Today former Senator and Vice President candidate John Edwards held
a coffee gab session with students and others in the John Lindsay
Morehead, II Lounge in Graham Memorial on the campus of UNC-Chapel
Hill. A crowd of about 150 turned out to gather Edwards? thoughts from
the speech.
Some thoughts from the time that I attended the informal question and answer affair:
? Edwards attempted to make the case that higher
education is not funded at levels as it once had in the past. He
attempted this line when talking about cuts to the Pell Grant program.
Edwards said, ?We no longer invest in our research universities as we
once did. We need to invest more, not less.? I?m assuming as Edwards
has traveled across the nation campaigning for the 2008 Democratic
nomination for president, he forgot to read that the University of
North Carolina system received a large funding increase, taking its
appropriation over $2.2 billion.
? Edwards talked about how there had not been a
national focus on poverty since Robert Kennedy campaigned for president
in 1968. ?Some of the things done then we?re helpful. Some didn?t
work.? Edwards didn?t elaborate on what programs he did not believe had
worked, but I could name a few ? any government program that relies
solely on government assistance and not encourage private contributions
from groups or religious organizations. That pretty much covers it.
? The symbolism of the event can?t be overlooked.
Here are Edwards and others talking about poverty in a posh student
lounge decked with chandeliers and a coffee shop around the corner.
Yes, lets talk about how bad people have it who are under the poverty
line while we sit in our quaint little room talking.
