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However, the standing room only crowd at the Gigglin' Goat got a surprise. Instead of introducing John Edwards, Robbins introduced Elizabeth Edwards...and the crowd went wild.
"Your enthusiasm is incredible," she said.
This was her first visit to Boone and her husband's third.
"You feel the excitement of a true progressive candidate," Elizabeth Edwards said of John. "(He) has visions and values like yours."
She said John Edwards had made a great effort to visit most of the 50 states because "you have no chance to win a state you don't play in."
"You don't give up on places," she added noting that the Edwards had visited states they knew would be difficult for them to win, like Oklahoma. "He's going to fight for every single vote."
Elizabeth Edwards then introduced the crowd to John and their three children Emma Claire, Jack and Cate.
The family smiled and greeted the crowd before Elizabeth and the children exited because as the former Sen. put it, "They have heard me talk enough."
"Our great moral test is to leave the country better than we found it," he said. "We have some serious challenges to overcome."
He talked about corporate America and the effect it has on the middle class.
"I will not allow corporate greed to steal our children's futures," Edwards said. "It will stop when we say enough is enough."
He said he watched his father work every day at a mill and he hasn't forgotten where he comes from. He also spoke of his grandmother, who only had an eighth grade education but worked hard to support her family.
"Are we going to let their hard work go for nothing?" he asked.
He said he has never taken money from Washington lobbyists.
"I do not believe you can sit at a table and make a deal with them," Edwards said. "It's a complete fantasy. They will never give their power away, we have to take their power away."
It's a fight he said he is ready to win.
"Corporate greed is stealing the future of the middle class," Edwards said. "We better send somebody into the fight who is ready and can win this fight."
Fighting seemed to be theme of his speech Sunday as he used the word and variations of it more than 30 times.
"Where I grew up, you had to fight to survive. You did," Edwards said. "I still remember when I was young coming home - had gotten in a fight with an older kid and got my butt kicked. Came home, I was beaten up a little bit, said something to my father and he set me down and he said, 'I don't want to ever hear you starting a fight.' I said, 'Yes, sir.' And he said, 'But I want you to hear me and hear me clearly: You never ever walk away from a fight, because if you're not willing to stand up for yourself no one will stand up for you.'"
He made a promise in Boone to stand up and fight for every American.
"We have an epic fight in front of us," Edwards said. "We have to stand up and fight (corporate America). How much money do these people need...really? Last year 35 million people went hungry and at the same time corporate profits were going through the roof. Enough is enough!"
He answered questions from the audience about immigration, health care, stem cell research and Pakistan.
* Immigration
Edwards said he believes the border needs to be secured better but he is not in favor of installing a fence around the entire Mexican border.
"We need to use the technology that is available to us," he said. "We have to be tougher on employers who are hiring illegally. I also think if you want to be an American citizen, you ought to learn how to speak English."
* Health care
Edwards' said his health care plan would be universal, but it wouldn't be free.
"I have a way to pay for it. We get rid of Bush's tax cuts for people who make over $200,000 per year," he said. "Ideas don't mean a thing unless you have a president who is willing to fight. We desperately need a president who is willing to fight for people."
* Stem cell research
"I believe George W. Bush is the most anti-science president in American history," Edwards said. "I will be the most pro-science president in history."
He believes stem cell research would help millions of people who have cancer, are paralyzed and to treat other medical conditions.
* Pakistan
"Pakistan is a dangerous, volatile place," Edwards said.
He said he personally knew former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in Pakistan last week.
"It was a horrible loss for Pakistan and the rest of the world," Edwards said.
After Bhutto's killing, he said, "I called the Pakistani ambassador that morning, expressed my concerns to him and said I'd like to speak to President (Pervez) Musharraf, whom I had met years ago in Islamabad, because I had some things I wanted to urge him to do."
He said Musharraf returned his call.
"I asked him whether Pakistan would move on a path to democratization," Edwards said. "He assured me he would, but you have to take that answer with a grain of salt considering his history."
He also said it is important for candidates not to politicize the issue of Pakistan because "we need to be a calming force."
Edwards ended by saying when he ran for president in 2004 he made a mistake. He told a story of meeting a woman after that election year, and she said she would have voted for him but "I didn't ask her to."
"I am not making that mistake again," he said. "I am asking you all to go to the caucus for me and bring five of your friends and neighbors. You can start a wave of change that can't be stopped. I will fight for you with every fiber of my being."
Susan Hildreth can be reached at shildreth@newsrepublican.com
