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Presidential Candidate John Edwards Chats With Harvard Students on MSNBC's Hardball
Kate Eberle (NH), Associate News Editor
Issue date: 10/20/03 Section: News
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On Monday October 13, MSNBC and the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government (KSG) kicked off the series Hardball: Battle for the White House, Live from Harvard with host Chris Matthews and Democratic Presidential candidate Senator John Edwards of North Carolina.
The series, shown live on MSNBC, gives students from the Harvard Community the opportunity to ask questions of the candidates in a one hour television program. Student response has been overwhelming and the IOP Forum was filled to capacity for the first filming. Members of the audience were energized by this unique opportunity and welcomed Matthews' crew as well as the candidate to campus.
Each subsequent Monday night, the program will feature a different Democratic candidate, all of whom have been invited to participate. So far, four candidates in addition to Edwards have confirmed dates: Senator John Kerry (October 20); Reverend Al Sharpton (October 27);
Representative Dick Gephardt (November 3); and U.S. Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun (November 17). MSNBC expects to add more names to the schedule as additional candidates respond to the invitation.
Edwards, currently the sixth place Democratic candidate in the polls, joined the Senate in 1999. Prior to that, he worked for 20 years as a trial lawyer. Edwards currently stands second in fundraising among the Democratic candidates. His campaign strategy emphasizes his desire to be a "champion for regular people". Edwards' wife Elizabeth and daughter Catherine joined him in the audience for the Hardball filming.
During the discussion, Matthews and students probed Edwards on his efforts to contrast his working class upbringing against the more privileged backgrounds of President Bush and several of Edwards' Democratic opponents. Edwards spoke out with strong criticism of Bush's tax, education and health care policies, asserting that Bush's background limits his ability to serve working class Americans. "Because of where (Bush) comes from and how he got to where he is, he doesn't connect with the people that we're talking about. He does not understand their lives. He is not about empowering those people."
The series, shown live on MSNBC, gives students from the Harvard Community the opportunity to ask questions of the candidates in a one hour television program. Student response has been overwhelming and the IOP Forum was filled to capacity for the first filming. Members of the audience were energized by this unique opportunity and welcomed Matthews' crew as well as the candidate to campus.
Each subsequent Monday night, the program will feature a different Democratic candidate, all of whom have been invited to participate. So far, four candidates in addition to Edwards have confirmed dates: Senator John Kerry (October 20); Reverend Al Sharpton (October 27);
Representative Dick Gephardt (November 3); and U.S. Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun (November 17). MSNBC expects to add more names to the schedule as additional candidates respond to the invitation.
Edwards, currently the sixth place Democratic candidate in the polls, joined the Senate in 1999. Prior to that, he worked for 20 years as a trial lawyer. Edwards currently stands second in fundraising among the Democratic candidates. His campaign strategy emphasizes his desire to be a "champion for regular people". Edwards' wife Elizabeth and daughter Catherine joined him in the audience for the Hardball filming.
During the discussion, Matthews and students probed Edwards on his efforts to contrast his working class upbringing against the more privileged backgrounds of President Bush and several of Edwards' Democratic opponents. Edwards spoke out with strong criticism of Bush's tax, education and health care policies, asserting that Bush's background limits his ability to serve working class Americans. "Because of where (Bush) comes from and how he got to where he is, he doesn't connect with the people that we're talking about. He does not understand their lives. He is not about empowering those people."
