Edwards Back of Criticism After Tagging His Rivals

By JIM KUHNHENN
Associated Press Writer

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- At a key moment during a labor-sponsored debate in August, John Edwards laid down a marker against Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"The one thing you can count on is you will never see a picture of me on the front of Fortune magazine saying I am the candidate that big, corporate America is betting on," he said, an unmistakable reference to a cover story about Clinton with the headline "Business Loves Hillary! (Who Knew?)"

On his current bus tour of Iowa, with the caucuses only three weeks away, Edwards rarely mentions his rivals. His campaign believes he hardly needs to because he spent months branding them -- Clinton as the corporate Democrat, Barack Obama as the callow compromiser who would negotiate with special interests.

More here

Edwards Tries to Quash Student's Report

By MIKE BAKER
Associated Press Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A University of North Carolina professor said Friday that John Edwards' campaign demanded that he pull a student reporter's television story that focused on the upscale location of the campaign's headquarters.



C.A. "Charlie" Tuggle, an associate professor at the school, said the Edwards campaign contacted the reporter, second-year master's degree student Carla Babb, asking for a video of her report to be removed from the Internet. When that failed, the campaign demanded in three calls to Tuggle that the TV story be killed, he said.

Tuggle said the campaign had complained that the reporter misrepresented the story she planned to do. He also said the Edwards campaign warned that relations with the school could be jeopardized.

The Edwards campaign had no comment on the professor's specific contentions. More generally, spokeswoman Colleen Murray said: "This is silly. We love all reporters, the problem is the feeling isn't always mutual."

The TV story is to air Monday on the program "Carolina Week" in Chapel Hill. It was first posted on YouTube for an MTV contest and drew only a couple of hundred hits during the first days on the site.

The Edwards campaign complained to Tuggle, he said, that the student had not disclosed the angle of the story and had asked for access to do a feature on a student who was interning for the campaign.

In the report, Babb interviews students, one on the campaign, one not. She asks whether it is appropriate for Edwards to base his operations in his affluent hometown of Chapel Hill, home of the university, as opposed to a location that would better reflect his campaign platform of fighting poverty.

After quoting the students, Babb concludes her report by saying, "It's ultimately up to the voters to decide if running a presidential campaign here was a smart move politically. But it's safe to say, in Chapel Hill, opinions are split. "

In an interview Friday, Babb said: "I was completely shocked to get a phone call from the Edwards campaign saying that the story was straight from the Republican Party and that we needed to take it down."

She said she wanted to do a story about student opinions about Edwards' headquarters near campus in Chapel Hill's Southern Village.

Tuggle is the news director of "Carolina Week" and the broadcast professor who advises students for the newscast.

"Was it what the campaign was expecting it to be? No," Tuggle said. "But I don't know that we're obligated as journalists to tell that the focus of a story has changed."

Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, graduated with a law degree from the university and helped develop and operate a poverty center there after the 2004 election.

Iowa Service Union Endorses Edwards

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Democrat John Edwards has received the
endorsement of the Iowa State Council of the Service Employees
International Union, and announcements of support from other state
councils were promised to follow Monday, a campaign official said.

"This endorsement reflects Senator Edwards' lifelong commitment
to standing up for working Americans like the people he grew up
with," said the senior campaign official, who requested anonymity
because he was speaking about the endorsement before its official
release.

He told The Associated Press that a "number of other state
councils" of the SEIU will announce their support for the former
North Carolina senator at an event in Iowa City on Monday evening,
but he wouldn't confirm how many.

Edwards was stung last week by the national SEIU when leaders
said it would not endorse a candidate for the primary elections,
letting its members make their decisions on a state-by-state basis.

Edwards had worked hard to win the seal of approval from the
union, which claims to be the fastest growing in North America,
boasting 1.9 million members in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

The 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee has spent
considerable time the past couple of years walking picket lines,
speaking out for workers' rights and seeking labor support.

Cathy Glasson, a registered nurse and president of SEIU Local
199, said Edwards' health care plan was pivotal to earning the
support in Iowa.

"We are uniquely positioned to see and hear the candidates and
members are well informed on the issues important to working
families," she said in a statement. "John Edwards earned our
support by taking a strong stand on health care and because he
offers our members the greatest hope for restoring the American
Dream."

Edwards Response to President Bush

After President Bush made yet another argument for continuing the war in Iraq, John Edwards spoke directly to the American people in a nationwide address on MSNBC.

Baldwin Auctioning Off a Day on Edwards' Campaign

NEW YORK (AP) -- William Baldwin is auctioning a day on the campaign trail with presidential hopeful John Edwards and a private falconry lesson with Robert Kennedy Jr. to raise funds for his mother's foundation.

Baldwin personally lined up the VIP packages -- including the day with Edwards, the former North Carolina senator -- for an online auction to benefit The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund, which his mother established in 1996 after surviving breast cancer. Baldwin and his brother Alec Baldwin sit on the board of the foundation, which provides grants to researchers.

"I was very lucky ... to get a significant number of people on board and committed," Baldwin told The Associated Press in a recent telephone interview. "And I think that sort of created somewhat of an aura, where people were like, `You know, we wanna be in on this."'

Baldwin, who stars on ABC's new show "Dirty Sexy Money," said he hustled friends and family -- in a nice way -- to book the packages, which are up for bid on the Charity Folks Web site through the end of October.

Items also include a walk-on role on NBC's "30 Rock," which stars Alec Baldwin, and backstage passes to concerts by Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow.

There's also a chance to join Miley Cyrus -- Hannah Montana herself -- on tour for a day. "That's gonna go for a fortune," Baldwin said.

Baldwin, whose big screen credits include "Backdraft" and "The Squid and the Whale," said he's excited about "Dirty Sexy Money."

"It feels like a comedy, it feels like a drama, it feels like a soap all rolled into one," he said of the show, which premieres Wednesday night.

Baldwin is hoping for a hit.

"Send out the word," he said. "We want big numbers, so I can do this for a couple years."

Edwards Bold Approach to Counter-Terrorism

Here's CNN's story on Edwards bold approach to counter terrorism. If you wanting to know what Edwards is about, this is a good watch.

Edwards Slams Clinton, 'Establishment Elites'

Watch the story at myfoxwghp.com

WASHINGTON -- John Edwards didn't mention a chief Democratic presidential rival by name, but it seemed clear whom the White House hopeful was targeting in a fiery speech Thursday in New Hampshire.

Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards campaigns last weekend in Clinton, Iowa.

The former U.S. senator from North Carolina, who finds himself lagging significantly behind Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in most national polls, told New Hampshire voters to reject "establishment elites" and "outdated answers ... rooted in nostalgia."

"The trouble with nostalgia is that you tend to remember what you liked and forget what you didn't," Edwards said. "It's not just that the answers of the past aren't up to the job today, it's that the system that produced them was corrupt -- and still is."

Clinton often touts the successes of her husband's administration on the campaign trail as does the former president.

But Edwards said voters shouldn't replace "a group of corporate Republicans with a group of corporate Democrats." Seeming to take a page out of Republican talking points from the '90s, he added, "The American people deserve to know that their presidency is not for sale, the Lincoln Bedroom is not for rent, and lobbyist money can no longer influence policy in the House or the Senate."

Following President Clinton's 1996 re-election, Republicans accused him of improperly allowing top campaign donors to spend a night in the White House, arguing the practice amounted to "renting" out the Lincoln Bedroom.

Edwards also said, "We cannot triangulate our way to real change," a veiled reference to the ex-Democratic president's political strategy of attempting to fashion a "third way" on issues to appeal to members of both political parties.

Edwards, who previously has attacked the former first lady for accepting campaign donations from lobbyists, continued his criticisms of the practice Thursday, decrying "the politicians who curry [lobbyists'] favor and carry their water."

The senator from New York has defended accepting $400,000 in campaign donations from lobbyists, saying at a recent presidential forum, "A lot of these lobbyists, whether you like it or not, represent real Americans. They actually do. They represent nurses, they represent social workers -- yes, they represent corporations that employ a lot of people," she said.

The Clinton campaign hasn't responded to requests for comments on Edwards' speech.

His speech kicks off a four-day bus tour of New Hampshire, a crucial campaign state, with his wife, Elizabeth, and their three children.

Edwards To Divest Holdings Linked to Katrina Foreclosures

By MIKE GLOVER=
Associated Press Writer=
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate John
Edwards, who has called homeownership "the foundation of the
American dream," said Friday he will divest his holdings in funds
linked to lenders that have foreclosed on Hurricane Katrina
victims.
"I will not have my family's money involved in these firms that
are foreclosing on people in New Orleans," he told the Associated
Press.
Edwards has reported $29.5 million in assets, millions of which
are invested in the hedge fund Fortress Investment Group., a
company that paid him nearly half a million dollars last year for
consulting advice.
Fortress has investments in lenders that offer subprime
mortgages, higher priced loans for borrowers considered greater
risks. The Wall Street Journal on Friday identified 34 New Orleans
homeowners who face foreclosure actions from lenders connected to
Fortress.
"My reaction is I'm going to help these people," Edwards said
in a telephone interview. "I just learned about this. I don't know
the details, I will find out and I will find a way to help them."
Edwards has decried the predatory lending practices that
sometimes accompany subprime mortgage lending, which especially
target minorities and the elderly, and can tie people to home loans
that they can't repay. He has built his campaign on an anti-poverty
message and has toured and worked in the neighborhoods devastated
by the 2005 hurricane. In fact, a three-day poverty tour he
embarked on last month began in New Orleans' hardest hit Lower
Ninth Ward.
Edwards worked part-time for Fortress Investment Group, getting
paid $479,512. He and his wife also had $2.7 million to $8.5
million invested in a Fortress subsidiaries, according to ranges
listed in his personal financial report. And Fortress executives
have donated generously to his presidential campaign -- company
employees have donated more than $150,000 toward his candidacy
during the first six months of the year.
Asked Friday if his investments damaged his image as a poverty
fighter, Edward's said: "No. Everyone knows I am completely
committed to eliminating poverty in this country. I have the
strongest national predatory lending proposal. These are things I
will pursue."
Edwards has proposed passing federal laws to prohibit mortgage
abuses and help homeowners at risk of foreclosure or bankruptcy.
Among its investments, Fortress has for some time owned a stake
in Green Tree Servicing, a company that specializes in managing
higher-priced mortgages for people with tarnished credit or low
incomes who are considered greater risks. As home-mortgage
delinquencies and foreclosures have surged in recent months,
especially for subprime loans, the distress has roiled financial
markets and sparked anxiety that it could spill over into the
broader economy.
Green Tree and a second subprime lender acquired by Fortress,
Nationstar Mortgage, were the two lenders filing foreclosure suits
in New Orleans, the Journal reported.

Associated Press Writer Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington contributed
to this report.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV-08-17-07 1321EDT

Edwards' wife calls Obama 'holier than thou,' criticizes Clinton

NEW YORK (AP) -- Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic candidate John Edwards, lambastes his rival Barack Obama as "holier than thou" on the Iraq war and accuses Hillary Rodham Clinton of failing to show leadership on health care and Iraq.

As her husband trails Clinton and Obama in national polls, Elizabeth Edwards has been an outspoken critic of his opponents. Last month, she said her husband would be a better champion for women as president than Clinton and more recently said, "We can't make John black, we can't make him a woman. Those things get you a lot of press, worth a certain amount of fundraising dollars."

In an interview published in the August issue of The Progressive magazine, Elizabeth Edwards complained about Obama, who opposed the war when he was a state legislator in Illinois but has voted for funds for the military.

John Edwards, then a North Carolina senator, voted in 2002 to authorize the military invasion of Iraq. Since then, he has said his vote was a mistake. He also voted against several funding requests while in the Senate -- but not all, as Elizabeth Edwards claimed in the interview.

"And honestly, the other candidates?" Elizabeth Edwards asked. "Obama gives a speech that's likely to be extraordinarily popular in his home district, and then comes to the Senate and votes for funding ... So you are going to get people behaving in a holier-than-thou way. But John stood up when he was in the Senate for exactly the thing he's asking these people to stand up for now."

Edwards also criticized both Obama and Clinton for not using their influence to line up additional votes to block an Iraq funding bill in May. The two senators were among just 13 Democrats to vote against the bill.

"We're electing the leader of the free world," Elizabeth Edwards said. "They should have been making speeches about why it was they were doing this, and standing up and trying to rally. And they didn't. They weren't leaders."

On health care, Edwards said Obama's plan for universal coverage was inadequate because it left 15 million uninsured. She also criticized Clinton for not producing a health care plan and for questioning whether there was sufficient "political will" to enact universal care.

"Hillary is saying we need to develop a political will. She hasn't been talking to people if she thinks we need to develop it. We do not. There is consensus on this issue," Edwards said.

Edwards even suggested Obama's signature theme -- a plea for hope and political unity -- had been lifted from her husband's 2004 presidential campaign.

"You listen to the language of what people say, particularly Obama, who seems to be using a lot of John's 2004 language," Edwards said, noting that Obama's media adviser, David Axelrod, worked for Edwards that year.

Spokesmen for both Clinton and Obama declined to comment on the Elizabeth Edwards interview.

Edwards vs. Clinton

John Edwards and Hilary Clinton go back and forth over the issue of accepting money from Washington lobbyists. Edwards asks a straightforward question... and gets a straightforward answer.

Murdoch's News Corp: Edwards benefits from book deal with company

By NEDRA PICKLER=
Associated Press Writer=

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is fighting back against Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and his criticism of the media empire, pointing out that the 2004 vice presidential nominee was paid $500,000 by one of its companies.

HarperCollins, which is owned by News Corp., paid the former North Carolina senator a $500,000 advance for his book, "Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives."

The Edwards campaign said the money was donated to charity and that another $300,000 for expenses was used to pay researchers and other costs to write the book.

The figures were reported by the Murdoch-owned New York Post on Friday, a day after Edwards challenged his rivals to return political donations from News Corp. executives. Edwards said the Fox News Channel, owned by News Corp., has a right-wing bias and "the time has come for Democrats to stop pretending to be friends with the very people who demonize the Democratic Party."

Edwards' criticism was chiefly aimed at Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has taken more than $20,000 in donations from Murdoch and other News Corp. executives.

"John Edwards did not receive one penny from this book," said Edwards spokesman Eric Schultz. "All of his proceeds went to charities, like Habitat for Humanity and the College for Everyone program. But this latest attack from the New York Post, a tool of Murdoch, proves our point better than we could ourselves."

Edwards Criticizes Opponents for Taking Donations from News Corp

By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards criticized Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday for taking more than $20,000 in donations from News Corp. officials, arguing that the company's Fox News Channel has a right-wing bias and Democrats should avoid the company.

Edwards led the Democratic candidates' boycott of Fox's plans to host a Democratic presidential debate. Now he is objecting to News Corp.'s purchase of Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. and highlighting the relationships that Clinton and other rivals have with the company's executives.

"The time has come for Democrats to stop pretending to be friends with the very people who demonize the Democratic Party," Edwards said in a statement.

He challenged his rivals to refuse contributions from executives of News Corp., and return any they had already received. The Edwards campaign sent an e-mail to supporters with the subject line "Unfair and Unbalanced," asking them to donate in support of his stand against the company.

Said Edwards spokesman Eric Schultz: "Thousands of good people work at Fox News and News Corp., but this is about the bias of top executives, those who make real editorial decisions like Rupert Murdoch, people who continually sanction unfounded attacks on Democrats. And that's why Democrats like Senator Clinton should either reject their money or return it."

The campaign timed the challenge to come two days before Edwards, Clinton and other candidates are scheduled to appear at a convention of liberal bloggers, who applauded Edwards' revolt against the Fox-sponsored debate in March.

Most of Murdoch's donations go to Republicans, but he gave $4,200 to Clinton's Senate campaign in 2006 and held a fundraiser for her at News Corp.'s midtown headquarters. He also donated $2,300 to her presidential campaign, according to online campaign donation database Political MoneyLine. Murdoch's son James, who is seen by many as a likely candidate to eventually succeed his 76-year-old father, gave $3,450.

A Political MoneyLine search of donors employed by News Corp. finds $20,900 in donations to Clinton's presidential bid from nine company attorneys and executives, including Murdoch's No. 2, Peter Chernin, who gave the maximum $4,600 allowed.

Chernin is a frequent donor to Democratic causes. He's also contributed $2,100 each to Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Chris Dodd, Political MoneyLine shows.

The Clinton, Obama and Dodd campaigns did not respond to requests for comment.

Dodd also issued a statement this week objecting to News Corp.'s purchase of Dow Jones and expressing concern about consolidation of U.S. media outlets.

"The Wall Street Journal has provided a valuable and important news choice to the American public for years," Dodd said. "With News Corp.'s purchase of the newspaper, I am concerned that it will be very difficult for the Journal to offer fair and balanced reporting under the pressures of a giant-media conglomerate."
-----

On the Net: John Edwards '08: http://www.johnedwards.com

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV-08-02-07 1420EDT

John Edwards Builds Houses With Danny Glover

Edwards Tells Clinton and Obama to "Cut... it... out...!"

John Edwards says the little Clinton/Obama hissy fit needs to stop!


DOVER, N.H. (AP) -- Presidential hopeful John Edwards said the tiff between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama is completely wrong for the Democratic Party.

"The last thing we need is two presidential candidates fighting with each other, instead of fighting for the change we need in America," Edwards said. "And, man, do we need change in the worst possible way."

Since last week's debate in South Carolina, Clinton and Obama have been arguing about how far each would go, as president, to meet with leaders of hostile nations like Iran, Syria, Venezuela,
Cuba and North Korea.

An Obama spokeswoman disputed Edwards' comments.

"This is a substantive and important debate people want to hear about, whether we are going to turn the page on the Bush-Cheney foreign policy, which has damaged our national security and
America's standing in the world," Leslie Miller said.

On a two-day campaign swing through New Hampshire, Edwards also responded to criticism Republicans Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani have thrown at him for proposing a hike in capital gains taxes.

"What I say to Romney and Giuliani is all that money that they're making from their investments -- in Romney's case hundreds of millions of dollars -- all that money they're making from investments, I want them to pay their fair share of taxes on those investments," Edwards said. "I want them to be treated not better than average Americans."

A Romney spokesman said Edwards missed the point.

"While we'd all like to be able to join Mr. Edwards and laugh off $400 haircuts, Mitt Romney believes that working families should be able to keep more of their money," Craig Stevens said.

Edwards: "They Want to Shut Me Up"

Hat tip: Politico.com

Edwards Addresses Health Care

Edwards addressed Health Care at the YouTube/CNN debate. Here's a little snippet of what he said.

John Edwards-RFK Parallel

Most would consider a comparison between John Edwards and Robert F. Kennedy a stretch (some would go so far as to call it blasphemy). Jonathan Darman wrote an intriguing article in the current Newsweek.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19886671/site/newsweek/

Caught on Tape: Hillary and Edwards Plot to Weed Out Other Candidates

Bill Clinton Defends Wife Against Elizabeth Edwards Criticism

NEW YORK (AP) -- Former President Clinton spoke out on behalf of his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, after Elizabeth Edwards criticized the Democratic front-runner for not being a strong advocate for women.

"If you look at the record on women's issues, I defy you to find anybody who has run for office in recent history whose got a longer history of working for women, for families and children, than Hillary does," Bill Clinton said Thursday in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."

On Tuesday, in an interview published in the online magazine Salon, Elizabeth Edwards said that her husband John Edwards would be a more consistent champion for women if elected president. "Keeping that door open to women is actually more a policy of John's than Hillary's," she said, suggesting the New York senator may be avoiding women's issues to "behave as a man."

President Clinton disputed that contention.

"I don't think she's trying to be a man. I don't think it's inconsistent with being a woman that you can also be knowledgeable on military and security affairs and be strong when the occasion demands it.

"I don't consider that being manly. I consider that being a leader," he said.

The former president was in South Africa as part of a
multi-nation tour on behalf of his foundation.

Edwards Feels Pretty, Oh So Pretty

Maybe it's just me, but isn't 2 minutes an awfully long time to work on your hair ... especially when you have someone helping? I think Edwards uses half a bottle of hair spray in this video.

Giuliani, Obama Win 'Picnic Poll'

WASHINGTON -- Rudy Giuliani and Barack Obama have won the picnic poll.

Asked whom they would most like to chat with at a Memorial Day picnic, Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, was picked by 37 percent of all those polled when pitted against three other Republicans. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., got 27 percent.

Obama, the Democratic senator from Illinois, was chosen by 33 percent when grouped with three other Democrats. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., was second with 24 percent.

Munching hot dogs with smaller groups of people would be former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.; former Vice President Al Gore; former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., and former GOP Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Among Democratic respondents alone, more people chose Clinton than Obama, though more women overall chose Obama over Clinton.

Read more

Edwards: There Is No 'War on Terror'

NEW YORK (AP) -- Democrat John Edwards Wednesday repudiated the notion that there is a "global war on terror," calling it an ideological doctrine advanced by the Bush administration that has strained American military resources and emboldened terrorists.

In a defense policy speech he planned to deliver at the Council on Foreign Relations, Edwards called the war on terror a "bumper sticker" slogan Bush had used to justify everything from abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison to the invasion of Iraq.

"We need a post-Bush, post-9/11, post-Iraq military that is mission focused on protecting Americans from 21st century threats, not misused for discredited ideological purposes," Edwards said in remarks prepared for delivery. "By framing this as a war, we have walked right into the trap the terrorists have set -- that we are engaged in some kind of clash of civilizations and a war on Islam."

In the first presidential debate last month in South Carolina, Edwards was one of four Democrats -- including Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel -- who said they did not believe there was a global war on terror. Front-runners Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama indicated that they did.

Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, voted in 2002 to authorize the invasion of Iraq but has since become a harsh critic of the conflict. In his speech, he reiterated his call to remove American combat troops from Iraq within a year and vowed to "restore the contract we have with those who proudly wear the uniform to defend our country and make the world a safe and better place."

Read more

Edwards Says Wealth Hasn't Changed Advocacy

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Presidential candidate John Edwards said Monday it's silly to suggest that his wealth and expensive tastes have hurt his credibility as an advocate for the poor.

"Would it have been better if I had done well and didn't care?" Edwards asked.

Edwards noted that some of the most acclaimed anti-poverty advocates came from privileged backgrounds, including Franklin Roosevelt and Bobby Kennedy.

"You could see and feel the empathy they had," said Edwards, speaking from his home in North Carolina during an interview on Iowa Public Radio.

Read more