Edwards now says "stop these ads" [View All]

[BeyondGeography]

==My colleague Lisa Lerer e-mails from Coralville that Edwards took a question about his stance on the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads in 2004.

Then, he'd called on President Bush to "step forward and say three words: 'Stop these ads.'"

Edwards wouldn't be that blunt, but he did address the question somewhat more directly than he had earlier in the day.

"I would prefer that all 527s — not just this one — stay out of Iowa, but I have no legal authority over that," he said.

ALSO: A simultaneous statement from Obama aide Bill Burton, whose conditions seem to have, sort of, been met:

"It's not change when you decry the influence of money in politics but then stay silent when your former campaign manager exploits the biggest loophole in the law to benefit the Edwards' campaign with millions of dollars in ads from an unregulated political fund whose donors are undisclosed. John Edwards can and should call on his former advisor to stop this effort."

UPDATE: The Edwards campaign sent new quotes to reporters under an unequivocal heading: "EDWARDS: STOP THESE ADS."

“I do not support 527 groups. They are part of the law, but let me be clear: I am asking this group and others not to run the ads. I would encourage all the 527s to stay out of the political process," he says in the release.==

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1207/Edwards_would_prefer_the_527_stop.html

We'll see if it means anything.