On Thursday night, August 28th, Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

More than 80,000 people joined him in Denver to be part of the moment, and tens of millions more shared the experience across the country.

Watch Barack's historic speech and share it with your friends and family today:

Ashton Kutcher

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ashton Kutcher
"Ashton Kutcher"
Born	Christopher Ashton Kutcher February 7, 1978 (1978-02-07) (age 30) Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States
Spouse(s)	Demi Moore (2005 - present)

Christopher Ashton Kutcher (pronounced /ˈkʊtʃɚ/, rhyming with butcher;) commonly known as Ashton Kutcher (born February 7, 1978) is an American actor and former fashion model best known for playing Michael Kelso in the television series That '70s Show. He was the creator, executive producer, and host of the MTV celebrity prank show Punk'd. He is known for his roles in films such as Dude, Where's My Car?, Just Married, The Butterfly Effect, The Guardian and What Happens in Vegas. He's also the producer and co-creator of the supernatural TV show Room 401.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Kutcher was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the son of factory workers Diane and Larry Kutcher.^[1] He has an older sister, Tausha, and a fraternal twin, Michael, who has cerebral palsy. Kutcher's childhood was that of a rugged, outdoorsy Midwesterner, and he had various odd jobs, including carpentry, and other jobs relating to farm life. Kutcher attended Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for about a year when his family moved to Tiffin, Iowa where he attended the Clear Creek-Amana High School. In addition to being a student, he played on the football team as wide receiver and appeared in school plays.^[2] Meanwhile, his home life was stressful. He has stated that "I didn't want to come home and find more bad news about my brother" and "kept myself so busy that I didn't allow myself to feel."^[3] Kutcher stated that as a teen, he contemplated committing suicide. At thirteen, he attempted to jump from a hospital balcony, but his father intervened at the last minute.^[4] At around this time, his parents divorced. During his senior year, he broke into the high school at night with his cousin in an attempt to steal money; he was caught leaving the scene. Kutcher was convicted of third-degree burglary and sentenced to three years' probation and 180 hours of community service. Kutcher stated that though the experience "straightened him out," he lost his girlfriend and anticipated college scholarships, and he was ostracized at school and in his community.^[2]

Kutcher attended the University of Iowa, where he majored in biochemical engineering (but did not complete), motivated by the desire to find a cure for his brother's heart ailment. At the University of Iowa, Kutcher was kicked out of his apartment for being too "noisy" and "wild." ^[5] Kutcher stated, "I thought I knew everything but I didn't have a clue. I was smoking a lot of weed and partying, and I woke up many mornings not knowing what I had done the night before. I played way too hard. I am amazed I am not dead."^[6] He was also a member of the Delta Chi fraternity. To make ends meet, Kutcher worked as a college summer hire in the cereal department for the General Mills plant in Cedar Rapids, and sometimes donated blood for money.^[7] During his time at the University he was approached by a scout at a bar called The Airliner in Iowa City, Iowa, and was recruited to enter the "Fresh Faces of Iowa" modeling competition. After placing first, he won a trip to New York City to the International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) Convention. Following his stay in New York City Ashton returned home to Cedar Rapids, Iowa before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career.^[5]

[edit] Career

After participating as a modelling contestant in an IMTA competition (losing to Josh Duhamel) in 1997, Kutcher signed with the Next modeling agency in New York, appeared in ads for Calvin Klein, modeled in Paris and Milan, and appeared in a Pizza Hut commercial.

After some success in modeling, Kutcher moved to Los Angeles and, after his first audition, was cast as Michael Kelso in the television series That '70s Show, which debuted in 1998 and ended in 2006. Kutcher was cast in a series of film roles; although he auditioned but was not cast for the role of Danny Walker in Pearl Harbor (2001)^[8], he starred in several comedy films that performed well at the box office, including Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), Just Married (2003), and Guess Who (2005). In addition, he appeared in the family film Cheaper By The Dozen, playing a self-obsessed actor. His 2004 film The Butterfly Effect was an unusually dramatic role for Kutcher, playing a conflicted young man who fell in love with a girl called Kayleigh; the film received very mixed reviews, but was a box-office success.^[2]

In 2003, Kutcher produced and starred in his own series on MTV's Punk'd. The series involves various hidden camera tricks performed on celebrities. Kutcher is also an executive producer of the reality television show Beauty and the Geek, which debuted in 2005, and will produce a reality show based around the rap group Three 6 Mafia,^[2] as well as another reality series entitled The Real Wedding Crashers.^[9] Kutcher's most recent film role is in The Guardian, a film which opened on September 29, 2006. The film co-stars Kevin Costner and Kutcher as United States Coast Guard rescue swimmers. The studio behind the film, Touchstone Pictures, initially hesitated in casting Kutcher in an action film because of his public image as a comic actor. In order to be there for filming, Ashton was forced not to renew his contract for the eighth and final season of That 70s Show, though he did appear in the first four episodes of it (credited as a special guest star) and returned for the show's series finale.^[2] Kutcher also voiced a leading character in the animated film Open Season, which opened on the same date as The Guardian.

Many of his production credits, including Punk'd, come through Katalyst Films, a production company he runs with partner Jason Goldberg.^[10]

Kutcher is part of the management team for Ooma, a tech start-up launched in September 2007. Ooma is in the Voice over Internet Protocol business and Ashton's role is as Creative Director. He's spearheading a marketing campaign and producing viral videos to promote this service.

[edit] Personal life

Kutcher dated actresses January Jones (from 1998 to 2001), Ashley Scott (from 2001 to 2002), Monet Mazur (2002), and Brittany Murphy (from 2002 to 2003). Following his break-up with Murphy in early 2003, Kutcher began dating Demi Moore; reports in the media frequently commented on the fifteen-year age difference between the two.^[9] Moore and Kutcher married on September 24, 2005 in a private ceremony conducted by a rabbi of the Kabbalah Centre; the wedding was attended by about 100 close friends and family of the couple, including Bruce Willis, Moore's ex-husband. Ashton has said that

It is humanly impossible for me to love any human beings more than Demi and her kids.

Both Kutcher and Moore are followers of the Kabbalah Centre, a controversial California-based organization which alleges that it teaches Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism. As part of his involvement in Kabbalah, Kutcher has toured Israel with Demi Moore, as well as taken time off to observe traditional Jewish High Holy Days,^[11] and celebrated the Jewish holiday Purim. Kutcher also usually wears the traditional Kabbalah Red string.^[12]

Kutcher is best friends with his former That '70s Show co-stars Danny Masterson and Wilmer Valderrama, as well as actor Seann William Scott, his costar in Dude, Where's My Car?. Kutcher claims that he "never felt close to Topher Grace," who is the only cast member of That '70s show that he did not punk. Kutcher has also invested in an Italian restaurant named Dolce^[2] (other owners include Masterson and Valderrama) and a Japanese-themed restaurant named Geisha House located in Atlanta and Los Angeles. Kutcher is a big Chicago Bears supporter.

Ashton Kutcher's former girlfriend, Ashley Ellerin, a 22-year-old fashion model, was found stabbed to death in her Hollywood Hills apartment in February 2001.^[13] Hours before she was found dead, Ashton Kutcher visited her home to pick her up for the 43rd Grammy Awards, but no one answered the door. Kutcher looked inside her apartment through a back window and saw what he thought were red wine stains on the carpet, then left. Ellerin's body was found later in the day by her roommate, and after hearing of the news Kutcher went to the police to offer any help in the investigation. In August 2008, police announced that they had traced Ellerin's murder to serial killer Michael Gargiulo, a Santa Monica resident who is charged in the stabbing deaths of at least three women.^[13]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Actor

• 1998–2006: That '70s Show as Michael Kelso
• 1999: Coming Soon as Louie
• 2000: Down to You as Jim Morrison
• 2000: Reindeer Games as College Kid
• 2000: Dude, Where's My Car? as Jesse Montgomery III
• 2001: Just Shoot Me! as Dean Cassidy (1 episode)
• 2001: Texas Rangers as George Durham
• 2002: Grounded for Life as Cousin Scott (1 episode)
• 2003–2007: Punk'd as Himself/Host
• 2003: Just Married as Tom Leezak
• 2003: My Boss's Daughter as Tom Stansfield
• 2003: Cheaper by the Dozen as Hank
• 2004: The Butterfly Effect as Evan Treborn
• 2005: Guess Who as Simon Green
• 2005: A Lot Like Love as Oliver Martin
• 2005: Robot Chicken various voices
• 2006: Bobby as Fisher
• 2006: The Guardian as Jake Fischer
• 2006: Open Season as Elliot (Voice)
• 2008: Miss Guided as Beaux (1 episode)
• 2008: What Happens in Vegas... as Jack Fuller
• 2008/2009: Personal Effects as Walter
• 2009: Spread as Nicki
• 2009: Like Father
• 2009: Open Season 2 as Elliot(Voice)

[edit] Video Games

Surf's Up Quiz Game as Cody(Voice) Open Season Game as Elliot(Voice)

[edit] Producer

• 2003: Punk'd (64 Episodes)(executive producer)
• 2003: My Boss's Daughter (co-producer)
• 2004: The Butterfly Effect (executive producer)
• 2004: You've Got a Friend (8 Episodes) (executive producer)
• 2006: Beauty and the Geek (36 Episodes) (executive producer)
• 2007: Adventures in Hollyhood (8 Episodes) (executive producer)
• 2007: Miss Guided (executive producer)
• 2007: Game Show in My Head (executive producer)
• 2007: The Real Wedding Crashers (7 Episodes) (executive producer)
• 2007: Room 401 (8 Episodes) (executive producer)
• 2008: Pop Fiction (executive producer}

[edit] Awards

• Kids' Choice Awards
  • 2004 - Favorite Movie Actor for Just Married, My Boss's Daughter and Cheaper by the Dozen - Nominated
  • 2005 - Favorite TV Actor for That '70s Show and Punk'd - Nominated
  • 2007- Favorite Voice in a cartoon- Nominated
  • 2004 - Favorite Television Actor for That '70s Show and Punk'd
• Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award
  • 2000 - Sierra Award Best Male Newcomer for Dude, Where's My Car? - Nominated
• MTV Movie Awards
  • 2001 - Breakthrough Male Performance for Dude, Where's My Car? - Nominated

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ashton Kutcher at the Internet Movie Database
• Ashton Kutcher at People.com

The Road Not Taken

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Road Not Taken" is a poem by Robert Frost, published in 1916 in his collection Mountain Interval. It is the first poem in the volume, and the first poem Frost had printed in italics. The title is often misremembered as "The Road Less Traveled", from the penultimate line: "I took the one less traveled by".

[edit] Interpretation

The poem admits two common interpretations, which turn on how one interprets the last lines – either literally or ironically.

It is popularly interpreted literally, as inspirational and individualist, but critics universally interpret it as ironic^[1] – "'The Road Not Taken,' perhaps the most famous example of Frost's own claims to conscious irony and 'the best example in all of American poetry of a wolf in sheep's clothing.'"^[2] – and Frost himself warned "You have to be careful of that one; it's a tricky poem – very tricky."^[3]

"Frost intended the poem as a gentle jab at his great friend and fellow poet Edward Thomas, and seemed amused at this certain interpretation of the poem as inspirational."^[4]

[edit] Literal interpretation

According to the literal interpretation, the poem is inspirational, a paean to individualism and non-conformism.

The poem's last lines, where the narrator declares that taking the road "less traveled by" has "made all the difference," can be seen as a declaration of the importance of independence and personal freedom. "The Road Not Taken" seems to illustrate that once one takes a certain road, there is no turning back. Although one might change paths later on, the past cannot be changed. It can be seen as showing that choice is very important, and is a thing to be considered.

This interpretation is connected with misremembering the title as "The Road Less Traveled", since it places emphasis on the choice made, not the opportunities foregone.

[edit] Ironic interpretation

The ironic interpretation, widely held by critics,^[1][5] is that the poem is instead about regret and personal myth-making, rationalizing our decisions.

In this interpretation, the final two lines:

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

are ironic – the choice made little or no difference at all, the speaker's protestations to the contrary. The narrator admits in the second and third stanzas that both paths may be equally worn and equally leaf-covered, and it is only in his future recollection that he will call one road "less traveled by".

The sigh, widely interpreted as a sigh of regret, might also be interpreted ironically: in a 1925 letter to Crystine Yates of Dickson, Tennessee, asking about the sigh, Frost replied: "It was my rather private jest at the expense of those who might think I would yet live to be sorry for the way I had taken in life."^[6]

[edit] Adaptations

Randall Thompson set several of Frost's poems, including "The Road Not Taken", into choral arrangements. Together they are known as "Frostiana".

[edit] Poem

[edit] References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Robert Frost

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Road Not Taken

Amy Sedaris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amy Sedaris
Sedaris at BlogHer, 2007
Born	March 29, 1961 (1961-03-29) (age 47) Endicott, New York

Amy Sedaris (born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, author, and comedian. She is perhaps best known as Jerri Blank from the Comedy Central television series Strangers with Candy; she is also the younger sister of (and sometimes-collaborator with) author David Sedaris.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Personal life

Amy Sedaris was born in Endicott, New York, daughter of Sharon and Lou Sedaris. ^[1][2] She is the younger sister of humorist David Sedaris. They grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is of half Greek descent;^[3] her father was Greek Orthodox and her mother was Protestant, and she was raised in her father's faith.^[4][5]

Amy Sedaris lives in Greenwich Village with her mini rex rabbit Dusty and is very involved with the House Rabbit Society. As part of a running joke during public appearances, she frequently alludes to her imaginary boyfriend, Ricky. During an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman (October 6, 2006), she claimed Ricky had "died", (murdered)^[6] and she now lives with Ricky's ghost.

[edit] Career

A former member of Chicago-based Second City and Annoyance Theatre comedy troupes, she is known for her role as Jerri Blank in the television series Strangers with Candy. The show, which she co-wrote with Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert (both of whom also starred with her in the short-lived sketch show, Exit 57, on Comedy Central), was based on Sedaris's impression of 1970s motivational speaker Florrie Fisher. Sedaris has appeared in the movies Elf, School of Rock, Maid in Manhattan, the film version of Bewitched and is featured in David Munro's upcoming Full Grown Men. She also starred in the 2006 film adaptation of Strangers with Candy. In addition to acting, she runs a cupcake and cheese ball business ("Dusty Food Cupcakes") out of her kitchen.^[7]

Sedaris entertaining the audience and fellow author David Rakoff as she gives direction on making brownies at the 2006 Texas Book Festival.

Sedaris also hosted the series Film Fanatic on Trio. She coauthored the text-and-picture novel Wigfield with Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert, published in 2003. As of 2005, Sedaris writes a monthly advice column in The Believer. She has written a guide to entertaining titled I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, published in October 2006 by Warner Books. That light-hearted approach to cooking stayed on the New York Times best-sellers list for over 12 weeks, and currently has over 350,000 copies in print.

Along with her brother, author and essayist David Sedaris, Amy has co-authored several plays under the name "The Talent Family." These include: Stump the Host (1993), Stitches (1994), One Woman Shoe (1995), Incident at Cobblers Knob (1997) and The Little Frieda Mysteries (1997) which were all produced and presented by Meryl Vladimer, when she was the artistic director of "the CLUB" at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club Incident at Kobblers Knob was presented and produced by David Rockwell at the Lincoln Center Festival. She co-authored the play The Book of Liz with her brother. She played the stage manager in Paul Rudnick's play The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told.

Sedaris appeared in two episodes of Rescue Me, two episodes of Monk, an episode of Wonder Showzen, on Just Shoot Me! as a female version of David Spade's character, and as Carrie Bradshaw's book publisher in Sex and the City. She also played Paulie the Penis in the online comedy sketch 'The Puberty Pals'.^[8] She guest-starred as Randy's cat-obsessed girlfriend in an October 2006 episode of My Name Is Earl. She has also made a guest appearance on Sesame Street as a flustered Snow White who keeps losing her dwarves.

One of Sedaris's lesser known characters, Piglet, is a foul-mouthed, promiscuous Southern girl whom she affects by pulling her nose back with a piece of tape, creating a "pig nose" look. Although the character's rants are too obscene for her television appearances, Sedaris is often encouraged by fans to perform her at book signings and other appearances.

In 2007, Sedaris was featured in Dolly Parton's first mainstream country music video in 17 years, "Better Get to Livin'."

In 2008, Sedaris stars as principal Abby Hoffman in Nickelodeon TV's Gym Teacher: The Movie directed by her Strangers with Candy co-star Paul Dinello.

[edit] Bibliography

• Sedaris, Colbert, Dinello. Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not (Hyperion, May 19, 2004) ISBN 0-7868-8696-X
• I Like You : Hospitality Under The Influence (Warner Books, October 16 2006) ISBN 0-446-57884-3

[edit] Selected filmography

• Jennifer's Body (2009)
• Gym Teacher: The Movie (2008)
• Tanner Hall (2008)
• Puberty: The Movie (2007) (voice)
• Dedication (2007)
• Snow Angels (2007)
• Shrek the Third (2007) (voice)
• Strangers with Candy (2006)
• I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006)
• Full Grown Men (2006)
• Chicken Little (2005) (voice)
• Romance & Cigarettes (2005)
• Bewitched (2005)
• My Baby's Daddy (2004)
• Elf (2003)
• School of Rock (2003)
• Maid in Manhattan (2002)
• Jump Tomorrow {2001}
• Strangers with Candy (1999) (TV series)
• Six Days Seven Nights (1998)

[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Amy Sedaris

[edit] External links

• Amy Sedaris at the Internet Movie Database
• AmySedaris.com, "I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence" by Amy Sedaris
• November 2001 interview from Paper magazine
• NPR's Weekend Edition interview with Amy Sedaris
• [1] This American Life Episode 35 narrating a story with her brother, David Sedaris.
• Amy Sedaris shares her favorite NY places at ontheinside.info

John Edwards

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Edwards
Edwards during his first term, 1999–2003
United States Senator from North Carolina
In office January 6, 1999 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Lauch Faircloth
Succeeded by	Richard Burr
Born	June 10, 1953 (1953-06-10) (age 55) Seneca, South Carolina
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Elizabeth Edwards
Alma mater	North Carolina State University University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Profession	Attorney, Politician
Religion	United Methodist
Signature

Johnny Reid "John" Edwards^[1] (born June 10, 1953) is an American politician who served one term as U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination through the January primaries, until dropping out, and later endorsing Senator Barack Obama.

He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in North Carolina's 1998 Senate election and toward the end of his six-year term sought the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2004 presidential election.

He eventually became the 2004 Democratic candidate for Vice President, the running mate of presidential nominee Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. After Edwards and Kerry lost the election to incumbents George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, Edwards began working full time at the One America Committee, a political action committee he established in 2001, and was appointed director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. He was also a consultant for Fortress Investment Group LLC.

Early life, education, and family

Edwards was born June 10, 1953 to Wallace Reid Edwards and Catharine Juanita "Bobbie" Edwards (née Wade) in Seneca, South Carolina. The family moved several times during Edwards' childhood, eventually settling in Robbins, North Carolina, where his father worked as a textile mill floor worker, eventually promoted to supervisor; his mother had a roadside antique finishing business and then worked as a postal letter carrier when his father left his job.^[2]

A football star in high school,^[3] Edwards was the first person in his family to attend college. He attended Clemson University and transferred to North Carolina State University. Edwards graduated with high honors earning a bachelor's degree in textile technology in 1974, and later earned his Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) with honors.

While at UNC, he met Elizabeth Anania, who is four years his senior. They married in 1977 and eventually had four children (Wade in 1979, Cate in 1982, Emma Claire in 1998, and Jack in 2000). Their son Wade was killed in a car accident when strong winds swept his Jeep off a North Carolina highway in 1996. Three weeks before his death, Wade Edwards was honored by First Lady Hillary Clinton at The White House as one of the 10 finalists in an essay contest sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Voice of America for an essay he wrote on entering the voting booth with his father.^[4] Wade, accompanied by his parents and sister, went on to meet North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms, who entered Wade's essay and his obituary into the congressional record.^[5] Edwards and his wife began the Wade Edwards Foundation in their son's memory; the purpose of the nonprofit organization is "to reward, encourage, and inspire young people in the pursuit of excellence." The Foundation funded the Wade Edwards Learning Lab at Wade's high school, Broughton High School in Raleigh, along with scholarship competitions and essay awards. ^[6]

On November 3, 2004, Elizabeth Edwards revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She was treated via chemotherapy and radiotherapy,^[7] and continued to work within the Democratic Party and her husband's One America Committee. On March 22, 2007, during his campaign for the 2008 Democratic nomination for the presidency, Edwards and his wife announced that her cancer had returned; she was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, with newly discovered metastases to the bone and possibly to her lung.^[8][9] They said that the cancer was "no longer curable, but is completely treatable"^[10] and that they planned to continue campaigning together with an occasional break when she requires treatment.^[11][8]

Legal career

Four Trials by John Edwards

After law school, Edwards clerked for a federal judge and in 1978 became an associate at the Nashville law firm of Dearborn & Ewing, doing primarily trial work, defending a Nashville bank and other corporate clients. The Edwards family returned to North Carolina in 1981, settling in the capital of Raleigh where he joined the firm of Tharrington, Smith & Hargrove.^[12]

In 1984 Edwards was assigned to a medical malpractice lawsuit that had been perceived to be unwinnable; the firm had only accepted it as a favor to an attorney and state senator who did not want to keep it. Nevertheless, Edwards won a $3.7 million verdict on behalf of his client, who had suffered permanent brain and nerve damage after a doctor prescribed a drug overdose of the anti-alcoholism drug Antabuse during alcohol aversion therapy.^[13] In other cases, Edwards sued the American Red Cross three times, alleging transmission of AIDS through tainted blood products, resulting in a confidential settlement each time, and defended a North Carolina newspaper against a libel charge.^[12]

In 1985, Edwards represented a five-year-old child born with cerebral palsy whose doctor did not choose to perform an immediate Caesarean delivery when a fetal monitor showed she was in distress. Edwards won a $6.5 million verdict for his client, but five weeks later, the presiding judge sustained the verdict but overturned the award on grounds that it was "excessive" and that it appeared "to have been given under the influence of passion and prejudice," adding that in his opinion "the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict." He offered the plaintiffs $3.25 million, half of the jury's award, but the child's family appealed the case and received $4.25 million in a settlement.^[12] Winning this case established the North Carolina precedent of physician and hospital liability for failing to determine if the patient understood the risks of a particular procedure.^[13]

After this trial, Edwards gained national attention as a plaintiff's lawyer. He filed at least twenty similar lawsuits in the years following and achieved verdicts and settlements of more than $60 million for his clients. These successful lawsuits were followed by similar ones across the country. When asked about an increase in Caesarean deliveries nationwide, perhaps to avoid similar medical malpractice lawsuits, Edwards said, "The question is, would you rather have cases where that happens instead of having cases where you don't intervene and a child either becomes disabled for life or dies in utero?"^[12]

In 1993, Edwards began his own firm in Raleigh (now named Kirby & Holt) with a friend, David Kirby. He became known as the top plaintiffs' attorney in North Carolina.^[12] The biggest case of his legal career was a 1997 product liability lawsuit against Sta-Rite, the manufacturer of a defective pool drain cover. The case involved Valerie Lakey, a five-year-old girl^[14] who was disemboweled by the suction power of the pool drain pump when she sat on an open pool drain whose protective cover other children at the pool had removed, after the swim club had failed to install the cover properly. Despite 12 prior suits with similar claims, Sta-Rite continued to make and sell drain covers lacking warnings. Sta-Rite protested that an additional warning would have made no difference because the pool owners already knew the importance of keeping the cover secured.

In his closing arguments, Edwards spoke to the jury for an hour and a half and referenced his son, Wade, who had been killed shortly before testimony began. Mark Dayton, editor of North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, would later call it "the most impressive legal performance I have ever seen."^[15] The jury awarded the family $25 million, the largest personal injury award in North Carolina history. The company settled for the $25 million while the jury was deliberating additional punitive damages, rather than risk losing an appeal. For their part in this case, Edwards and law partner David Kirby earned the Association of Trial Lawyers of America's national award for public service.^[13] The family said that they hired Edwards over other attorneys because he alone had offered to accept a smaller percentage as fee unless the award was unexpectedly high, while all of the other lawyers they spoke with said they required the full one-third fee. The size of the jury award was unprecedented, and Edwards did receive the standard one-third plus expenses fee typical of contingency cases. The family was so impressed with his intelligence and commitment^[12] that they volunteered for his Senate campaign the next year.

After Edwards won a large verdict against a trucking company whose worker had been involved in a fatal accident, the North Carolina legislature passed a law prohibiting such awards unless the employee's actions had been specifically sanctioned by the company.^[12]

In December 2003, during his first presidential campaign, Edwards (with John Auchard) published Four Trials, a biographical book focusing on cases from his legal career. According to this book, the success of the Sta-Rite case and his son's death (Edwards had hoped his son would eventually join him in private law practice) prompted Edwards to leave the legal profession and seek public office.^{[citation needed]}

Senate career

Senator Edwards on Meet The Press

Edwards won election to the U.S. Senate in 1998 as a Democrat running against incumbent Republican Senator Lauch Faircloth. Despite originally being the underdog, Edwards beat Faircloth by 51.2% to 47.0% — a margin of some 83,000 votes.

During President Bill Clinton's 1999 impeachment trial in the Senate, Edwards was responsible for the deposition of witnesses Monica Lewinsky and fellow Democrat Vernon Jordan, Jr. During the 2000 presidential campaign, Edwards was on Democratic nominee Al Gore's vice presidential nominee "short list" (along with John Kerry and Joe Lieberman, Gore's eventual pick).^[16]

In his time in the Senate, Edwards co-sponsored 203 bills.^[17] Among them was Lieberman's 2002 Iraq War Resolution (S.J.Res.46), which he co-sponsored along with 15 other senators, but which did not go to a vote;^[18] he voted for replacement resolution (H.J Res. 114) in the full Senate to authorize the use of military force against Iraq, which passed by a vote of 77 to 23,^[19] saying on October 10, 2002 that "Almost no one disagrees with these basic facts: that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a menace; that he has weapons of mass destruction and that he is doing everything in his power to get nuclear weapons; that he has supported terrorists; that he is a grave threat to the region, to vital allies like Israel, and to the United States; and that he is thwarting the will of the international community and undermining the United Nations' credibility."^[20] He defended his vote on an October 10, 2004 appearance on Meet the Press, saying "I would have voted for the resolution knowing what I know today, because it was the right thing to do to give the president the authority to confront Saddam Hussein...I think Saddam Hussein was a very serious threat. I stand by that, and that's why [John Kerry and I] stand behind our vote on the resolution".^[21] However, he subsequently changed his mind about the war and apologized for that military authorization vote. Edwards also voted in favor of the Patriot Act.

Among other positions, Edwards was generally pro-choice and supported affirmative action and the death penalty. One of his first sponsored bills was the Fragile X Research Breakthrough Act of 1999.^[22] He was also the first person to introduce comprehensive anti-spyware legislation with the Spyware Control and Privacy Protection Act.^[23] He advocated rolling back the Bush administration's tax cuts and ending mandatory minimum sentencing for non-violent offenders.^[24] Edwards generally supported expanding legal immigration to the United States while working with Mexico to provide better border security and stop illegal trafficking.^[24][25]

Edwards served on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and U.S. Senate Committee on Judiciary, and was a member of the New Democrat Coalition.

Before the 2004 Senate election, Edwards announced his retirement from the Senate and supported Erskine Bowles, former White House Chief of Staff, as the successor to his seat; Bowles, however, was defeated by Republican Richard Burr in the election.

2004 presidential campaign

Main article: United States presidential election, 2004

In 2000, Edwards unofficially began his presidential campaign when he began to seek speaking engagements in Iowa, the site of the nation's first party caucuses. On January 2, 2003, Edwards began fundraising without officially campaigning by forming an exploratory committee. On September 15, 2003, Edwards fulfilled a promise he made a year earlier as a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to unofficially announce his intention to seek the 2004 Democratic Presidential nomination. The next morning, Edwards made the announcement officially from his hometown. He declined to run for reelection to the Senate in order to focus on his presidential run. Edwards' campaign was chaired by North Carolina Democratic activist Ed Turlington.

As Edwards had been building support essentially since his election to the Senate, he led the initial campaign fundraising, amassing over $7 million during the first quarter of 2003 – more than half of which came from individuals associated with the legal profession, particularly Edwards' fellow trial lawyers, their families, and employees.^[26]

Edwards' "stump speech" spoke of two Americas, with one composed of the wealthy and privileged, and the other of the hard-working common man,^[27] causing the media to often characterize Edwards as a populist.^[28][29]

Edwards struggled to gain substantial support, but his poll numbers began to rise steadily weeks before the Iowa caucuses. Edwards had a surprising second place finish with the support of 32% of delegates, behind only John Kerry's 39% and ahead of former front-runner Howard Dean at 18%. One week later in the New Hampshire primary, Edwards finished in fourth place behind Kerry, Dean and Wesley Clark, with 12%. During the February 3 primaries, Edwards won the South Carolina primary,^[30] lost to Clark in Oklahoma, and lost to Kerry in the other states. Edwards garnered the second largest number of second-place finishes, again falling behind Clark.^[31]

Edwards on the campaign trail in 2004

Dean withdrew from the contest, leaving Edwards the only major challenger to Kerry. In the Wisconsin primary on February 17, Edwards finished second to Kerry with 34% of the vote.

Edwards largely avoided attacking Kerry until a February 29, 2004 debate in New York, where he characterized him as a "Washington insider" and mocked Kerry's plan to form a committee to examine trade agreements.

In the Super Tuesday primaries on March 2, Kerry finished well ahead in nine of the ten states voting, and Edwards' campaign ended. In Georgia, Edwards finished only slightly behind Kerry but, failing to win a single state, chose to withdraw from the race. He announced his official withdrawal at a Raleigh, North Carolina press conference on March 3. Edwards' withdrawal made major media outlets relatively early on the evening of Super Tuesday, at about 6:30 p.m. CST, before polls had closed in California and before caucuses in Minnesota had even begun. It is thought that the withdrawal influenced many people in Minnesota to vote for other candidates, which may partially account for the strong Minnesota finish of Dennis Kucinich.^{[original research?]} Edwards did win the presidential straw poll conducted by the Independence Party of Minnesota.

After withdrawing from the race, he went on to win the April 17 Democratic caucuses in his home state of North Carolina,^[32] making him the only Democratic candidate besides Kerry to win nominating contests in two states.

2004 vice presidential nomination

Main article: John Kerry presidential campaign, 2004

Kerry/Edwards campaign logo

On July 6, 2004 Kerry announced that Edwards would be his running mate; the decision was widely hailed in public opinion polls and by Democratic leaders. Though many Democrats supported Edwards' nomination, others criticized the selection for Edwards' perceived lack of experience. The nomination caused the Chamber of Commerce network to throw its support to George W. Bush because of Edwards' opposition to tort reform.^[33] In the vice presidential debate, Dick Cheney incorrectly told Edwards they never met because of Edwards' frequent absences from the Senate. The media later found at least one videotape of Cheney and Edwards meeting.

Kerry's campaign advisor Bob Shrum later reported in Time magazine that Kerry said he wished he'd never picked Edwards, and the two have since stopped speaking to each other.^[34] Edwards said in his concession speech, "You can be disappointed, but you cannot walk away. This fight has just begun."

Post-Senate activities

The day after his concession speech, he announced his wife Elizabeth had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Edwards told interviewer Larry King that he doubted he would return to practice as a trial lawyer and showed no interest in succeeding Terry McAuliffe as the Democratic National Committee chairman.

In February 2005, Edwards headlined the "100 Club" Dinner, a major fundraiser for the New Hampshire Democratic Party. That same month, Edwards was appointed as director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for studying ways to move people out of poverty. That fall, Edwards toured ten major universities in order to promote "Opportunity Rocks!", a program aimed at getting youth involved to fight poverty.

On March 21, 2005, Edwards recorded his first podcast^[35] with his wife. Several months later, in August, Edwards delivered an address to a potential key supporter in the Iowa caucus, the AFL-CIO in Waterloo, Iowa.

In the following month, Edwards sent an email to his supporters and announced that he opposed the nomination of Judge John G. Roberts to become Chief Justice of the United States. He was also opposed to the nomination of Justice Samuel Alito as an Associate Justice and Judge Charles Pickering's appointment to the Federal bench.

During the summer and fall of 2005, he visited homeless shelters and job training centers and spoke at events organized by ACORN, the NAACP and the SEIU. He spoke in favor of an expansion of the earned income tax credit, a crackdown on predatory lending, an increase in the capital gains tax rate, housing vouchers for racial minorities (to integrate upper-income neighborhoods), and a program modeled on the Works Progress Administration to rehabilitate the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. In Greene County, North Carolina he unveiled the pilot program for College for Everyone, an educational measure he promised during his presidential campaign, in which prospective college students would receive a scholarship for their first year in exchange for ten hours of work a week. The College for Everyone program was cancelled in July 2008.^[36]

Edwards was co-chair of a Council on Foreign Relations task force on United States-Russia relations alongside Republican Jack Kemp, a former congressman, Cabinet official and vice presidential nominee.^[37] The task force issued its report in March 2006.^[38] On July 12, the International Herald Tribune published a related op-ed by Edwards and Kemp.^[39]

On April 6, 2006, Edwards joined Ted Kennedy at a rally for raising the minimum wage.^[40]

In October 2005, Edwards joined the Wall Street investment firm Fortress Investment Group as a senior adviser, later working with them as a consultant.^[41] Unknown to Edwards,^[42] Fortress owned a major stake in Green Tree Servicing LLC, which rose to prominence in the 1990s selling subprime loans to mobile-home owners and now services subprime loans originated by others. Subprime loans allow buyers with poor credit histories to be funded, but they charge higher rates because of the risk, and sometimes carry hidden fees and increased charges over time.^[42] In August 2007, The Wall Street Journal reported that a portion of the Edwards family's assets were invested in Fortress Investment Group, which had, in turn, invested a portion of its assets in subprime mortgage lenders, some of which had foreclosed on the homes of Hurricane Katrina victims.^[43][44] Upon learning of Fortress' investments, Edwards divested funds and stated that he would try to help the affected families.^[45] Edwards later helped set up an ACORN-administered "Louisiana Home Rescue Fund" seeded with $100,000, much of it from his pocket, to provide loans and grants to the families who were foreclosed on by Fortress-owned lenders.^[46]

2008 presidential campaign

Main article: John Edwards presidential campaign, 2008

John Edwards campaigning in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Labor Day in 2007

On December 28, 2006, John Edwards officially announced his candidacy for President in the 2008 election from the yard of a home in New Orleans, Louisiana that was being rebuilt after it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.^[47][48] Edwards stated that his main goals were eliminating poverty, fighting global warming, providing universal health care, and withdrawing troops from Iraq.^[49]

National polls had Edwards placing third among the Democratic field beginning in January 2007, behind Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama.^[50] By July 2007, the Edwards campaign had raised a total of $23 million from nearly 100,000 donors, placing him behind Obama and Clinton in fundraising.^[51]

Also in 2007, another defective pool drain-related accident similar to the one that disemboweled Valerie Lakey (see "Legal career" above) occurred in Minnesota. The victim was six-year old Abigail Taylor. Edwards pushed to have federal pool safety strengthened and played a part in the passage of the Virginia Baker Pool Safety Act.

On January 3, 2008, in the Iowa caucuses, the first contest of the nomination process, Edwards placed second with 29.75 percent of the vote to Obama (37.58 percent), with Clinton coming in third with 29.47 percent of the vote.^[52] On January 8, Edwards placed a distant third in the New Hampshire Democratic primary with just less than 17% (48,818 votes). On January 26, Edwards again placed third in the primary in South Carolina, his birth state, which he carried in 2004, and he placed third in the non-binding January 29 vote in Florida.

In a speech given at the Musicians' Village in New Orleans, Edwards announced his withdrawal from the 2008 United States presidential race.

On January 30, 2008, Edwards announced that he was suspending his campaign for the Presidency.^[53][54] He did not initially endorse either Clinton or Obama, saying they both had pledged to carry forward his central campaign theme of ending poverty in America.^[55] In April 2008 he stated that he would not accept the 2008 Vice Presidential slot if asked.^[56] On May 14, 2008, Edwards officially endorsed Senator Obama at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan^[57].

On June 15, 2008, Edwards stepped back from his initial outright denial of interest in the position of the Vice President, saying, ”I’d take anything he asks me to think about seriously, but obviously this is something that I’ve done and it’s not a job I’m seeking." ^[58]. On June 20, 2008, The Associated Press reported that according to a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, the names of Edwards and Sam Nunn were on Obama's vice presidential shortlist.^[59]

Political positions

Main article: Political positions of John Edwards

Edwards promotes programs to eliminate poverty in the United States, including arguing in favor of creating one million housing vouchers over five years in order to place poor people in middle-class neighborhoods. Edwards has stated, "If we truly believe that we are all equal, then we should live together too."^[60] He also supports "College for Everyone" initiatives.

Although Edwards initially supported the Iraq War, he later changed his position and in November 2005 wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in which he said he regretted voting for the Iraq War Resolution, and discussed three solutions for success in the conflict.^[61] He has denounced the "troop surge" in Iraq, is a proponent of withdrawal, and has urged Congress to withhold funding for the war without a withdrawal timetable.^[62]

On social policy, Edwards supports abortion rights and has a universal health care plan that requires all Americans to purchase health care insurance,^[63] "requires that everybody get preventive care,"^[64] and requires employers to provide health care insurance or be taxed to fund public health care.^[65] He supports a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants,^[65] is opposed to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage,^[66] and supports the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).^[67]

He has endorsed efforts to slow down global warming^[68] and was the first presidential candidate to make his campaign carbon neutral.^[69]

Extramarital affair

Main article: John Edwards extramarital affair

In October 2007 The National Enquirer began a series of reports alleging an adulterous affair between Edwards and former campaign worker Rielle Hunter. By July 2008, several news media outlets speculated that Edwards' chances for the vice presidency may have been harmed by the allegations, which now included that he fathered a child with Hunter and had visited her and the baby girl at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. However, the story was not widely covered by the press for some time,^[70] until an outright admission was made by Edwards himself. Edwards stated "I've responded, consistently, to these tabloid allegations by saying I don't respond to these lies and you know that."^{[71][72][73][74][75]}

However, in an August 8, 2008 statement,^[76] and an interview with Bob Woodruff of ABC News, Edwards admitted the affair with Hunter in 2006 but denied being the father of her child. He acknowledged that he had been dishonest in denying the entire Enquirer story, admitting that some of it was true, but said that the affair ended long before the time of the child's conception. He further said he was willing to take a paternity test but Hunter responded that she would not be party to a DNA test "now or in the future."^[77] A campaign aide, Andrew Young, claims that he, not Edwards, is the child's father.^[78] NBC reports that Edwards' former campaign consultant and many others raise the possibility of Young covering for Edwards.^[79]

Electoral history

North Carolina United States Senate election, 1998 (Democratic primary)^[80]

• John Edwards - 277,468 (51.39%)
• D.G. Martin - 149,049 (27.59%)
• Ella Butler Scarborough - 55,486 (10.28%)
• Bob Ayers - 22,477 (4.16%)
• Mike Robinson - 20,178 (3.74%)
• James Everette Carmack - 8,200 (1.52%)
• Gene Gay - 7,173 (1.33%)

North Carolina United States Senate election, 1998^[81]

• John Edwards (D) - 1,029,237 (51.15%)
• Lauch Faircloth (R) (inc.) - 945,943 (47.01%)
• Barbara Howe (Lib.) - 36,963 (1.84%)

2004 Democratic presidential primaries^[82]

• John Kerry - 9,930,497 (60.98%)
• John Edwards - 3,162,337 (19.42%)
• Howard Dean - 903,460 (5.55%)
• Dennis Kucinich - 620,242 (3.81%)
• Wesley Clark - 547,369 (3.36%)
• Al Sharpton - 380,865 (2.34%)
• Joe Lieberman - 280,940 (1.73%)
• Uncommitted - 157,953 (0.97%)
• Lyndon LaRouche - 103,731 (0.64%)
• Carol Moseley Braun - 98,469 (0.61%)
• Dick Gephardt - 63,902 (0.39%)

United States presidential election, 2004

• George W. Bush/Dick Cheney (R) (inc.) - 62,040,610 (50.7%) and 286 electoral votes (31 states carried)
• John Kerry/John Edwards (D) - 59,028,111 (48.3%) and 251 electoral votes (19 states and D.C. carried)
• John Edwards (D) - 1 electoral vote (faithless elector)
• Ralph Nader/Peter Camejo (Ind./Reform) - 465,650 (0.38%)
• Michael Badnarik/Richard Campagna (Lib.) - 397,265 (0.32%)
• Michael Peroutka/Chuck Baldwin (Constitution) - 143,630 (0.12)
• David Cobb/Pat LaMarche (Green) - 119,859 (0.096%)

Bibliography

• Four Trials (with John Auchard) (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003) ISBN 0743244974
• Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives (New York: Collins, 2006) ISBN 0060884541
• Ending Poverty in America: How to Restore the American Dream, co-editor (New Press, 2007)^[83] ISBN 1595581766

See also

• Two Americas
• United States presidential election, 2008
• Official and Potential 2008 United States presidential election Democratic candidates
• Opinion polling for the Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008
• Democratic presidential debates, 2008

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

John Edwards

Wikisource has original works written by or about:

John Edwards

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

John Edwards

• John Edwards for President official campaign website
• John Edwards '08 Blog official campaign blog
• Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity
• John Edwards at MySpace
• Notable cases via FindLaw
• Men's Vogue profile of John Edwards
• Notable Names Database profile
• John Edwards eNews Reference
• USAElectionPolls poll results

Record

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• John Edwards's presidential campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• John Edwards's' Congresspedia profile
• John Edwards at the Open Directory Project

Speeches and statements

• July 27, 2004, Democratic National Convention speech: Transcript text
• October 5, 2004, Vice Presidential Debate: Transcript text, Audio and Video
• January 18, 2008, Presidential campaign speech in Los Angeles, California, video

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