Why I Hate John Edwards

Although I lean toward McCain, I haven't decided who to support in the presidential race. One thing is clear though, I can't stand John Edwards. His editorial in this morning's Wall Street Journal on "reining in corporations" only reinforces this. He starts on CEO salaries:

In 1960, the average CEO made 41 times what the average worker made. But in 2005, the average CEO made over 400 times the average worker's salary. The share of corporate profits going to CEO pay has doubled since the 1990s. Meanwhile, the value of the minimum wage has plummeted 30% since 1979.

Oh, this is really rich coming from a trial lawyer who is worth more than $50 million from suing doctors for bogus reasons. This is even more hypocritical when you consider that Edwards recently made a base salary of $480,000 in one year for a part-time gig as a consultant for a hedge fund based in the Cayman Islands, more than many CEOs make for a full-time job. Do as I say, not as I do.

Edwards continues later:

As president, I will create a new universal retirement account requiring every business to automatically enroll its workers in at least one plan: a traditional pension, a 401(k) or an IRA. Workers will be able to choose to have their contributions deducted automatically from their paychecks, and they will be able to carry these accounts with them from job to job.

Hello, there already is a universal retirement account that workers can take from job to job, you even mention in this paragraph, it is called a 401(k). The only thing you have changed is making it mandatory for workers to enroll, something many companies do anyway. Leave it up to someone like Edwards to think that it is governments role to micromanage how companies compensate their employees, while he is resting in luxury in his 30,000 square foot mansion in North Carolina

Do As I Say, Not As I do

John Edwards believes there are two Americas:

I stand here tonight ready to work with you and John to make America stronger. And we have much work to do, because the truth is, we still live in a country where there are two different Americas...

(APPLAUSE)

... one, for all of those people who have lived the American dream and don't have to worry, and another for most Americans, everybody else who struggle to make ends meet every single day. It doesn't have to be that way.

But apparently he is very happy to live in one of them:

Don Knight, Orange County building plans examiner, told CJ that, including the recreational building, the Edwardses’ home would be one of the largest in
Orange County.

Knight approved the building plans that showed the Edwards home totaling 28,200 square feet of connected space. The main house is 10,400 square feet and has two garages. The recreation building, a red, barn-like building containing 15,600 square feet, is connected to the house by a closed-in and roofed structure of varying widths and elevations that totals 2,200 square feet.The main house is all on one level except for a 600-square-foot bedroom and bath area above the guest garage.

The recreation building contains a basketball court, a squash court, two stages, a bedroom, kitchen, bathrooms, swimming pool, a four-story tower, and a room designated “John’s Lounge.”