was edwards the winner tues night ?

[Fixed]

with all the fighting goin on in the debate the clintons vs. obama
here is my little view okay I like obama 's speeches about hope and that young cats like him but bro keep out of mud or get dirty . the clintons are pros at this .. i don't think there is that much difference between them but I like the hope deal .. I think he needs to keep his head up and keep the idea he is to good for this stuff (name calling ). imho
cheers

[regularguy412]

This does appear to be a wateshed year for those who try to remain above the fray and not sling mud. Unfortunately, nice guys ( or gals ) still do finish last. We'll probably still be stuck voting for the lesser of two evils. :S

Mike in AR

[Viper]

His hair looks better and better-issimo.

[93legendti]

Edwards' wife is dying of cancer and he is running for President, presumably dragging his wife and kids with him re:, what is so far, a no chance candidacy. I think about a lot of things when Sen. Edwards' name pops up, but nice isn't one of them.

[a100mark]

with all the fighting goin on in the debate the clintons vs. obama
here is my little view okay I like obama 's speeches about hope and that young cats like him but bro keep out of mud or get dirty . the clintons are pros at this .. i don't think there is that much difference between them but I like the hope deal .. I think he needs to keep his head up and keep the idea he is to good for this stuff (name calling ). imho
cheers


+1 fixed. I am an Obama supporter but all the mud slinging only makes him appear to be more like them....i.e professional politicans

[Fixed]

bro i don't know much but being for the poor and down cast is not nice ?
asked with respect to you cats .
pluse he went to a state u. i would think him to be a clever lawyer from a modest background sorry bro I didn't know about his wife that is sad
imho

[michael white]

Edwards is a class act, and is raising the level of discourse above the sort of hateful invective we've seen so much of in politics lately . . . and hey, even on sites like this. His wife is not dying, she is ill and fighting it. She supports her husband completely and wants him to succeed.

Frankly, if I wanted to say hateful things about Edwards and his family, I'd go to Ann Coulter.com or some similar support group which specializes in that sort of thing.

Sure, Obama and Hillary are duking it out right now, which is just SOP. I really like Edwards, but his role will probably evolve in some other direction. What he's adding is positive.

[93legendti]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/24/60minutes/main2605038.shtml


Class act? He invested in sub-prime mortgages:


By Tim Middleton

The presidential candidate one newspaper has labeled "Richie Rich in bib overalls" is a remarkably sophisticated investor.

Former Sen. John Edwards has exploited the middle of his famous three H's -- his $400 haircuts, his hedge-fund consulting and his new 28,000-square-foot home -- to spread his fortune around a maze of trusts and accounts that total something between $29.5 million (his campaign's estimate) and $62 million (the high end of ranges described in his federal disclosure).

Edwards' sprawling, 48-page campaign-finance disclosure for 2006 (.pdf file) reveals substantial investments in limited partnerships, subprime-mortgage lenders and an offshore hedge fund. The latter two run contrary to stands he has taken as a candidate.

Man of the people -- and profits
Edwards is running as a populist, but profits on his stock investments alone would distance the candidate from the cause.

Edwards has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in capital gains from stock in Apple (AAPL, news, msgs), BP PLC (BP, news, msgs), Burlington Resources, Medtronic (MDT, news, msgs) and Schlumberger (SLB, news, msgs), the chief rival to Halliburton (HAL, news, msgs), where Vice President **** Cheney was once CEO.
Edwards generated most of his wealth as a trial lawyer, but last year his principal employment was as a senior adviser to Fortress Investment (FIG, news, msgs), a large hedge-fund operator, for which he received $479,512. His and his wife's investment in Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund D) totaled between $1 million and $5 million.

Fortress, based in New York, owns subprime lender Nationstar Mortgage, formerly Centex Home Equity. The Dallas company calls itself "one of the nation's leading mortgage lenders offering nonprime mortgages and home-equity loans."
As a presidential candidate, Edwards has lashed out at subprime lenders, saying they are "pulling a fast one on hardworking homeowners."


Fortress Investment Fund III is based in the Cayman Islands. Edwards' campaign said he opposes offshore tax havens and, "as president, he will end them."

A mighty Fortress
Edwards has said he worked for Fortress to learn more about financial markets and their link to poverty. He is the former director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

He evidently learned a good deal because his portfolio is aggressive and slanted toward Wall Street's most complex deals. He has accounts, including a trust for his children, with Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management and Oak Hill Capital Partners Fund. Two investments, Drawbridge Global Macro Fund and Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund, are Fortress hedge funds that specialize in what his disclosure form characterizes as "global markets, strategies and instruments."

Nice carbon footprint.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/MutualFunds/EdwardsMakingHisMillionsGrow.aspx

[michael white]

Middleton? just another ignorant conservative rant. But I'd be nervous too.

Personal attacks suck They make you look like a complete jackass, like Middleton. Stop it.

[davids]

Edwards' wife is dying of cancer and he is running for President, presumably dragging his wife and kids with him re:, what is so far, a no chance candidacy. I think about a lot of things when Sen. Edwards' name pops up, but nice isn't one of them.I don't think he's "dragging" his wife anywhere she doesn't want to be going.

Each of the Democratic candidates has a lot to recommend him or her. But I think we'd be fooling ourselves if we didn't acknowledge that ambition, at this level, is some kind of force that most of us can't imagine. They all have it, atmo.

It's just jarring to see it trump a fatal disease. It creeps me out a bit. My wife, who's supporting Edwards, doesn't seem to mind. She sees it as evidence of their overwhelming commitment to what he's trying to accomplish.

...as far as his candidacy, there's a lot I like about his message promoting justice for the weakest and combating the influence of big money in politics. And he wins points by staying above the fray in the Obama-Clinton fracas... I just don't see him being able to deliver as president.

p.s. One thing I can say for the Republican candidates. They don't face charges of hypocrisy while they suck at big capital's teat. They're consistently on the side of the powerful, darn it!

[michael white]

"to see it trump a fatal disease"

I really disagree, David. You don't know what's going on in that family. I lost a wife to cancer in '91. I spent most of a year at her side, yet at the end, she wanted me to work. See, I was finishing a book and it was important to her; she had been a crucial part of it. In one of our last conversations, a week before she died, I was able to tell her that it was going to be published with a distinguished press. You should've seen her smile. You should have seen her clasp my hand.

[davids]

"to see it trump a fatal disease"

I really disagree, David. You don't know what's going on in that family. I lost a wife to cancer in '91. I spent most of a year at her side, yet at the end, she wanted me to work. See, I was finishing a book and it was important to her; she had been a crucial part of it. In one of our last conversations, a week before she died, I was able to tell her that it was going to be published with a distinguished press. You should've seen her smile. You should have seen her clasp my hand.Your story really moved me, and helps me see this another way.

That's been my wife's point too - That both John and Elizabeth see what he could achieve as president as more important than her illness.

[Fixed]

"to see it trump a fatal disease"

I really disagree, David. You don't know what's going on in that family. I lost a wife to cancer in '91. I spent most of a year at her side, yet at the end, she wanted me to work. See, I was finishing a book and it was important to her; she had been a crucial part of it. In one of our last conversations, a week before she died, I was able to tell her that it was going to be published with a distinguished press. You should've seen her smile. You should have seen her clasp my hand.
bro that made me cry you are my hero
cheers

[Ray]

Michael,

Beautiful and sad story. I can't even begin to imagine... I guess it was long enough ago that you've learned to cope, but I can't imagine that sort of pain ever really goes away. And I think you're right about the Edwards' - they're both VERY dedicated to his campaign. I've seen her on a lot of talk shows and I'd vote for her before I'd vote for him. And I wouldn't have any trouble voting for him.

I think the winner on Tuesday night was Hillary. Her campaign clearly realized after Iowa that she couldn't compete with Obama on inspiration, so their only hope was to drag him down into the mud with them and get him so dirty it would be hard to distinguish between them. And when forced to pick a dirty politician, nobody is a more obvious pick and Hillary/Bill. And its working, from what I can tell. I liked Bill Clinton as a president and I suppose I'll eventually support Hillary if she wins the nomination. But it'll be another 'hold my nose and vote for the lesser of two evils" kind of election. I guess politics isn't supposed to be about inspiration. It surely hasn't been in my adult life.

-Ray

[ti_boi]

"to see it trump a fatal disease"

I really disagree, David. You don't know what's going on in that family. I lost a wife to cancer in '91. I spent most of a year at her side, yet at the end, she wanted me to work. See, I was finishing a book and it was important to her; she had been a crucial part of it. In one of our last conversations, a week before she died, I was able to tell her that it was going to be published with a distinguished press. You should've seen her smile. You should have seen her clasp my hand.


Wow. Amazing. Best thing that I have read all day.

[Tobias]

I like the message of hope and optimism as much as the next guy, but without a little substance on how they will make it happen the message means little to me. We all want world peace, end to hunger, eternal life, etc…. but expressing it over and over won’t make it happen regardless of how eloquently it is stated. It’s time we demand specific ideas from all candidates. BTW, being nice or having nice hair won’t get my vote.

What disturbs me most about this race is that the American people don’t seem to have a problem with sending an ex-president back to the White House; regardless of what title we give him. The potential for infighting between the Clintons and how it could affect government is way too risky for me.

[93legendti]

I like the message of hope and optimism as much as the next guy, but without a little substance on how they will make it happen the message means little to me. We all want world peace, end to hunger, eternal life, etc…. but expressing it over and over won’t make it happen regardless of how eloquently it is stated. It’s time we demand specific ideas from all candidates. BTW, being nice or having nice hair won’t get my vote.

What disturbs me most about this race is that the American people don’t seem to have a problem with sending an ex-president back to the White House; regardless of what title we give him. The potential for infighting between the Clintons and how it could affect government is way too risky for me.

When I read what Sen. Edwards does with his own money, it makes me understand why his message is short on specifics. He'd have to denounce almost his whole lifestyle. No one fears Sen. Edwards, that's why he had to pipe up at that debate and say there are 3 candidates here, not two.

[ti_boi]

I 'like' Edwards...he is 'likeable'...but hear he wishes to eliminate advertising for Pharma products? This seems strange to me.

[sg8357]

The potential for infighting between the Clintons and how it could affect government is way too risky for me.

Bill will be Vice President, no snickers please.

President is a political job, there is a lot to be said for Team Clinton,
they do know their business, what they actually want to do is a
complete mystery. We have had an poorly educated amateur for
8 years, somebody competent would be a relief.

I predict Cheney will be President, Romney Veep, based on the
secret sections of the Patriot Act.


Scott G.

[93legendti]

I don't think he's "dragging" his wife anywhere she doesn't want to be going...

And the kids? They are 7 and 9 now.

From the 2007 Interview:

"Katie Couric:
That must have been hard once again to have to face your kids and to talk to Emma Claire and Jack who are 8 and 6. That is tough."

[fiamme red]

And the kids? They are 7 and 9 now.

From the 2007 Interview:

"Katie Couric:
That must have been hard once again to have to face your kids and to talk to Emma Claire and Jack who are 8 and 6. That is tough."Ummm... did Katie Couric give up her work at NBC to spend time with her family when her husband was dying of cancer?

[93legendti]

Ummm... did Katie Couric give up her work at NBC to spend time with her family when her husband was dying of cancer?


Ummm, is she a running for her party's nomination? FWIW, I think she was wrong.

I don't watch her show, so what she does matters little to me. I didn't work for the 9 weeks my father was dying from cancer. I was in my parents home, taking care of him.

Most intelligent people realize that working on TV and living at home vs. traveling around the country with 2 children under than 10 and a dying wife, running for a national elected position are not analogous.

[93legendti]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080123/ap_on_el_pr/edwards_clinton

Edwards jabs Clinton for leaving SC By SUSANNE M. SCHAFER, Associated Press Writer
14 minutes ago

BENNETTSVILLE, S.C. - Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards criticized rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday for leaving South Carolina in the run-up to the state's primary, saying residents should question whether the New York senator would return if she became president.


"After the debate she flew out and won't be back," Edwards told a crowd of about 150 people in this small town. "What are the chances she's coming back when she's president of the United States?"

The former North Carolina senator overstated his claim, however. Clinton took part in Monday night's debate in Myrtle Beach and then left to campaign in states scheduled to hold contests Feb. 5, including California, New Mexico and New Jersey. She's expected to be back in South Carolina on Thursday, and her husband has been campaigning for her around South Carolina this week. Barack Obama also has been campaigning in South Carolina in advance of Saturday's primary...

[Fixed]

bro how many of us have had our lives touched by cancer with the death of a loved one .they are together that's important ..sitting around in a room waiting to die imho nobody wants that ..
we haven't seen him talk about it to get votes that says something
cheers imho

[roman meal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/opinion/23dowd.html?hp


Hillary Clinton doesn't need her husband to do what he's doing to win the presidency. If she does, then she's not fit to be president. I think she demonstrates that the goal is to win at all costs, not in a honest, self-supporting fashion.

Did Armstrong need Ferrari and the Boys from Brazil to win all those tours? If he did, then he's not fit to be the champion he is, imho.


No one lets it hang out these days without the belt and suspenders approach, without the double dose, just for good measure. i prefer my candidates to be unplugged.

[93legendti]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/opinion/23dowd.html?hp


Hillary Clinton doesn't need her husband to do what he's doing to win the presidency. If she does, then she's not fit to be president. I think she demonstrates that the goal is to win at all costs, not in a honest, self-supporting fashion.

Did Armstrong need Ferrari and the Boys from Brazil to win all those tours? If he did, then he's not fit to be the champion he is, imho.


No one lets it hang out these days without the belt and suspenders approach, without the double dose, just for good measure. i prefer my candidates to be unplugged.

She may not even want him to be doing what he's doing. Some people think Bill doesn't want her to be President--'cuz the room is not big enough for 2 people being called President. That and if she does not get nominated he can finally get divorced.

[roman meal]

She may not even want him to be doing what he's doing. Some people think Bill doesn't want her to be President--'cuz the room is not big enough for 2 people being called President. That and if she does not get nominated he can finally get divorced.

Of course Hillary wants him to continue what he is doing- she's not going to really stop him, because it's working- Nevada, NH, etc. They both want to be president, Bill wants to be working from within the White House again.

[Fixed]

bro what's obama 's tie to the slum lord gangster ?
cheers
I think he's tougher than he looks mlk with a left hook ?
cheers :beer:

[sspielman]

bro what's obama 's tie to the slum lord gangster ?
cheers
I think he's tougher than he looks mlk with a left hook ?
cheers :beer:

...Probably none.....When you run against the Clintons you need to expect everything to be thrown at you....including the kitchen sink, toilet, septic tank and contents....

[Ray]

bro what's obama 's tie to the slum lord gangster ?
cheers
I think he's tougher than he looks mlk with a left hook ?
cheers :beer:
From FactCheck.org:

According to an investigation last year by the Chicago Sun-Times, Antoin Rezko was involved in developing at least 30 low-income housing buildings in Chicago, in partnership with several community groups and using a combination of taxpayer and private funds. A number of the buildings fell into disrepair, collecting housing code violations, and Rezmar, Rezko's company, was sued on many occasions.

Obama was associated with a law firm that represented the community groups working with Rezko on several deals. There's no evidence that Obama spent much time on them, and he never represented Rezko directly. So it was wrong for Clinton to say he was "representing ... Rezko." That's untrue.

Obama has known Rezko, however, since he left Harvard Law School, and Rezko has been a major contributor and campaign fundraiser for him since Obama's first campaign for the Illinois state Senate. Earlier, we looked into questions about a land deal in which the two wound up with adjacent parcels. No wrongdoing was found in connection with that transaction, though Obama has said it was "boneheaded" for him to be involved in it when he knew Rezko was under investigation. Rezko has since been indicted on fraud and other charges. Obama, who returned some contributions from Rezko and his associates long ago, returned another $41,000 over the weekend in an effort to distance himself from the businessman.

[Fixed]

thanks bro to me that doesn't sound like much dirt if that's the best they can find on him ..good for him
cheers imho
maybe dr phil could talk to the clintons

[malcolm]

How does one defend themselves against mudslinging without also appearing to sling? I too was sad to see him mixed up in that stuff, but if you just ignore it many will assume it is true. I guess he should just respond and ease up on the counter attacks.
Edwards would have a hard time getting my vote if for nothing else he was a personal injury attorney. I can't get past seeing them as someone who makes a lot of money off other people's misery. However I would agree with him that pharmaceutical companies should not be allowed to advertise prescrption drugs. I do feel for him and his family, breast cancer can be savage.

[Tobias]

They both want to be president, Bill wants to be working from within the White House again.That's what concerns me most. I expect our founding fathers didn't anticipate a woman president, so they probably never considered that a ex-president would move back into the White House for up to 8 more years. A total of 16 years of any couple in the WH is too much for me.

I can't honestly separate a married couple into two completely different entities. For Bill to go back into the WH seems wrong on multiple levels.

[Tobias]

I predict Cheney will be President, Romney Veep, based on the
secret sections of the Patriot Act.


Scott G.Are you related to Oliver Stone? Just wondering. ;)

[Climb01742]

I think the winner on Tuesday night was Hillary. Her campaign clearly realized after Iowa that she couldn't compete with Obama on inspiration, so their only hope was to drag him down into the mud with them and get him so dirty it would be hard to distinguish between them. And when forced to pick a dirty politician, nobody is a more obvious pick and Hillary/Bill. And its working, from what I can tell. I liked Bill Clinton as a president and I suppose I'll eventually support Hillary if she wins the nomination. But it'll be another 'hold my nose and vote for the lesser of two evils" kind of election. I guess politics isn't supposed to be about inspiration. It surely hasn't been in my adult life.

-Ray

ray, sadly, i think you hit the nail on the head. they are trying to drag him down into their slime. i am a lifelong democrat but i dislike bill/hill in the extreme. she says she's her own woman, yet as she tears up, bill turns into the slimy attack dog. to have bill talk about honesty and fairy tales is orwellian. i would gladly vote for either B.O. or edwards. i would hold my nose if it's hill -- unless she was running against mccain, then i'd go for him.

i hope B.O. can avoid the clintonian slime.

[Ray]

i would hold my nose if it's hill -- unless she was running against mccain, then i'd go for him.
I like McCain and think he's a man of integrity. And that counts for a lot. But it doesn't overcome fundamental policy differences. So I couldn't vote for him. He wants to stay in Iraq for as many years it takes to achieve "victory", I don't trust who he'd put on the Supreme Court (which is hugely important in this next term with two more "liberal" justices likely to retire), I don't trust him to disown the religious right after kissing Falwell's ring, etc, etc, etc. Taking him at his word, I couldn't vote for him. Bums me out - he's a very good man with very bad (to me) ideas. As was Reagan. I'd love to vote for someone who I felt that way about who I actually AGREED with someday. Hasn't happened yet. Gore was as close as I've come and he wasn't exactly inspiring. Just mostly right.

Maybe Obama's still possible. But I'm not placing any bets.

-Ray

[1centaur]

Hillary was the winner because she revealed, yet again, what I said weeks ago: Obama looks callow in debates. He could have nailed her a thousand different ways on her pathetic "why did you vote present" attack, could have asked her why she thought he voted present and then made her look like a fool, but he is conflicted by his need to be above the fray so he dithers 50/50 in and out of the mud. With so many voters deciding on emotion rather than intellect, the lasting impression is of weakness, not admiration for the point he made about sponsoring the bill he voted present on. If he can't sound bite it, he can call her attack misguided and ill informed and pledge to put the facts on his website within 24 hours - the press would be conditioned to explain it in greater detail than he can in 20 seconds.

Pharma advertising is a good way to open up the flow of dialog between patients and doctors. It's not like people get to self-prescribe, but it moves the marketing beyond the direct-to-doctor samples/boondoggles and the "I've been using this since 1950" mentality that some doctors have inflicted on patients. It's also not like the government did not lard up the advertising with 80% of the product inserts to scare people off. Laws to prohibit the free flow of information should be viewed with great distrust by people of liberal leanings (at least), so I don't get the support for what feels like generic (so to speak) emotional manipulation by Edwards.

As for Edwards' character, I say let's watch what comes out over time. Let's leave it as my agreement that I would pick his wife over him, were I looking for someone from the wrong side of the aisle :)

[regularguy412]

The trouble is: the best person for the job is smart enough not to run for public office. Moreover if that right person 'would' run, he or she would not be electable, since he or she wouldn't 'owe' any person or group any allegience (read: monetary supporters).

We do desperately need a person in there who can overcome all the recent years of partisan bickering and jealousy. I don't really see that person out there, right now. For things to get better, it will take a complete paradigmn shift.

Mike in AR

[rounder]

bro how many of us have had our lives touched by cancer with the death of a loved one .they are together that's important ..sitting around in a room waiting to die imho nobody wants that ..
we haven't seen him talk about it to get votes that says something
cheers imho

I am not an edwards fan, but respect the way he is running. His wife has cancer but he is not abandoning her...she is campaigning with him. If it's more about what you believe and being decent, i like Edwards and McCain. I don't believe it should be about destroying the competion through smears and innuendo or who spends the most money.

[roman meal]

.

[rwsaunders]

Get used to it. Don't forget that JFK appointed his brother as Attorney General.

[93legendti]

Edwards' wife is dying of cancer and he is running for President, presumably dragging his wife and kids with him re:, what is so far, a no chance candidacy. I think about a lot of things when Sen. Edwards' name pops up, but nice isn't one of them.

I hate being right...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080808/ap_on_el_pr/edwards_affair

By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer
9 minutes ago


WASHINGTON - Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Friday admitted to an extramarital affair while his wife was battling cancer. He denied fathering the woman's daughter. Edwards told ABC News that he lied repeatedly about the affair with 42-year-old Rielle Hunter but said that he didn't love her...

[Bruce K]

Preemptive stirke.

This has the potential to get way out of hand way too fast.

Sorry guys.

BK