Evaluating John Edwards for endorsement has been something of a challenge. I tried to maintain my objectivity in the matter, but I am surely swayed by the fact that I liked him as a candidate in 2004. In an attempt to be objective I found myself looking for reasons to not endorse him for 2008.
After much searching I concluded that John Edwards is a better candidate now that he was in 2004. He appears to have learned much from his previous presidential run while maintaining the optimist and idealism which were some of his strengths last time. While I do not agree with every one of his positions on every issue I think that he has the character to make a good president and the ability to bring this nation together in ways that would be impossible for some other candidates.
He is honest enough to admit that his desire for universal health care is probably not attainable without a tax increase. This kind of candor before being elected bodes well for any potential public servant.
I made the decision harder than necessary. In the end, I easily endorse John Edwards for President in 2008. He is a capable candidate and I believe that he would make an admirable president.
Do you remember that Edwards made his fortune from being a trial lawyer? (Those scummy attorneys who put ads on TV? Those attorneys who are not “real” attorneys?)From Wikipedia: “Edwards made his personal fortune through his trial successes and his 2003 financial disclosure forms showed a total net worth between $12.8 and $60 million. Edwards was criticized for paying himself mostly through subchapter S corporate dividends, rather than a salary, to take advantage of a tax-law loophole that allowed him to avoid paying $591,000 in Medicare taxes; Edwards claimed that he chose the subchapter S structure to protect his assets from liability.[4]”Also see:http://news.findlaw.com/newsmakers/john.edwards.htmlhttp://john-kerry.tonyspencer.com/edwards-trial-lawyer.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwardshttp://www.nationalreview.com/comment/copland200407080820.aspI wouldn’t vote for him.
Well, you’ll never be forced to vote for him.While I do not care much for the complexities of our current tax system, I have no personal complaints about people taking advantage of that complexity – so long as what they are doing is not illegal or immoral.The public disclosure of these facts suggests that what he did was not illegal. Different people will have different views of what constitutes “immoral” with regard to tax law. I’m not even going to go there.I do think it is an interesting contradiction that John Edwards wants to promote universal health care and yet he personally kept more than half a million dollars out of our existing health care system.
Take away that tax loophole, and there will be an almighty outcry from the small business sector. I think it’s sixes that he did it; the law was there, he took advantage of it, too bad it hurt the medicaid program. However, from what I understand, Mr. Edwards made his money by suing doctors, I’d say that puts him nearly at the bottom of the barrel right next to criminal defense attorneys for the wealthy.
I checked out Mr. Edward’s record and I stand corrected. Not only did he do med mal, he also did personal injury, products liability, and motor vehicle injury. His ranking stays the same.