Despite a slight bump up in polls after Sen. John Kerry picked Sen. John Edwards as his running mate, a new poll in North Carolina shows the Democratic ticket down as many as 15 points in Edwards' home state. “Today” host Katie Couric talked to the vice presidential candidate and his wife, Elizabeth, about deciding to join the Kerry campaign, taking on Bush-Cheney in Florida and other key states, and why he voted no on troop funding in Iraq.

Sen. John Edwards:  “I'm no poll expert, [but] I'll tell you that. I [have] … seen a number of polls that show the race is basically a dead heat in North Carolina. What I do know is that as we move forward and as people in North Carolina, I believe, embrace the idea of me being on a national ticket — somebody who's represented them and they feel a real closeness and affinity to — and as they know more about John Kerry, I think they'll embrace this ticket.”

Katie Couric: “Really? A liberal Democrat from Massachusetts?”

Edwards: “No, no. That's a good try, though. No. Somebody who got out of college, volunteered for military service, was a hero in Vietnam, who the men who served with him in Vietnam still look up to and respect and have great affection for. I mean, where I come from, the way you judge what somebody's made of is not by what they say in a political speech, but what they've spent their life doing.”

The Florida vote strategy
Couric: “Florida, with its 27 electoral votes, was the epicenter of the election, of course, back in 2000. Do you have a Florida strategy?”

Sen. Edwards: “Well, I've got a wife who was born there.” (Laughter)

Couric: “I know.”

Sen. Edwards: “I've got about 20 of her relatives who live there.”

Couric: “Well, that's plenty votes for you.”

Mrs. Edwards: “Only 500, right?”

Couric: “In fact, I know, Mrs. Edwards, you have made a point of saying that you were born, I guess, in Jacksonville? Your parents were married in Pensacola.”

Mrs. Edwards: “That's right.”

Couric: “They live in Sarasota now.”

Mrs. Edwards: “That's right.”

Couric: “You have a sister in Bradenton.  Did I do my homework or what?”

Mrs. Edwards: “You did.”

Couric: “You have family all over the state.”

Mrs. Edwards: “I do.”

Couric: “Family ties are great. But doesn't George Bush have the ultimate family tie with his brother, the governor?”

Mrs. Edwards: “It certainly was … [a] helpful tie last time. We're hoping that actually, that ... the vote is not determined by the governor … or the administrator of Florida, but by the people of Florida this time. That [would] be great.”

Couric: “Do you think the governor decided the election last election?”

Mrs. Edwards: “Well … you know, certainly the administration of the state of Florida had a pretty big role in … how the election came out.  They … certainly had an important role in that.”

Couric: “Do you agree with that?”

Sen. Edwards: “Yes.”

Sen. Edwards: “Well, the vice president's wrong. The truth of the matter is that the vote to give the president the authority he gave was the right vote. Saddam Hussein being gone is a good thing, good for America, good for the world. But that authority has been abused by the president. It's been a huge cost in American lives and in money, [and] in our relationships around the world as a result of the mistakes and the misjudgments he made.”

Couric: “Well, let me go back for a minute, senator, if I could. Because you knew that the coalition wasn't that strong when you voted. You knew that there wasn't a firm exit strategy in place. And yet, you still authorized the United States to invade Iraq. Don't you have a responsibility when you vote yes to make sure those things are in place?  I mean, how can you look back and say, well, this wasn't happening and this wasn't happening and this wasn't happening, but I voted yes anyway?”

Voting problems, how voting systems work, contacting state election officials

Sen. Edwards: “It's a fair question. I take full responsibility for my vote — no one else [but] me.  I take responsibility for it. I took it seriously then [and] I take it very seriously now. But I didn't have control over what the president would do to put other countries into this effort.  I didn't have control, and the president did, over whether — as they moved forward — they would develop the kind of detailed, thoughtful plan for winning the peace that needed to be put in place. The truth is if John Kerry had been president at that time, I would've wanted him to have the same authority. I mean, Saddam Hussein was a serious threat.  He needed to be dealt with. But how that authority was implemented was critical.  And that was the responsibility of the president. The reality is that was and still is his responsibility.”

Couric: “Let's talk about the $87 billion appropriation bill, which you voted against, along with Sen. Kerry. There's been a change of tactics on the campaign trail. Sen. Kerry is now saying he's proud that the two of you voted against this, because you knew the policy had to be changed.  In the past, Mr. Kerry said he'd voted against the bill because he thought it should be financed by rolling back the Bush tax cuts. So, which one was it? Was the policy problematic, or the financing of it?  And do you concede that you have a bit of a problem voting for a war and being one of four Senators who voted against the funding necessary to wage it?”

'Are you going to say that what's happening in Iraq now on the ground is okay, we should stay on this course, give the president his blank check and he'll come back a year from now and ask for another blank check? My view was [that] I had to stand up and say no. This is not working. We have to change course.'                   — Sen. John Edwards Vice presidential candidate

Sen. Edwards: “No, ma'am. I did what I believed was right. And I think John Kerry did it for the same reasons, as we talked about at the time. Both of us voted against the $87 billion because what had happened at that point, if that vote occurred, we were at war.  It was clear that none of our allies, or very few of our allies, were being brought to this operation.  It was clear there's no serious plan to win the peace. And then this vote was put before us. Are you going to say that what's happening in Iraq now on the ground is okay, we should stay on this course, give the president his blank check and he'll come back a year from now and ask for another blank check? My view was [that] I had to stand up and say no. This is not working. We have to change course.”                      

Couric: “What would be the exit strategy in a Kerry-Edwards administration in Iraq?”

Sen. Edwards: “Several things. One is John Kerry would make certain that the Iraqis are, in a much quicker and more efficient way, being trained to provide for their own security. At the end of the day, in order for America to be able to pull its troops out, we have to be certain that the Iraqi people can provide security.”

Couric: “With all due respect, why would John Kerry be able to do any better of a job than …?

Sen. Edwards: “Because the president and the administration … from very early on ... had very little in the way of planning and very little in the way of investment and serious investment, in making sure that that occurred.”

Running against Vice President Dick Cheney
Couric: “Let me ask you about Dick Cheney. Do you know him well?”

Sen. Edwards: “No.”

Couric: “What do you think of him?”

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Sen. Edwards: “[In] my personal interaction with him, he's always been perfectly cordial and polite. He called me on the day that Sen. Kerry named me as his running mate.  He was very cordial and polite. I think he is out of touch with the lives of most Americans. I don't think he has any idea of the struggles and problems that people face most days in their lives. I think as a result of that, it's very hard for him to, going forward, to provide the kind of vision of hope and opportunity that this country, I think, is entitled to and needs. But we have dramatically different views of the world.  I mean, I come from a family where my father worked in a mill in rural North Carolina. I was the first person in my family to … be able to go to college. And I've had more opportunities than anybody could ever hope for, that I would've ever dreamed of. And because of that, I feel an enormous responsibility to … provide those same opportunities to all other Americans.”

Couric: “You don't think Dick Cheney wants to provide…”

Sen. Edwards: “I don't see any sign of it, if it's true.  The real question is, in governing, what is it that drives you every day when you get up? For me, it's thinking about all those people that I've grown up with along the way who I want to see them, their families, their kids, their grandkids, get the same kind of chances I've had. I mean, I've grown up in the bright light of America — that's the truth — and I want to make sure others get that same chance.”

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