Edwards does 'Politics and Eggs'

Posted: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 10:45 AM by Mark Murray

From NBC/NJ's Tricia Miller
BEDFORD, NH -- For the second time in the last four years, Edwards participated in a New Hampshire primary institution by speaking this morning at Politics & Eggs at the Bedford Village Inn.

The former North Carolina senator first spoke at Politics & Eggs on Sept. 9, 2003, according to spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield. This morning he delivered a short version of his stump speech and took questions on Pell grants, health care, the role of nonprofits, the federal debt, and Pakistan.

"Well, the best tool America has to deal with Musharraf and the Pakistani government is they’re heavily dependent on America for money, for aid. And what I would do is make it absolutely clear to Musharraf that that money does not come without any conditions," he

said. "That, in fact, if he doesn’t do the things that he has been promising he will do, which is actually have fair elections to open up the government, to move toward democratic reform, to move the country toward economic reform, and in this case, reverse some of the actions that he’s taken, that we will in fact start withdrawing some of that money because he needs to feel the pressure, not just diplomacy and not just words. He needs to understand there will absolutely be financial consequences if he continues this behavior."

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Comments

SEND THE BILLION DOLLARS BILL TO BUSH, HE AND HIS RICH REPUBLICAN OIL BUDDIES CAN AFFORD IT.

Z (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 10:52 AM)

Uh, I think that's called Vietnamization. It didn't work in Vietnam, and it only screwed up America when Reagan did it to us. Religon used to be the Opiate of the Masses. Now it's Money. Since the Masses get No Money from Vietnamization, Religion has become the Amphetamine of the Masses. Musharraf will end up owning a Liqour Store in LA, like Nguyen Cao Ky.

Steve Turner cedar Falls Iowa (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 11:00 AM)

The new Rasmussen poll has Clinton slipping in New Hampshire with only 10 points between her and Obama: Clinton is at 34, Obama 24, Edwards 15 and Richardson 8. I think this flip-flopper narrative has definitly hurt her in the publics mind and the whinning about ganging up on the girl hasn't helped her at all.

I think Edwards is doing the best he can attacking Clinton but I feel like all these attacks do are push people towards Obama - who is the second choice of many democrats. But if Edwards focuses on Obama then that simply helps Clinton. He's damned either way in a sense. Support for him seems to be softening.

The Obama campaign, meanwhile, seems to be picking up steam at the right time. I think they have a chance. Clinton's not out, but the more the campaign has to deal with her negative qualities, the better for Obama.

Casey (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 11:12 AM)

Here is the problem with virtually all presidential candidates. They think it is preferable to bribe dictators that have taken power through undemocratic means to act more democratic. This makes as much sense as giving drug addicts money with the hope they don't spend it on drugs. And if they do spend it on drugs, you then threaten to stop providing them money. Maybe you shouldn't have given them the money in the first place.

Ben, Chicago IL (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 11:12 AM)

Musharraf is not only fighting for his political career, he is also fighting for his life. If he is forcefully removed from office his chance of living is slim to none. The US is again forced to align itself with a political dictator to promote our foreign policy agenda and fight Al Queda in the Afghan county side. We know that Pakistan already has WMD and we cannot allow those weapons to fall into the hands of a radical Islamic group. This is not the pretend situation that Bush used to go to war in Iraq. We could see Pakistan fall to a regime hostel to the US government the way Iran fell in the seventies. This is not a time for politics to replace reason. We need our current President to properly handle this situation, since we cannot wait for a predecessor.

TEC-Spring-TX (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 11:22 AM)

I was there live and i must say this Edward has something going for him in New Hampshire. He seems to undertsand the pain of average America but the connection is just not there.

I like his idea on College tuition and the creation of non-profit corp to serves as humanitarian workers rather than using military for all humanitarian cases. He wants to create a civilian humanitarian corp that will be outside pentagon. I think these ideas are brilliant.

On foreign policy, i like Obama and Biden ideas more. Edward is pretty decent

Bee (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 11:29 AM)

GO JOHN , define define define, it will not only help
you it will help the party.
Politics and eggs, sounds like stem cell debate, What no bacon?

John S. Alexander, Edinboro, PA (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 11:39 AM)

the guy gets it..hopefully the peoople of new hampshire will too and work to elect edwards..

Jerry (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 11:45 AM)

Let's say Musharraf does end up owning a Liqour Store in LA. One of two things will happen. Either Israel will see Pakistan as a threat and Nuke them, or India will see Pakistan as a threa, and They will Nuke them. Once again, the USA will be in the middle of a situation that we shouldn't have been in the first place. Dictating to countries, how they should operate, and then using that as an excuse to put our troops there. The present status of our Government is directly related to the fact that nearly all of our Politicians make money off these situations, and never participate in the gruesome task of making these untenable situations fit our preconcieved notions of what WE want to happen. Lose/Lose? We The People do, Them The Politicians don't. It's Win/Win for them, no matter what happens. The more screwed up, the better. Just an Independent view.

Steve Turner Cedar Falls Iowa (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 11:50 AM)

Ben-Great analogy but that is how our foreign policy has been run for decades on both political parties. Politicians have conviently used our great constitution as a so called democracy roadmap;however; in reality it has all been about corporate wlth/greed, cold war tastics and hegemony. Just look at who we have supported throughout history: miltary strongmen (Pinochet, Batista, Samoza, Trujillo, Marcos, Duvalier and now Musharrif); and puppet royalty (Shah of Iran) which pisses of the masses resulting in revolutions and brokering so called peace treaties that favors one side over the other. History bascially repeats itself and we the people face the consequences of politics as usual.

juan,ft lauderdale,fl (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 12:10 PM)

Gallup/USA Today Poll released today and conducted after last week's democratic debate:

Hillary - 50%
Obama - 22%
Edwards - 15%

And she beats Rudy in the general by 7%!

Sorry, all you Hillary haters, this is just more bad news for you. Keep sucking those sour grapes!

csh, IL (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 12:12 PM)

Is the former Senator sure he wants the US to insist on elections, considering that right now there is a very good possibility an Islamic, pro-Taliban, pro-AQ government may result?

Has he considered it at all, or as normal, just done the knee-jerk anti-Bush thing?

Bruce, NV (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 12:14 PM)

csh, IL--That usa today poll isn't of primary voters or likely primary voters...just random adults. Large swaths of them won't vote. Marist and Rasmussen show Hillary losing lots of support since the Drexel debate, which probably accounts for her most recent flip=flop on DLs for illegals.

Bruce, NV (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 12:51 PM)

"This is not a time for politics to replace reason. We need our current President to properly handle this situation, since we cannot wait for a predecessor."

Oh, jeez! Did you HAVE to put it like that? That is the most discouraging thing I've read in a LONG TIME.

Lee in CA (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 12:56 PM)

Finally, someone who wants to stop enabling foreign dictators and threaten to shut them off from the drug of endless (taxpayer's money) U.S. billions.
And here's a question, boys and girl; where did Pakistan and India get its nukes? If Al Quaeda/Taliban gets hold of the nukes WE gave Pakistan, thenIndia will use the nukes WE gave them, and Israel will use the nukes WE gave them to start a grand little holywar. Remember, no one named Abu, Krishna or Moisha made those bombs---WE did, and we gave them to Abu, Krishna and Moisha! And now, we'll pay the price if they actually use them. And, I'm sorry, the damage has been done, no presidential contender can pull us out of that one.

Class Warrior, D.C. (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 1:06 PM)

Lee in CA, The key to that statement is properly handle this situation, which if past results could predict future results, then I can understand your discouragement. I am not a war monger, but as Steve Turner has stated above, we are not really in a good situation with this issue.

TEC-Spring-Tx (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 1:18 PM)

My vision is very clear. Hillary Clinton will be our next president. I can see a female president in the White House. It will happen.

Psychic Mary (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 1:32 PM)

Actually, Class Warrior, wrong on three counts. Israel got theirs from France in the wake of the Suez snafu. India and Pakistan got theirs independently (although India got reactors under the "atoms for peace" program). US in fact, cut off aid to Pakistan when it was discovered that they were working on a nuke.

But, hey, when you can use racialistic bosh like you did, what are a few facts?

Bruce, NV (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 1:47 PM)

psycho mary, i can see hillary on dancing with the stars doing the two step! she'd get bounced the first week as she couldn't remember the actual steps no more cthan she could remember to answer the dam question. as for edwards, where was he on pakistan in the debates, only biden had the right dance card on that while the rest focused on iran. biden doesn't two step he straight foward and clear. your psycho and bidens the psychic here.

karlos (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 1:52 PM)

Bruce. A friend of mine who is Jewish, long ago pointed out that it was Jewish Physicists who came up with the Atom Bomb. Any help from outside Israel, was merely in the form of hardware that was just cheaper to buy. Just like the planes and tanks they get from the US, they modify them (Read: Improve) to suit their more exacting requirements.

Steve Turner Cedar Falls Iowa (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 1:59 PM)

"This is not a time for politics to replace reason. We need our current President to properly handle this situation, since we cannot wait for a predecessor."

Time really does go backwards?

The current crop of dunderheads in DC have us potentially facing an al Qaida nuclear bomb due to their ineptitude.

Bust we might have to wait for a successor anyway.

Tony, Sacramento, CA (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 2:14 PM)

Edwards opposes NAFTA and its extension in the Peru Free Trade Agreement.
Obama SUPPORTS IT!!
Hillary - focus groups haven't decided yet.

So - if you like NAFTA - support Obama.

Margaret, NYC (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 2:34 PM)

Tony -
Ha ha - right. "Successor," but I'd settle for a predecessor. Any one of them.

Lee in CA (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 3:01 PM)

Mr. Edwards, Do you know that Pakistan had a GDP a year ago or so of 8% at a time when ours was "improving" at 1.5%? Think twice before you imagine that our 8 billion a year to Pakistan will be discussion money. ALSO, please, everybody put your pea shooters down and help Musharraf keep his country stable any way he has to. Give the guy some room! j. rose

Jeanne B. Rose, Fort Worth, TX (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 3:02 PM)

The Shah of Iran tried to prevent the radical clerics from taking power in Iran and failed and so we have religious nuts running the government. Democratic elections would have produced the same result.

Saddam Hussein was keeping the lid on the religious factions in Iraq until we removed him and the lid. The democratic elections brought religious faction leaders to office and ethnic cleansing has progressed until most of the country has become segregated.

We now have Pakistan to consider. I hope we have learned some lessons.

Bringing democracy alone does not bring peace. Majority rule just substitutes one form of tyranny for another unless minority rights, checks on government power, freedom of expression and the separation of church and state are guaranteed.

nuanced (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 6:03 PM)

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