Edwards: Jesus Would Be 'Appalled'

By MIKE BAKER, Associated Press Writer

Monday, March 5, 2007

Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says Jesus would be appalled at how the United States has ignored the plight of the suffering, and that he believes children should have private time to pray at school.


Edwards, in an interview with the Web site Beliefnet.com, said Jesus would be most upset with the selfishness of Americans and the country's willingness to go to war "when it's not necessary."


"I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs," Edwards told the site. "I think he would be appalled, actually."


Edwards also said he was against teacher-led prayers in public schools, but he added that "allowing time for children to pray for themselves, to themselves, I think is not only OK, I think it's a good thing."


In the interview, the former North Carolina senator discussed how he lost touch with his day-to-day faith during college, but that it "came roaring back" after the death of his 16-year-old son, Wade, in 1996.


Edwards has often cited religion as a part of his politics, frequently linking his efforts to fight poverty as a matter of morality.


Edwards was interviewed by David Kuo, a conservative Christian who served as deputy director of President Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives until 2003. Kuo wrote a book, "Tempting Faith, An Inside Story of Political Seduction," that said Bush aides privately called conservative Christians "nuts,""ridiculous" and "goofy."


Edwards told Kuo he stood by a decision to keep two bloggers on his staff despite their provocative writings criticizing the Catholic Church. Edwards said he also found the writing offensive, but "decided to forgive them and stand by them, knowing there would be potential political consequences for that."


The bloggers later quit, saying they didn't want to be a liability to the campaign.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — A video is worth a thousand words. And dollars, too.


Prominently featured on John Edwards' presidential campaign Web site is a video of conservative commentator Ann Coulter insulting him. And with just a mouse click you can hear the invective and get a chance to donate at the same time.


On Friday, Coulter, a writer and columnist known for provocative remarks, told an audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington: "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I — so kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards."


The Edwards camp is now seeking to capitalize on the slur by soliciting $100,000 in "Coulter Cash" to "show that inflaming prejudice to attack progressive leaders will only backfire."


Meanwhile, conservatives were none too pleased with Coulter, either. Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, said: "Frankly, I would have loved to have heard Ann expose and dissect the radical agenda of Senator Edwards instead of resorting to cheap name calling."


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ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Monday called Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a "madman" and raised the possibility that he could be assassinated by foes within his country.


"Ahmadinejad, the madman, is in competition with mullahs and ayatollahs who think he's overstepped his bounds," Biden told members of a local Kiwanis Club in this early voting state.


Ahmadinejad may be "assassinated, not by the good guys, but by the bad guys," said the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.


At a campaign stop Sunday, Biden called Ahmadinejad "that wacko guy, the crazy president," and said he would only be in office for a little more than a year before being "taken out" because he threatened Shia interests.


Last week, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd told a University of South Carolina audience he endorsed the Bush administration's recent willingness to hold joint talks on Iraq with Syria and Iran. But Dodd, also a presidential hopeful, said the United States needs to avoid talking with Ahmadinejad and called him "a thug."


Biden's campaign on Monday also announced he was endorsed by state Sen. Gerald Malloy and state Rep. Jerry Govan, both members of the Legislative Black Caucus.


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NEW YORK (AP) — New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had a slightly different answer on Monday for that same old question he's dismissed over and over: Are you going to run for president?


"I don't think so — and if I was going to do it, I don't think I'd announce it right here," he said during a brief appearance Monday morning on Fox News.


The host noted that the billionaire businessman had a similar answer when asked, years ago, if he planned to run for mayor.


"And then fast forward, here you are," she said.


"You never know," he said.


For the record, just days ago Bloomberg told an audience at Harvard University that he was not, in fact, a presidential candidate.


Ever since the Democrat-turned-Republican won re-election in 2005, there has been some talk of a Bloomberg presidential bid. Most of the talk has been fueled by one of his aides, Kevin Sheekey, who has publicly acknowledged his efforts to cajole his boss into the race.


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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Democratic presidential contender John Edwards is mailing Iowa caucus voters some 70,000 DVDs that argue he is the only candidate with a health care plan for all Americans.


The Edwards campaign hoped to reach a significant number of Iowa's Democratic caucus voters with the DVD. Slightly more than 100,000 participated in the 2004 caucus.


"What America really wants in their next president is to be able to trust their president," Edwards says in the six-minute video. "In order for that to be true, they want to feel like ... the president is a good and decent and honest human being who's trying to do what's right."


The video and pamphlet specifically address health care problems and statistics in Iowa, where the state's leadoff caucuses will begin the nomination process.


Sen. John Kerry won Iowa in 2004 and went on to earn the party's nomination. Edwards placed second in Iowa and later earned a spot as Kerry's vice presidential nominee.


Edwards has proposed a tax increase to fund a universal health care plan that would cover the estimated 47 million Americans who do not have insurance. The plan would create "health markets," including a government-run plan like Medicare, to create competitive prices. It would also subsidize insurance for low-income Americans and require businesses to help cover the insurance costs of their employees.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — Judicial Watch, a conservative investigative group that dogged the Clinton presidency, is asking for an investigation of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for filing an incomplete financial disclosure report.


The group filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee and the Justice Department, noting that Clinton had failed to report that she was secretary-treasurer of the Clinton Family Foundation in documents that must be filed annually with the Senate. In the face of an official complaint, Senate rules require the ethics committee to begin a preliminary inquiry.


Clinton amended her disclosure report on Feb. 26 to include her foundation affiliation after The Washington Post reported the omission. Data about the foundation, and Clinton's role in it, also is available from other public records. According to Internal Revenue Service records, the foundation had nearly $1.8 million in income in 2005.