By Stephen Elliott, selliott@qconline.com

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Photo: Paul Colletti John Edwards shakes hands as he makes his way to the stage at Davenport North High School on Monday afternoon. The school's auditorium was filled with a mix of students and supporters of Mr. Edwards' presidential campaign.

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Photo: Paul Colletti Presidential hopeful John Edwards is welcomed to the stage musicians Bonnie Raitt (hugging) and Jackson Browne on Monday afternoon in Davenport. A performance by the award-winning artists preceded Mr. Edwards' address at Davenport North High School.

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Photo: Paul Colletti Bonnie Raitt, center, and Jackson Browne, left, perform on stage at Davenport North High School on Monday, November 19, 2007 during a John Edwards campaign event.

DAVENPORT -- He stood backstage in a black sport coat and blue jeans, a group of middle-aged admirers lined up, waiting for his autograph.

But the group wasn't waiting for presidential candidate John Edwards, who spoke to a full auditorium at Davenport's North High School Monday afternoon. They were there for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer/songwriter Jackson Browne, who along with fellow Hall of Famer Bonnie Raitt performed before Mr. Edwards took the stage.

"It was a very warm reception," Mr. Browne said as he signed old vinyl record and compact disc covers. "I can't tell how many have already decided (on Edwards) or are still shopping in Iowa.

"I think there's a great deal of hope in his message," Mr. Browne said. "Because he's going to take the fight to the insurance interests. Because he's willing to say that's what has to change in this country. It gives people hope."

The former U.S. senator from North Carolina touched on a number of issues during his Davenport campaign stop. Dressed in blue jeans and long-sleeved shirt, he talked about taking America back from corporate interests and lobbyists.

Like former President Harry Truman, Mr. Edwards talked about "giving hell" to special interests and lobbyists and a system he said is not helping the poor.

He spoke about providing universal health care, raising taxable income caps to help fund Social Security and bringing troops home from Iraq.

"The American people are up for this challenge," Mr. Edwards said to applause from the audience. "The great thing is we never take the easy way out. That's not us. That's not who we are. But, we have a fight in front of us. We have to be ready for that fight."

In the audience were Walt and Dorothy Barchman, of Davenport. Mr. Barchman, a Navy veteran of World War II, said his biggest concern was bringing the troops home from Iraq.

Jeff and Mary Kowalski, of DeKalb, were sitting in the audience with their Edwards signs. A professor at Northern Illinois University, Mr. Kowalski said health care and the Iraq war come to mind as his main concerns.

Mr. Kowalski said America needs a strong military, but added, "A strong military alone is not the answer.

"This war has been badly mismanaged. It's a detriment to our country's security," he said. "We need to improve our working conditions and pay for ordinary working Americans."

Mrs. Kowalski said she had been going door to door over the weekend for the Edwards campaign in Davenport. She said the response was pretty good.

"He's my candidate," she said. "I believe he's the most electable out of the top three" -- a list that also includes Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, she said.

Mr. Edwards politely said he had differences of opinion with Democratic frontrunner Mrs. Clinton. He spoke against some policies from her husband's administration.

He said American workers were left on their own by the North American Free Trade Agreement, that it cost the country too many jobs.

He also criticized Mrs. Clinton for voting to label the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. He said it opens the door for the Bush administration to go into Iran.

"She's entitled to her vote," Sen. Edwards said. "I just happen to have a different view.

"The easiest thing to do is turn your head and say it's just the way it is," he said. "If you're going to turn your head, you better be prepared to tell your children that you're going to leave this mess to them. This is the great moral test for our generation. And, brothers and sisters, together we will meet that test."

As she was walking out of the auditorium, Merredyth Beno, of Eldridge, was talking to her sister on her cell phone.

"This is the best event in the world," she said. "We're going to be John Edwards groupies the rest of our lives."

Ms. Beno, who had her picture taken with Jackson Browne and the senator, said she has seen all of Mr. Browne's concerts within a 60-mile radius.

"And to be 5 feet in front of him," she laughed, adding about Mr. Edwards, "There's nothing phony about him. He's genuine. To have them here together is a dream come true."

INFO BOX

Some proposals outlined by John Edwards during his Davenport campaign stop Monday:

-- End the war in Iraq. He supports immediately drawing down 40,000 to 50,000 combat troops. Said the 2002 authorization didn't give President George W. Bush the power to use U.S. troops to police a civil war.

-- Expand college opportunities to everyone. Wants to make college more affordable for millions of students. Said students would be required to take part-time jobs and offered to reform student loans to eliminate bank subsidies.

-- Social Security. Said he is against privatizing, cutting benefits and raising the retirement age. Wants to raise the cap taxable income for Social Security from the current $97,000.

-- Wants universal health care. Would make private insurers compete with a public plan available through Health Care Markets. These markets would give families and businesses purchasing power and choice of plans, including one public plan.

"I've had people come to (his wife) Elizabeth and me and tell us they have breast cancer," he said. "But, unlike Elizabeth, they have no health-care coverage. And you can see the fear in their eyes as a result."