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