Posted on 05/23/2007 12:39:00 PM PDT by SmithL
Democrat John Edwards has eloquently established his credentials as an advocate for the poor with a presidential campaign focused on the devastating effects of poverty in America. But the former North Carolina senator's populist drive has hit a series of troubling land mines: a pair of $400 haircuts, a $500,000 paycheck from a hedge fund, and now a $55,000 payday for a speech on poverty to students at UC Davis.
The problem now facing the Democratic presidential candidate is whether the pileup of headlines, including the latest regarding hefty fees from university speeches reported Monday by The Chronicle, threatens to obliterate Edwards' dominant campaign theme. The former senator, who has been portrayed as the champion of the poor and the son of a humble mill worker, now faces the possibility that voters will have a different image: that of a millionaire trial lawyer who talks one way and lives another.
With months to go before the first primaries and caucuses, the growing perception about Edwards highlights a danger of modern presidential campaigns: In the 24/7 media environment, a few maelstroms of unconnected and unexpected headlines and images can quickly gather momentum and morph into a political storm that obliterates even a carefully crafted strategy and message.
"It's outrageous. He's trying to come off as Mr. Populist and Mr. 'I'm trying to help the poor,' and he charges $55,000 for a speaking fee? That's ridiculous,'' says Dick Rosengarten, Los Angeles-based publisher of the California Political Week newsletter. "Combined with the haircut, who's in charge of this guy's campaign? What are they thinking?''
Democratic strategist Garry South, who advised Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman during his bid for the party's 2004 nomination, said "there's always a danger when you're running for public office that a pattern of behavior
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Don’t forget the Pirate Booty!
He sure is perty though!
I guess that means he talks real purty.
Oh, you poor dumb stupid lawyer. Maybe everyone doesn’t believe the cr@p you spout.
Being poor sucks.
Give me $55,000.00 and I’ll just tell you all about it!
John Edwards Stakes Claim on Pirate Booty
By Brett Arends
Mutual Funds Columnist
5/23/2007 10:33 AM EDT
The question of the day: Just how much of the $500 million sunken treasure found in the Atlantic last weekend belongs to Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards?
I put a call in to Edwards’ campaign yesterday morning to find out, but I haven’t heard back yet.
The reality? The populist one-term senator will get an undisclosed piece of the action from the sunken 17th-century galleon.
The ship, laden with gold and silver, was found at the bottom of the Atlantic by a little-known exploration company, Florida-based Odyssey Marine Research (OMR - Cramer’s Take - Stockpickr - Rating).
Even less well known is who owns OMR.
Biggest shareholder: New York-based Fortress Investments, a private equity and hedge fund manager. Senior adviser and major investor: John Edwards.
Edwards’ personal financial disclosures show he’s an investor in the exclusive Drawbridge Global Macro Fund, which owns the 9.9% stake in OMR.
Ten percent of $500 million. After costs, of course.
Fortress investor relations manager Lilly Donohue did not return a call or an email seeking information on the Global Macro fund.
Fortress’ stake is even bigger than at first appears. In a complex holding, it owns 3.1 million shares, plus millions more in preferred stock and warrants. Total economic interest is the equivalent of 6.98 million shares....snip
http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/funds/followmoney/10358370.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA
There’s another one like him out there... he is a former Vice President and is making a new career scaring the heck out of people with bunk-umentaries and scare talk about global warming.
He lectures us on how to use less energy, etc.
...but he himself lives in a 22 room mansion and has a $35,000.00 per year energy bill. He lives in the balmy south and needs a heated swimming pool...
Can you guess his name?
Hey, Carla, have you forgotten? “One set of rules for Us. A different set of rules for The Little People.”
I wonder how many poor people could cram into his mansion at one time?
“He sure is perty though!”
He’s shore got purty lips too!
Looks like th MSM is doing the bidding of hitlery. How will they help her with Barak Osama?
Well, this is a terrific, really. Mr. Edwards is in the process of killing his campaign barely before it begins.
His actions and words are a superb service for the nation -because those actions and words will keep him off the campaign trail and in his 28-zillion-square foot house.
Once there, for good, he can spend endless hours contemplating what might have been...and also searching that gargantuan house for his hair gel.
I love happy endings.
Much like his colleague Naomi Campbell, he won’t get out of bed and pretty up for less than $50,000 dollars.
His home actually houses an eco-friendly hair gel research and manufacturing facility.
Since that gold and silver was stolen from Native Americans by the conquistadors who “raped, murdered and plundered the continent for every scrap of precious metal they could find,” I wonder if John will be returning his share to the rightful owners?
This says that the former 1-term US Senator, and previous ambulance-chasing, hypocritical shyster, has neither the experience nor the instincts to run a national level campaign. I am astounded that any clear-thinking person in the USA can see this twit sitting in the Oval Office, in charge of the Football and our national security.
He really needs to pack it in and go back to his 24,000 sq ft mansion in NC and tort law where he is most at home squeezing illicit settlements from practicing physicians. Whomever said Barack Obama is inexperienced has clearly not also looked at this clown, who has even less experience and a lot less charisma and sense.
“Squeal like a pig, boy...”
Questions:
Yes you over in the corner there.
Uh, Mr. Edwards, is that a receding hairline you’re covering with that flip?
MWAHAHAHAHAHAH
Follow the money with university speech fees.
Not in every case, but in some, some “anonymous donor” gives say $70,000 to the school with the stipulation that they use part of it to pay some specified person to speak.
So the person gets $50K and the school gets $20K, and it looks like the school hired the speaker.
That’s why most of the exorbitant fees are at universities, not Rotary or Kiwanis.
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