House? What House? (Edwards' NC chateau)

John Edwards appeared on yesterday's "Meet the Press," and host Tim Russert questioned him to the point of overkill on Iraq (more than half the interview), which was still useful since it revealed many self contradictions in his views on the war. He also talked about his plan to raise taxes in order to create universal health care (or, Breck-care). His primary opponents, check; his poll ratings in Iowa, check...and the nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain?! Yeah, check that one too.

Gay marriage, the 2004 campaign, his current campaign strategy, and Barack Obama -- all covered. But what did notoriously tough questioner Russert skip over? Yep, the house.

Speaking of da house, CBS News could have had the scoop on Edwards's new pad two months ago, when he allowed a cameraman and correspondent Rita Braver on the property for an interview about his book, "Home."

and you will notice all the shots of the place are pretty limited in scope: the front porch, inside the hallway, walking on the grounds. No sense of the size; only a mention of his "100-acre property," with the "spanking new home" he's got on it. I guess 28,200-square-feet in the middle of one of the two Americas wasn't newsworthy.

Considering the lack of interest from Russert about the house, the fact that Braver gave only a limited interview, and the fact that the Edwardses would not allow The News & Observer of Raleigh on the property, I e-mailed Braver and asked if there were conditions on the interview that they couldn't film broadly or mention the size of the dwelling. Here's how she responded:

Perhaps you need to listen and watch and read better. The very first line (@link)

The article above that required subscription:

http://www.thepilot.com/stories/20070130/news/local/20070130edwards.html

Edwards' Nest Grist for Critics: New $6 Million Home

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, who toured the country last fall talking about other people's homes, is now fielding questions about his own $6 million estate outside Chapel Hill.

Edwards had hit the talk show circuit to plug his book "Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives," which describes the childhood homes of various more-or-less famous people, including his own modest mill village houses.

Martha Gentry's Home Selling Team

But since he announced his second run for the presidency in December, Edwards has been more likely to be asked whether there is any contradiction between his 29,000-square-foot Orange County estate and his pledge to reduce poverty and help the working poor.

The questions underscore how everything about a presidential candidate -- including lifestyle decisions -- becomes fair game in a political campaign.

Edwards, a former North Carolina senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2004, was not available for comment last week. But he told CNN last month that he didn't think the house presented him with an image problem.

"I came from a very different place," he said. "And I have been lucky enough to -- to have everything you could ever have in this country. And I feel a responsibility to help people help themselves. It's for you and the American people to judge whether they think that's real and authentic. I believe it is, but that's not my judgment to make."

It is not unusual for presidential candidates to be men of wealth -- Franklin Roosevelt to John Kerry to George W. Bush. Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, noted that Sen. Edward Kennedy, who is rich, has been a major supporter of raising the minimum wage.

"I think it is a greater testimony to Teddy, Sen. Kennedy, that he has taken on that cause that doesn't have an effect on his life," she said in a telephone interview Friday.

The criticism of John Edwards' wealth is not new. He was attacked during his 2004 presidential campaign for living in a Georgetown mansion at the time he was stressing inequalities of "the two Americas."

But his more intense emphasis on fighting poverty in his current campaign, which was announced from a hurricane-ravaged neighborhood in New Orleans, is likely to invite greater scrutiny.

"It might well cause problems," said Andy Taylor, a political science professor at N.C. State University. "We have a crowded field for the Democrat-ic nomination. Candidates' voting records, things they said on the stump and their lifestyle will be used. There will be Demo-crats who say, 'You clearly are not practicing what you preach here.' Some may see some inconsistency."

The Edwards house has already become grist for his critics, who have called it a plantation or "Uncle John's Cabin."

Conservative New York Post columnist Ian Bishop wrote that Edwards "is playing to the poorest people in America to propel his presidential bid while living in the lap of luxury on a North Carolina estate that makes the famed Kennedy compound look like a seaside cottage."

Humble Beginning

Unlike former President John F. Kennedy, Edwards did not inherit his wealth. His parents started as textile mill workers, and his father eventually became a manager with a middle-class lifestyle. His tiny mill village house in Seneca, S.C., became one of the major images of his 2004 presidential run, and photographs of the house were used in a campaign TV commercial.

Edwards made millions as a Raleigh trial lawyer, and the family has moved into increasingly expensive homes. During the last presidential campaign, Edwards listed assets valued between $19 million and $69 million.

The new Edwards home is in the rolling countryside south of Chapel Hill, not far from University Lake. The area around Old Greensboro Road is in transition -- cows graze on pastureland, and there is a scattering of modest homes. There are also high-priced subdivisions, one of which includes the home of former Tar Heel basketball coach Dean Smith.

But the area has not been completely gentrified.

Across the road from the entrance to the Edwards estate is Big Valley Auto Repair, a modest garage crowded with cars.

There is a sign painted on the fence: "Go Rudy Giuliani 2008," a reference to the former New York City mayor who is expected to seek the Republican nomination for president.

Monty Johnson, owner of the garage site and one of Edwards' closest neighbors, is no Edwards fan. Johnson has left standing an abandoned house facing the entrance to the Edwards property.

"He claims to be for the poor people," said Johnson, 55, a farmer and retired landscaper. "He don't care about us. I see him jogging. He doesn't pull over and say, 'How are you doing?' "

Danny Hulon, 48, who operates the auto repair shop on Johnson's land, is not anti-Edwards. But he is concerned about disruptions to his business if Edwards advances far enough as a candidate to receive Secret Service protection. Hulon has already noticed TV helicopters overhead.

Elizabeth Edwards said they purchased 102 acres -- valued for tax purposes at $1.1 million -- in 2003 after spotting it while searching the Internet.

The Edwardses began building their home shortly after his Senate term ended in January 2005. They moved in last summer, although construction is continuing on one wing.

No Trespassing

Through their campaign spokeswoman, the Edwardses declined to allow a reporter or photographer to view the property. There is a no-trespassing sign at the entrance.

Visitors to the estate leave the highway and take a long, winding road to the house, which is set in a clearing.

The building is valued for tax purposes at $4.2 million, making it the most expensive house in Orange County, according to Tax Assessor John Smith.

The main living section of the house is 10,778 square feet and has a tax value of $3.1 million, according to tax records. It has five bedrooms, 6 1/2 baths and a library. A second wing of the house is connected by a heated enclosed walkway, valued at $192,664, that is lined with family and political photographs.

The second wing, called "The Barn" by the family, has 6,336 square feet and includes a lounge and offices that are 70 percent complete. It has a current tax value of $567,403. It also has a basketball court, which is 60 percent complete and valued at $300,960; a racquetball court, 70 percent complete and valued at $41,000; and a pool, according to tax records.

Rest at link

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(sleuthie, Mo1 -- Warner is on a roll for bipartisan concensus resolution .. cspan-2) "Pres. Bush said in his speech: Those who have other ideas, bring them forward, and that's what we're doing.")

Warner .. .. thinking about having more troops than the 21,000. "We do not in any way challenge or contravene that you're the Commander in Chief. We simply accepted your offer and we expressed that."

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