posted on May 21, 2007 07:16:28 PM newabout poverty
Not with a $25M house & $400 haircuts
=======
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, who as a Democratic presidential candidate recently proposed an educational policy that urged "every financial barrier" be removed for American kids who want to go to college, has been going to college himself -- as a high paid speaker, his financial records show.
The candidate charged a whopping $55,000 to speak at to a crowd of 1,787 the taxpayer-funded University of California at Davis on Jan. 9, 2006 last year, Joe Martin, the public relations officer for the campus' Mondavi Center confirmed Monday.
That amount -- which comes to about $31 a person in the audience -- included Edwards' travel and airfare, and was the highest speaking fee in the nine appearances he made before colleges and universities last year, according to his financial records.
The earnings -- though made before Edwards was a declared Democratic presidential candidate -- could hand ammunition to his competition for the Democratic presidential nomination. The candidate -- who was then the head of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina -- chose to speak on "Poverty, the great moral issue facing America," as his $55,000 topic at UC Davis.
That could cause both parents and students to note some irony here: UC Davis -- like the rest of the public University of California system -- will get hit this year by a 7 percent tuition increase that likely hits many of the kids his speeches are aimed at helping.
We wondered if this is Edwards' going speaking rate, and how come he didn't offer to do it gratis for a college, particularly a public institution.
But Martin of the Mondavi Center said that "as with any other performer, (the speaking fee) has to be negotiated, and there are a long list of considerations ... some of our speakers get more, and some get less."
He said UC Davis' Mondavi Center paid Edwards because at the time "he wasn't a (presidential) candidate and from our point of view, he was a speaker of interest that people in the community were clearly interested in ... we feel it's our mission to present those speakers."
Edwards spoke to at least two other California universities and colleges, both private.
He appeared at Stanford University, where he spoke on April 26, 2006; the Palo Alto institution paid him $40,000 to deliver his talks, according to financial records. And Edwards also headlined at the former University of Judaism -- today the American Jewish University -- in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2006, where he debated former Speaker Newt Gingrich before about 5,000 people. According to financial documents, the candidate received a fee of $40,000 at that appearance.
And the college and university gigs apparently added up on the bottom line for Edwards.
In 2006, records show Edwards made more than $285,000 speaking to nine colleges and universities, charging between $16,000 and Davis' $55,000 for his talks. They ranged from the $12,000 he got on Jan. 10, 2006 from Gonzaga University Law School in Seattle to the $40,000 he banked from the University of Texas Pan American Foundation on May 22, 2006. Other schools that have paid Edwards to speak before he was a declared presidential candidate: Hunter College in New York ($35,000), Mount Union College in Ohio ($16,00) and Vanderbilt University in Nashville ($40,000).
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.George S. Patton
posted on May 21, 2007 07:26:39 PM new
WASHINGTON -- As Rudolph Giuliani prepares to run for the nation's highest public office based on his image as the heroic take-charge mayor of New York in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it may be his highly lucrative time in the private sector that invites the most scrutiny.
Since he left office, Giuliani has leveraged his image as "America's mayor" to his decided financial advantage and in ways that belie his man-of-the-people persona.
He commands $100,000 for a speech, not including expenses, which his star-struck clients are happily willing to pay. In one speech last year at Oklahoma State University, Giuliani requested and received travel on a private Gulfstream jet that cost the school $47,000 to operate. His visit essentially wiped out the student speakers annual fund.
Like other high-priced speakers in the private sector, Giuliani routinely travels in style. Besides the Gulfstream, which is a standard perk on the big-time speakers circuit, his contract calls for up to five hotel rooms for his entourage, including his own two-bedroom suite with a preferred balcony view and king-size bed, in the event of an overnight stay.
The Oklahoma contract also required a sedan and an SUV, restrictions on news coverage and control over whom Giuliani would meet, how he would be photographed and what questions he might be asked.
In another speech, at a charity fundraiser in South Carolina in February 2005, Giuliani also commanded a $100,000 fee, though he donated $20,000 of it to the event. After he was criticized by a local official, he ultimately decided to donate an additional $60,000.
Giuliani reportedly received more than $200,000 for another speech, given to benefit an Australian research hospital in 2003. When it was disclosed two years later that the hospital netted only $15,000, the revelation sparked widespread criticism in Australia. Months later, after The New York Observer picked up the story, Giuliani threw his own fundraiser for the hospital.
Beyond his speaking engagements, Giuliani, 62, has built a network of businesses that has earned millions of dollars in fees. The companies have counseled businesses from blue-chip multinational corporations to start-up firms with penny stocks, providing advice on everything from bankruptcies to corporate security.
A Giuliani spokeswoman likened him to many other former public officials who have made well-paid forays into the speaking circuit or the business world.
"The former mayor has been honored to speak all over the United States, as has been the case with former President Bill Clinton, Colin Powell and any number of public figures," she said.
But unlike Clinton and Powell, Giuliani is trying to climb back into politics after his turn as a businessman on the big-time speaking circuit, with hundreds of personal appearances, business deals, court cases and investments potentially soon to come under review by the media and adversaries.
Seven-figure fees
Giuliani's investment bank, Giuliani Capital Advisors, has reaped seven-figure fees for providing advice in bankruptcy cases, but it has seen payment requests trimmed by courts following complaints that the firm was seeking excessive compensation. Giuliani also has collected more than $1 million in consulting fees from firms tied to criminal or regulatory missteps.
His spokeswoman side-stepped a question about whether Giuliani would fully disclose his clients if he formally enters the race.
"If and when Rudy Giuliani runs, he'll run on his record and on how he will move the country forward," she said, speaking on behalf of the ex-mayor on condition she not be quoted by name.
In the modern presidential campaign, candidates are subjected to a microscopic examination of their personal, professional and public behavior. In Giuliani's case, there will be plenty of attention, not only because of his three marriages but also because on some core Republican issues, notably abortion and gay rights, he is far to the left of the conservative GOP activists who dominate the nomination process.
At the same time, however, Giuliani enjoys a huge reserve of good feeling and is routinely cited as one of the top two candidates for the Republican nomination in national opinion polls, along with Sen. John McCain of Arizona. A poll this week gave Giuliani a favorability rating of 70 percent in New Hampshire, the highest of any Republican.
That goodwill has been engendered with relatively little examination of Giuliani's activities since leaving New York's mayor's office after a highly controversial tenure capped by a widely praised performance in the period directly after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.
Neither Giuliani nor his representative, the Washington Speakers Bureau, would discuss his speaking fees or his schedule. But in his 2002 divorce filing, Giuliani estimated his annual income from public speaking at $8 million. The divorce filing also shows that Giuliani was to receive a $2.7 million advance to write his best-selling book, "Leadership," and a second book.
Giuliani's stops included a corporate forum Nov. 17, 2004, at Chicago's McCormick Place funded in part by Tribune Co., corporate parent of the Chicago Tribune. Details of his compensation at this event were not known.
rest of the story here:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0702070063feb07,1,7692936.story
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
---------------------------------- The duty of a patriot in this time and place is to ask questions, to demand answers, to understand where our nation is headed and why. If the answers you get do not suit you, or if they frighten you, or if they anger you, it is your duty as a patriot to dissent. Freedom does not begin with blind acceptance and with a flag. Freedom begins when you say 'No.'
posted on May 21, 2007 08:01:35 PM new
Kind of scary when the voters choose Presidents who have never held a job expect being a politician all their lives.
And those who are so rich, like edwards that don't have a CLUE as to what it takes to get by each day/year.
They're more than willing to take from the middle class, upper middle class and yes, the small percentage of rich who have earned their own way in life and should be allowed to give their money to the 'causes' they wish to.
Instead they'd rather continue to give more and more socialist benefits to those who won't take care of themselves....but have their hands out for 'free' benefits.
I think the part time work that edwards did last year....and where he earned something like $485,000 dollars for that PART TIME work.....should be the ones giving the money they earn to the projects they wish to....and GET THEIR HANDS OUT OF OUR POCKETS.
But what's really worse are those lower level income people....a group that is growing rapidly....are only creating more of a remand for MORE socialist programs....like to many liberals are now proposing, and they're the ones who are more than willing to vote in the party that will give them as much as they can for 'free'.
I wonder how things will go when all are on the receiving end of these 'free' benefits.
posted on May 21, 2007 08:08:18 PM new
So when did Rudy charge for a speech on POVERTY? Or did you miss the IRONY of Edwards (the ambulance chasing personal injury attorney) speaking about POVERTY
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.George S. Patton
[ edited by Bear1949 on May 21, 2007 08:14 PM ]
posted on May 21, 2007 08:24:49 PM new
Oh, no, I fully recognize that ambulance chasing is how edwards made his fortune.
---------------
Here's the article I was speaking about above:
John Edwards Made Some Mighty Good Money Working Part-Time
Thursday , May 17, 2007
By Brit Hume
Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Great Gig
It now turns out that John Edwards made nearly half a million dollars for a year's worth of part-time consulting for that hedge fund we told you about last week.
Edwards, you may recall, said he did consulting for the Fortress Investment Group, which deals heavily in subprime mortgages, in order to learn about how the markets affect global poverty.
Financial disclosure documents now reveal he made almost $480,000 dollars in consulting fees from Fortress last year. He reported total holdings worth $29.5 million, much of that invested with Fortress.
posted on May 21, 2007 09:25:06 PM new
I am quite sure President Bush, upon leaving office, will have no trouble at all earning $55 for his speaking engagements. Why the jealousy?
posted on May 21, 2007 09:57:54 PM new Pride of the Caymans
John Edwards's part-time job.
Sunday, May 20, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT
Let us say right up front that it's terrific that John Edwards lives in a country where he can lose an election and still land a$480,000 part-time job as a consultant to an investment firm that keeps its hedge funds in the Cayman Islands as a tax shelter for its clients. This truly is the land of opportunity.
We're also encouraged to hear that, according to the former Senator's spokesman, "John Edwards is running for President to give every American the opportunities that he's had."
While there may not be enough half-a-million-dollar-a-year part-time consulting gigs to go around just yet, the hedge fund industry is growing. And there's always private equity if you find yourself, as Mr. Edwards described his 2005 circumstance, making $40,000 a year at an antipoverty think tank and wanting to learn something about "capital markets." Thus did he turn, in his time of need, to Fortress Investment Group LLC, pride of the Caymans.
It would also be churlish to repeat the by now tired line about which of his "Two Americas" Mr. Edwards lives in--notwithstanding his $30 million in assets, about $16 million of which is invested in Fortress. And in any case, no one should have to apologize for his wealth and success.
That said, we can understand why the former Senator's campaign wants to change the subject.Mr. Edwards has campaigned, both in 2004 and now, against the use of offshore tax shelters, the supposed rising tide of U.S. inequality and the plight of the American worker. Mr. Edwards' employment at an investment firm that headquarters most of its hedge and private equity funds in one of the world's most notorious tax shelters underscores all of those themes--albeit not quite in the way the Edwards campaign has chosen to emphasize
posted on May 23, 2007 10:22:29 AM new
"And those who are so rich, like edwards that don't have a CLUE as to what it takes to get by each day/year."
That is an inaccurate statement. John Edwards knows better than George Bush what it is like to be poor or lower middle class. His family struggled during his childhood and did not have money. Bush was born into money and has known that privelege all his life. Edwards was the first in his family to graduate from college, so he knows how to work towards a goal. He worked hard to become a successful lawyer. He is no more of an ambulance chaser than any other personal injury attorney. They work on contingency fees. If you don't win, you don't get paid. He was good enough to win most of his cases. Why do you criticize him for working hard, improving his life and enjoying the fruits of his labor? Yet, you see a few pictures of George Bush, who had things handed to him his whole life, clearing some brush and that is a symbol of a hard-working man to you. Amazing....
Another idiotic statement from Linda..."And those who are so rich, like edwards that don't have a CLUE as to what it takes to get by each day/year."
Gee, Do you really believe that wealth causes such stupidity leaving a presidential candidate without what it takes to get by, day by day and year by year?
posted on May 23, 2007 11:42:56 AM new
Came across this article strickly by accident....
looks like the ways edwards makes his money comes from many unlimited sources.
====
John Edwards Stakes Claim on Pirate Booty
By Brett Arends
Mutual Funds Columnist
5/23/2007 10:33 AM EDT
by Brett Arends
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.
Profits in the last week already come to $19 million.
posted on May 23, 2007 12:01:41 PM new
"John Edwards was born in Seneca, South Carolina and raised in Robbins, North Carolina, a small town in the Piedmont. There John learned the values of hard work and perseverance from his father, Wallace, who worked in the textile mills for 36 years, and from his mother, Bobbie, who ran a shop and worked at the post office. Working alongside his father at the mill, John developed his strong belief that all Americans deserve an equal opportunity to succeed and be heard."
When there was some footage of Bush pretending to be busy nailing a board on a house after the Katrina episode he didn't even know how to hold a hammer the correct way to nail properly.
posted on May 23, 2007 12:12:43 PM new
linduh posts:
Came across this article strickly by accident...."""(why the disclaimer???)
"""looks like the ways edwards makes his money comes from many unlimited sources.
====
John Edwards Stakes Claim on Pirate Booty
By Brett Arends
Mutual Funds Columnist
5/23/2007 10:33 AM EDT
by Brett Arends
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.
Profits in the last week already come to $19 million.
[only part of the story]""""
(I bet!)
Since when are you against investing?????????
I'm sure YOU could put a spin on it like:
"Edwards is a Smuggling Pirate who Collects Booty!"
posted on May 23, 2007 12:20:05 PM new
LOL a edwards biased site that kiara uses.
Try an unbiased one....there you will find he came from a middle class family. HIs father was a supervisor/manager and his mother, unlike so many women in the '50's worked for the PO.
They weren't poor. You just have to read UNBIASED sites.
google 'john edwards bio' and read some CREDITABLE sites for a change. LOL Not one put out by his campaign.
Reminds me of all the 'stories' gore told about his childhood. LOL LOL Most of which NEVER happened.
posted on May 23, 2007 12:44:49 PM new
Edwards has talked of his childhood on different shows and his father did work in the textile mills, eventually becoming a supervisor.
They were not an affluent family and he has no reason to lie on his website because I'm pretty sure in today's world the information can be confirmed and if it was otherwise it would most likely have been exposed by now with all the smear campaigns from those so eager to dig dirt because of their fear of the opposition gaining ground, especially if they are intelligent.
And he hasn't been poor since he graduated from law school. years and years ago.
It appears that him coming from a middle class family....and then obtaining great wealth is something that automatically means he was POOR....raised in a poor family.
So now, to liberals here at least, being POOR means being middle class. LOL LOL
posted on May 23, 2007 01:42:07 PM newOr did you miss the IRONY of Edwards (the ambulance chasing personal injury attorney) speaking about POVERTY
The people that attended the speech paid to be there. If they are poor then they do not need to pay to attend. I do not see how $31 per person would make any one poor.
Beside it was Rudy that went around speaking of his successes of 9/11. The one that decided to build NYC's 911 center in the World Trade Center Complex - a terrorist target. A really smart move - NOT.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
---------------------------------- The duty of a patriot in this time and place is to ask questions, to demand answers, to understand where our nation is headed and why. If the answers you get do not suit you, or if they frighten you, or if they anger you, it is your duty as a patriot to dissent. Freedom does not begin with blind acceptance and with a flag. Freedom begins when you say 'No.'
posted on May 23, 2007 02:23:37 PM new
The people that attended the speech paid to be there. If they are poor then they do not need to pay to attend. I do not see how $31 per person would make any one poor.
Read the article again, those that attended did not pay to attend. The tax payers of California paid his fee of $55K, which divided by those in attendance equals $31.00 each.
_____
Linda, it appears the coven of three is in attack mode against you again.
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.George S. Patton
posted on May 23, 2007 02:52:37 PM new
Edwards' father worked in a textile mill and his mother at the Post Office. They were not rolling in dough. Whatever he is worth today, he got through his own hard work--unlike Bush. Bush had all the advantages and connections of a wealthy (oil rich) family and from all reports was a spoiled brat as a young man.
posted on May 23, 2007 04:07:32 PM new
Trust me, it won't matter if he reads it a DOZEN times. It's hard for these things to actually sink in a be understood. LOL
"Bear"
Or did you miss the IRONY of Edwards (the ambulance chasing personal injury attorney) speaking about POVERTY
"LD" The people that attended the speech paid to be there. If they are poor then they do not need to pay to attend. I do not see how $31 per person would make any one poor.
This is exactly why he reads things HIS way....and then FALSELY accuses me of saying something I never did.
slow.....slow.....slow.
"While the democratic party complains about everything THIS President does to protect our Nation": "What would a Democrat president have done at that point?"
"Apparently, the answer is: Sit back and wait for the next terrorist attack."
posted on May 23, 2007 04:37:47 PM new
No one here said Edwards lived in extreme poverty, but growing up the way he did, and having to work to further his education, it's almost certain that he understands work and poverty much better than Bush ever will.
For those who think if others post a few opinions and some factual information it is an 'attack mode' or 'evil ways', I suggest they find a gentler environment to post topics where all agree with them.
posted on May 23, 2007 06:09:30 PM new
I don't see that I've missed anything in my interpretation of what has been said.
If you are referring to Coincoach's post about Edwards not having money during his childhood and Bush being born into money, I read 'money' as another term for 'wealth'.
posted on May 23, 2007 06:11:48 PM new
""My husband and I were middle class and we lived QUITE well.""
Here's MORE personal information NO ONE wanted but we got anyway.
And down the road she'll start screeching again if someone mentions it ..."YOU DON'T KNOW MY PERSONAL LIFE !"
linduh you incredible dope....there isn't one set in concrete income for "middle class".....;it varies ya doorbell!
posted on May 23, 2007 07:10:13 PM new
More bad news for edwards.....from a liberal San Francisco paper yet.
=============================
Back to Article
Recent headlines threaten Edwards' main campaign theme
Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
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 starts to emerge. And it might be utterly unfair to draw conclusions when things add up to a pattern -- but that's what people do, and that's what the media does.''
Edwards' campaign spokesman Eric Schultz said the senator has in numerous ways proved his dedication to the cause of eradicating poverty in America.
"If you look at where John Edwards comes from and his record, its clear that what makes him tick (is) helping those who haven't been as blessed as he has been,'' Schultz wrote in an e-mail.
Edwards has started a poverty center at the University of North Carolina, led successful minimum wage initiatives in six states, traveled to poverty-stricken areas and started a college-for-everyone program for a poor county in eastern North Carolina, he said.
"The bottom line is John Edwards is running for president to give every American the opportunities that he's had,'' Schultz wrote.
But strategist South said there are numerous examples of incidents creating unwanted perceptions for politicians.
He said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is an example of a politician whose public image was eroded by a series of headlines on his dating habits, including an admitted affair with a colleague's wife, which paint a picture of a personal life in disarray.
Former Vice President Al Gore regularly was the subject of stories suggesting he was an exaggerator and often fudged facts; the theme became so prevalent that opponents accused him of boasting that he "invented the Internet'' -- a statement he never made.
And although President Bush's polls have suffered with his handling of the Iraq war -- it was the litany of missteps on everything from Hurricane Katrina to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' involvement in the firing of prosecutors that cemented an image of an administration that was incompetent, South said.
Edwards' political troubles began after revelations that his campaign paid $400 for a haircut, prompting GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to quip that Democrats are "spending more than John Edwards in a beauty shop.'' Edwards also was rapped for his work for a hedge fund -- an investment seen as catering to the super rich -- and his $500,000 salary.
The criticism intensified Tuesday as conservative bloggers, commentators and opponents jumped on Edwards for charging $55,000 for a 2006 speech at UC Davis. Critics said the speech about poverty before a mostly student audience of 1,787 -- who were charged more than $17 a ticket -- challenges Edwards' campaign message and raises questions about the candidate's judgment.
Democratic strategist Kam Kuwata said the incidents suggest sloppy message control and a tendency toward being tone deaf in the campaign -- something Edwards must address immediately before it causes irreparable harm among voters in the early Democratic primaries and caucuses.
"Right now," Kuwata said, "Sen. Edwards greatest challenge is to stay ahead in Iowa,'' where he is the top choice of Democratic voters in the latest opinion polls.
Edwards' supporters note that the senator -- who donated $350,000 to charity in 2006 before he began his presidential campaign -- was not alone that year in earning considerable cash from speaking fees.
Former President Bill Clinton, for example, was paid $100,000 speaking at the same California public university -- UC Davis. And another presidential candidate, Republican Rudy Giuliani, charged Oklahoma State University $100,000 for a speech -- and $47,000 for the use of a private jet.
But Republicans insist that Edwards, a multimillionaire former trial lawyer, is especially vulnerable because he's crafted his campaign around themes of education and poverty -- while making more than $285,000 last year speaking to college students.
"It's not like it's Exxon,'' said Patrick Dorinson, a California Republican media strategist. "The message is: 'I'm going to talk to you about poverty -- and thanks for the check.' ''
This article appeared on page A - 6 of the San Francisco Chronicle
"While the democratic party complains about everything THIS President does to protect our Nation": "What would a Democrat president have done at that point?"
"Apparently, the answer is: Sit back and wait for the next terrorist attack."
posted on May 23, 2007 11:50:23 PM new
Dear ignorant dolt, being rich does not mean one cannot help those less fortunate.
To say that because a person is wealthy they cannot help others is
just another display of your total lack of logic and reasoning ability.
Being dirt poor will assure that a person will NOT get elected or be able to help others. It takes money to get elected...come out of your cave someday and you may see that.
It's a whole lot easier to be rich and help the poor than be poor and help the poor.
Edwards did NOT steal the money he has.... It's to his credit that with his vast wealth he does think of those less fortunate.
...it is not a crime to be a Democrat and rich and to imply that Repugs are better because they're poor is ridiculous.....they're not poor either.
is making money from them and HOOEYY!! Don't it just get their feathers in a fluff! 
