LESLIE WAYNE'S EDWARDS PROBLEM. An article in today's New York Times offers a critical assessment of John Edwards' new poverty tour, as well as his relatively low standing in the polls among low income voters. The author of the piece, of course, is Leslie Wayne, who has a history of writing major NYT pieces criticizing Edwards under the guise of objectivity. Her June 22nd hit job on Edwards' Center for Promise and Opportunity was about as shabby as campaign journalism gets.
In the NYT's Caucus blog, she considered it important to single out Edwards and remind readers that even though he "is now criticizing the low tax rate that hedge fund managers pay," he is also "the only Democratic presidential candidate to have worked for a hedge fund." Remarkably, she was even able to relate the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie to Edwards' financial resources by putting in an obscure hedge-funds-related story that had something to do with sunken treasure.
To make a comparison, Rudy Giuliani is actually wealthier than John Edwards, by a little less than $10 million. Mitt Romney? Despite the obsession with Edwards, Romney's personal wealth is a stunning four times as much. This hardly gets mentioned. But of course, neither of these candidates is talking about poverty and the reality of social class.
--Steven White
