John Edwards Speaks Out
Why would you make a better president than Senator Clinton or Senator Obama?
If you want change in this country, and you believe change is needed, it's very clear that I have a long history of taking on these entrenched interests and beating them. There's a difference in the way that I would achieve change versus Senator Obama. Which is I don't believe you can compromise and negotiate your way to change. I think you have to stand up and fight. And you have to show strength because these people will not voluntarily give away their power.
Given your wife's cancer diagnosis, how do you balance hope and fear as you keep this grueling campaign schedule?
We have very clear experience and training in this area. You have hope until you have no choice, and that's exactly how we live our lives. It's how we live our lives about this. And we have been through the experience, we've reached a place where hope is gone with the death of our son, and as long as hope is alive, and it is very much alive, in the case of Elizabeth's cancer—it's treatable, we're optimistic about it.
If elected, what legacy would you want to leave?
This is a president who made opportunity available to everybody. Period.
You are running on the theme of two Americas—the very rich, and the rest. How would you practically address the country's growing wealth disparity and address the deficit?
We are at the worst income and asset disparity, the worst economic disparity that we've had in America since the Great Depression. My belief is if you want to reduce the deficit, the most important thing to do is to deal with the structural deficiencies in the American economy: dysfunctional healthcare system, addiction to oil, access to college, which has become increasingly difficult, and the general economic inequality that exists in this country. If you address those, in a serious, comprehensive way, it will strengthen the middle class, grow the middle class, lift millions of people out of poverty and strengthen America's economy, and the deficit will be reduced.
Has it been more difficult than expected to be a wealthy candidate running on a have-have-nots theme?
It comes up because the people in the world who have an entrenched interest and don't want to hear this message on fairness, equality, trade, tax policy, healthcare, etc., they will assault anytime anybody challenges their interest. This will not stop. This will continue. And they will use anything they have available to them. Anything. The bad news for them is they will never silence me no matter what they do.
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