RUSH: Stephanopoulos says, ‘This is basically a yes-no question. We’ve seen all this turmoil in the markets over the last couple of weeks caused by the credit crunch and the crisis in the mortgage markets. We saw on Friday the Federal Reserve lowered the discount rate for banks. Should they lower rates or everybody else, yes or no?’
DODD: Yes, I think it will happen in September. But we also need more liquidity, and they ought to be allowing Fannie and Freddie Mac to put more liquidity in the market.
EDWARDS: I — I — I agree with that. But we also need a home rescue fund for all the millions of Americans who are worried about losing their homes.
GRAVEL: All I would say is that there’s no answer to that question. Just follow the money of the people on this dais and you’ll see a response.
RUSH: All right, now, what’s interesting to you about this? Does something strike you about this question and the answers? Does it ring your bell that nobody asked John Edwards about his $16 million dollar investment in Fortress Financial which foreclosed on 34 or 38 New Orleanians — which is where he announced his campaign, where he had the poverty tour? If Mitt Romney had invested $16 million in a company foreclosing on the homes of Katrina victims, do you think he’d get asked about it? Damn right he would! Stephanopoulos didn’t bring it up. Neither did any of the candidates. But we will.
ANNOUNCER: In today’s ‘Dear Diary,’ John is even more concerned about the poor.
EDWARDS IMPRESSIONIST: Dear diary. I am so concerned about the poor people of New Orleans — 34 of them, to be exact. My hedge fund had to repo their houses after we lent them gobs of money at exorbitant interest rates. It was a great investment while it lasted, but I’m afraid this will seriously taint my image as a champion of these slobs. However, there is one silver lining in this storm. Everyone still thinks I was helping to clean up New Orleans each time I visited, and not throwing these people out of their homes. But even if I get caught, it was still worth it. Using those volunteers sure saved us a lot of money, and the photo-ops were priceless.
ANNOUNCER: Join us again next time for ‘Dear Diary with John Edwards,’ and find out more than you ever wanted to know.