Opulent Edwards.

2008 Presidential hopeful John Edwards (D-NC) has continued his theme of being the candidate for the little guy. From announcing his candidacy while doing yard work at a Katrina-ravaged home to his personal vendetta against Wal-Mart, Edwards has made it known that he is the candidate who has the common man’s best interest.

So when it came time to build a new house in his home state of North Carolina, it would stand to reason that Edwards would err on the side of modesty, right?


Sitting on 102 secluded acres — surrounded by trees and defended by no-trespassing signs — the 28,000-square-foot estate that Edwards and his family call home has presidential privacy.

A main home has five bedrooms and six-and-a-half baths. It's connected by a covered walkway to a bright red addition known as "The Barn," that includes its own living facilities along with a handball court, an indoor pool and an indoor basketball court with a stage at one end. Nearby, the family has cleared space for a soccer field.

With a current building value of $4.3 million, the unfinished Edwards estate is already about $1 million more expensive than any other house in the county, according to tax records. It sits on land worth about $1.1 million.


Being an unabashed, unapologetic capitalist, I certainly don’t begrudge Edwards one iota for building such a palatial estate. Edwards himself will be the first to tell you that his upbringing was very humble, one which saw his father slave away in a South Carolina textile mill. Based on that, his message should be referring to ONE America. That is the land of opportunity where no matter your upbringing you can be a success in anything through hard, persistent effort. Instead, Edwards, a successful trial lawyer before getting into politics, mysteriously goes with an entitlement message, a veritable “vote for me and you’ll receive all sorts of goodies.”

I hate to throw around the “h” word which liberals are so eager to assign to conservatives who have failings. But liberal hypocrisy seems to work to their benefit. Peter Schweizer, author of the book Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy, made a very profound statement:


When Bill Bennett, Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura suffered personal exposure and embarrassment, they took public responsibility for their actions, acknowledging their failures and shortcomings. All three were the first to admit that they had damaged their lives and reputations. They were not better off for having done what they did. But for liberals, the case is quite the opposite. When liberals abandon their principles and engage in hypocrisy, they often improve their lives. What does that tell us about which ideas are superior?


Edwards is arguably most known for his 2003 stump speech where he referred to “two Americas.” According to him, one is composed of the wealthy and privileged, and the other of the hard-working common man. Edwards himself currently resides in the former. With the campaign rhetoric he uses, he seems to have forgotten how he emerged from the latter.