News-Record.com

I guess he's avoiding "the call". He must have not gone to a school that was "economically balanced".

Thanks for sharing the Wall Street article (the first link didn't work?)

Well, when John Boy does his Two Americas speech in the future, we'll know which one he lives in, won't we? I always thought that a man whose net worth exceeded $50 million would be just a little embarrassed in trying to make people believe that he was one of the those in the poor America. Now, he's shown his true colors.

Doug, you always know it's just a bunch of baloney he came out with to get certain people to vote for him, as all populist democrats come out with for the last 150 years.

Just like Dot Kearns holding herself out as the champion of underprivledged in the last election.
If the people in north High Point and Jamestown thought for one minute that Dot would bus Emerywoodites across town to a different highschool for "balance", they would have at least had a second thought about the lottery. As long as Dot could force "other" people to actually pay the price for her pseudo-socialist scam to get the vote, she could take advantage without any political risk to her or hers. It was a perfect situation for her and she took it. Now, we're not politically naive, and we realize elected officials have run all kinds of scams in the past, pork-barreling, gerrymandering, influence peddling, election fraud etc. What we've never seen is someone low enough to scam someone's children away from their school for political gain, which we have trouble believing even the lowest mobster political hack in some rust belt slum wouldn't have ethical problems with.

What puzzled us was always the willingness of people like you to give her a free pass on this.

Doug, would you have him go back to the mill in Robbins that isnt there any more to work?

The fact is that Edwards, unlike any other principal candidate in the 04 election at least has some life experience to base his stance on poverty.

Bush has been sheltered from day one. And, it shows.

Stormy, Edwards' success story is remarkable, and embodies the conservative approach of 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps'. Why is then that his is sooo loathed by the right? Because as a result of living in poverty, he realized that he had a greater responsibility to those people than to the richest in America. If you think that Bush gives a tinker's damn about the middle class and lower, then you are not watching what he is doing.

But, I don't expect any less than to see Good Ole Boy Doug Clark come out against John Edwards.

Jim,

Yes, your right. John Boy did pull himself up by his bootstraps by suing the pants off of physicians that made a mistake. He's no better than the other ambulance chasers out there that say "If you've been hurt and you think it is someone else's fault, call me. We mean business!". They are people getting rich off other people's misery by taking 30-50% of their awards. No, he doesn't have to go back and work in the mill anymore, he's filthy rich. He lives in the loathed Rich America now.

John Boy is now worth $50 million as a result of his ambulance chasing, and he has the nerve to go around trying to make people think that he is one of theirs with his Two Americas speech. There may be two Americas, but John Boy doesn't live in the poor one. If he really wanted to help those people, maybe he would actually do something to help them, but now he is going to Wall Street to increase his millions. Now, that's really going to help the poor and poverty-stricken, isn't it? Admit it, John Boy is just looking out for his own, and talking out of the other side of his mouth. I'm not impressed with hypocritical people like John Boy.

Jimmy Carter has a lot of faults, but he actually "walks the walk" when he goes about helping the downtrodden and poor. He's there in the trenches with them almost daily. All that John Boy does is "Talk the Talk".

Jim,

I actually find a lot to admire about John Edwards. He's a very smart, talented guy who could accomplish a lot in the right position.

At the same time, it's almost as if he has ADD or something. I mean, he was barely in the Senate when he started running for president.

Since last year's defeat and his departure from the Senate, he's been all over the place -- the poverty center at UNC, on the presidential campaign trail in Iowa, New Hampshire and other key states, and now Wall Street. Sometimes it's not only hard to figure out who he is, but also where he is.

Well you could ask Elizabeth Dole. She could tell you for sure were he wasn't during the campaign year. He sure was not in North Carolina.
She held down the fort.

Edwards had exactly ZERO public service under his belt when he used his ambulance chasing profits to buy the Senatorial seat he so shamefully squandered.
Zero. Zip. Nada.
He'd never held any public office, never done any public service, chose not to serve his country in our military. He'd never been a candidate in any election.
He had no leadership experience, no experience running a business other than being a "partner" in a law firm. He'd not been a governor, or mayor, or even a city councilman.
He'd not served on any public councils, or benevolent associations, or communuity boards. He'd not even led a Boy Scout troop or a Neighborhood Watch.
He'd done nothing but sue insurance companies.

Why did anybody in their right mind think he had what it takes to be the leader of the free world (had he and Kerry been elected) if something happened to the President ?
It must have been the hair...yeah, the hair...

I've known you for a long time, Doug, and I find this comment against Edwards to be beneath your normal level of thoughtful and careful conservatism.

Seriously, you know very well (or would with a modicum of research) that Edwards maintains his duties as chairman of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity. He now has an additional role as a part time advisor to a venture capital and investment management group.

Now, if you were spending your time encouraging America to invest in its poorest communities, wouldn't YOU take the opportunity to actually have a hand in where some of those funds go?

It really makes me laugh when regressives accuse progressives of not hating capitalism enough.

As for the comments of your regulars, most of them are beneath contempt, let alone being beneath your typical level of insight. They're hardly worth commenting upon.

In conclusion

LONG LIVE "W". WE ARE GLAD THE BEST MAN WON!

John Edwards is nothing more than an opportunist. He never had any intentiions of fullfilling his senatorial commitments to North Carolinians. Doug, we're all quite aware of one place Mr. Edwards was seldom at, the Senate. His record of absences was abysmal.

If he's concerned about poverty, I would highly recommend his message to be 1)get an education, at least finish high school, 2)stop having children you're unable or incapable of raising, 3) stop blaming others for your irresponsible behavior, and 4) if jobs are unavailable in your locale, get off your lazy butts and move to an area with more promise of a future.

Mr. Edwards is right where he belongs, and praise be to the God of your choice, it ain't representing North Carolinians in the Senate nor the White House.

Thanks, John B.

I guess we'll disagree about Edwards. I just like to pick at him, much like you go after Liddy "Sugar Lips" Dole on your blog.

I realize that Edwards is keeping his UNC-subsidized (but not political) poverty center perch. I will stand corrected if he manages to use his Wall Street job to create new investment in America's poorest communities. This could be pure altruism, with nothing at all to gain for Edwards himself. I suppose anything's possible.

"This could be pure altruism, with nothing at all to gain for Edwards himself."

Why does it have to be pure altruism? I've read your columns for years, and I'm pretty sure I recall reading from time to time that you supported the power of the market to accomplish good.

Why do people to your left have to do everything for free before they will not be accused of hypocrisy?

Speaking of Sugar Lips, how long before she loses the NRSC gig?

"W IS FOR WOMEN.

That includes Elizabeth Dole.

Three phrases should be among the most common in our daily usage. They are: Thank you, I am grateful and I appreciate.