John Edwards renewed promises that, as president, he would restore America's moral position in the world, work to end global poverty, lead an international coalition to abolish nuclear weapons, end the war in Iraq and create trade policy that is good for American workers and requires fair labor and environmental protections abroad.

Edwards used the 14th anniversary of the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement to once again condemn the trade policy that he said is responsible for the loss of 1 million jobs to overseas workers.

Sen. Hillary Clinton last month called NAFTA "a mistake" because it wasn't enforced as it was designed.

After a town hall meeting in Concord yesterday, Edwards was asked what he thought about Clinton distancing herself from the policy, which her husband signed into law in 1993.

"They were the movers behind NAFTA," Edwards said. "She'll have to carry that burden herself."

Edwards has pledged to assign top prosecutors in the Department of Justice to enforce trade law and to eliminate tax incentives to corporations that move overseas.

Edwards took a lighter swipe at Clinton in front of the crowd at Grap-

pone Conference Center - about 350 people, according to the campaign - picking on her for picking on Sen. Barack Obama. Last week, her campaign put out a memo saying Obama has had ambitions to be president since kindergarten, when he wrote an essay on the topic.

"If that's a character issue, I have a confession to make," he said. "When I was in kindergarten, I wanted to be a cowboy and Superman."

Edwards told the story of visiting the house in Seneca, S.C., where his parents brought him home from the hospital. He talked about his grandparents walking from their nearby home to work at the mill. His grandfather was paralyzed on one side and would drag his leg, he said.

He said American needs to do for the next generations what his ancestors did: Work to make the country better.

"I think of my grandfather dragging himself to that mill every day so that I could have the life that I had. Who speaks for him?" he said. "Who speaks for my father, who went to work for 37 years in that mill so that his child could have a better life? Who speaks for you and your parents and your children?"

Edwards said lobbyists have controlled Washington, D.C., under Democratic and Republican administrations, killing plans for universal health care, passing NAFTA, instituting a lobbyist-written Medicare prescription drug law and allowing "paid mercenaries" to get contracts in Iraq.

"Our people are good and strong and moral and care about the people around us and care about our country," he said. He went on, "This is our moment. Together we're going to reclaim this democracy."

Edwards said the United States needs to undermine terrorist groups, but that it also needs to do more.

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