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Comments

• [1] roses from my living room June 22, 2007 - 06:46AM

  I wonder how Edwards would have responded last night to the NY Times allegations that he was the main beneificiary of the fudnraising for his North Carolina poverty center. Too bad that article didn't come out 24 hour earlier.

  As anyone who attended the event well knows, we had to wait almost an hour for Edwards who was stuck in traffic(congestion pricing,anyone?). I'll bet he and his "team" had something to talk about while they were making their way to Cooper Union.

  It was refreshing to hear a candidate not only talk about poverty-related issues, but propose solutions. He was certainly in his comfort zone discussing issues related to the "two Americas." Now I would like to hear him speak in depth about Iraq, Iran, immigration, the environment, Darfur,etc. Also would have liked to hear him explain his vote for the war. An apology isn't sufficient. He was on the Senate's Intelligence Committee at the time- no excuse for not reading the classified Iraq report.

  
  
• [2] Charlie from New York June 22, 2007 - 10:26AM

  Socialism and class warfare just don't play in this country's national elections, and that seems to be the basis of Edwards' campaign.

  Also, how does he propose to pay for all this?

  I just don't think he has a good grasp of economics, macro- or micro-.

  
  
• [3] Robert Williams June 22, 2007 - 10:31AM

  Mr. Edwards is a charismatic speaker with noble, yet expensive ideas. It would great to eliminate poverty and improve many social services programs, but I would like more details on how he would plan to pay for his initiatives. As for "everyone who wants to go to college should be able to", well that's just a lovely sound-byte without merit. Not everyone in society has the capacity to perform adequately in college. Just because we are living in a democracy doesn't mean everyone is the same!

  
  
• [4] cora June 22, 2007 - 11:52AM

  How about AXE instead of ASK????

  
  
• [5] Liz Hollander from Jackson Heights June 22, 2007 - 12:11PM

  Re Healthcare:

  No one mentioned the administrative costs of employer based health care, which skyrocket in an economy based on a mobile labor market.

  Quite apart from other forces that drive up health care costs (the for profit insurance industry, the pressure of the uninsured, etc), the administration alone is enough of an argument for single payer healthcare. However it is paid for, healthcare must be administered centrally.

  
  
• [6] Chicago listener June 23, 2007 - 02:52AM

  I'm listening to the podcast now and I have a comment on one example that Mr. Edwards gave. He spoke of a woman who makes $9.50 per hour and could not afford to both feed her children and keep the heat on in her home. My question is, who told her to have more kids than she could properly care for? Granted, she may have suffered a loss or setback, but the answer to her question "How am i supposed to take care of my kids making the money I do?" is you probably can't.

  That said, I applaud Edwards for doing what he's doing. I think everyone displaced in Katrina would agree that more Americans need to build assets and equity.

  
  
• [7] Rebecca Stanton from New York June 23, 2007 - 02:39PM

  I can hardly describe how refreshing I find it to hear a candidate talk about poverty as something we have a moral responsibility to solve, rather than a punishment inflicted on the poor for their sins (as it's been treated by politicians of both parties ever since Reagan demonized "welfare queens." I also admire his acknowledgement that illegal immigrants are people too ("I'm going to go with treating human beings with dignity and respect"), his call to American citizens to get personally involved in solving the nation's problems rather than hiding behind "patriotism" ("Problems? What problems?") or waiting for policiticans to do it for them. That's not class warfare; it's realism.

  I was very impressed by this interview, both by the way that Edwards didn't try to disguise his opinions in order to pander to the interviewer, and by the actual positions that he took. It is really time for America to stop pretending that nothing needs to change and start doing some major surgery on the body politic. Edwards seems to have some good ideas; I'd like to see him play a prominent role in the election season, whether as the nominee or as the VP pick.

  
  
• [8] Rebecca Stanton from New York June 23, 2007 - 03:46PM

  Sorry for the double post -- I meant to say earlier that I also (like Robert Williams above) look with some skepticism at Edwards' "College for everyone who wants to go." But I think the key thing here is the second part of that sentence, "...who wants to go." If a person has the drive and intellectual capacity to go to college, (s)he shouldn't be held back by a lack of funds, and *that's* the problem Edwards' "College For Everyone" program has addressed. I'd love to see Americans embrace both that principle and its corollary -- that if someone has the funds to go to college, but lacks the drive or intellectual curiosity, (s)he should be directed toward a suitable alternative. Make college a place for people who really want to be there and will get something out of it, rather than just another middle- and upper-class entitlement.

  
  
• [9] Richard Woodworth from Atlanta, Georgia June 27, 2007 - 07:59PM

  As a real American (born, raised, educated, and served in the armed Forces of the United states of America by the Grace of God), I believe that this country is truly blessed by God's grace and warn all who do not thank Him for this blessing, that they are giving this country away to the enemy, right under our noses. It happened in the Soviet Union, in Italy and Germany and is happening now in China and other places as well. My request is to liberals, and the socialist leaning democrats. Please don't destroy the freedoms and security we have fought for.