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 Hillary Rodham Clinton in most national polls, told New Hampshire voters to reject "establishment elites" and "outdated answers ...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