Sounding like he was giving the rebuttal to actor Michael Douglas’ infamous “greed is good” speech in the 1986 movie “Wall Street,” Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Sunday in Carroll delivered a powerful populist political sermon on the evils of corporate America.

“Corporate greed is stealing your children’s future,” Edwards said.

Speaking before several hundred people in the Carroll High School library, Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, said his presidential campaign has not taken money from political action committees and that he’s not tied to special interests.

He pledged an “epic” fight against insurance and health-care industry officials.

“I’ll tell you when they’ll give their power away,” Edwards said. “When we take their power away.”

He talked of growing up in a working class family in North Carolina – a theme he successfully sounded in 2004 when he finished second to U.S. Sen. John Kerry in the Iowa caucuses.

  “I am not going to stand quietly by and let corporate greed take all their work away,” he said.

In recent days, Carroll City Councilman Mike Eifler has seen the top four Democratic presidential contenders in Iowa – Edwards, U.S. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

“I’ve been undecided the whole time but I was kind of leaning toward Edwards,” Eifler said. “But after I saw Richardson, he just seemed like he knew what he was talking about, very knowledgeable, lots of experience. He kind of persuaded me to go to his camp.”

That said, Eifler said that if Richardson is not viable at his caucus site he will go with Edwards.

“I like the fact that he seems to worry more about the middle class than anyone,” Eifler said.

One Carroll resident who is firmly in the camp of Edwards is the North Carolinian’s Ward 1 captain Ron Roe, 62, a Vietnam War veteran who drives a bus part-time.

“I just think he’s pretty electable,” Roe said. “I like the guy but I think Hillary will have a little problem getting elected unless she has somebody like him or Obama with her.”

He hopes that in the “nick and tuck” final hours of caucus campaigning Edwards emerges as first or second.

“I don’t think he’ll be third,” Roe said.

In the fiery speech, Edwards blasted Bush administration policies he says have led to wide disparities in wealth.

“How much money do they need?” Edwards said. “Really. How much do they need?”

He added, “They have billions of dollars invested in ensuring nothing changes.”

Edwards summoned the legacies of presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt, saying he was willing to incur the hatred of corporate America to go after it as he has as a longtime trial lawyer in North Carolina.

“How long are we going to let the insurance and drug companies run this country?” Edwards said.

(Photo Credit: Carroll Daily Times Herald Jeff Storjohann.)