WP, The Sleuth: Behind the Scenes in Washington, by Mary Ann Akers
02/ 2/2007
Buzzing About Edwards's New Compound
The Edwards home near Chapel Hill, N.C. (Photo by Don Carrington)
Former Sen. John Edwards, the "working man's" presidential candidate, is getting some heat for his new, palatial estate outside Chapel Hill in Orange County, North Carolina. Even a few folks who are close to the Edwardses have expressed alarm to political reporters about the 29,000-square-foot house and connecting recreation-and-media arena.
The buzz over the sprawling Edwards house grew louder last week when Don Carrington, the vice president of a conservative, North Carolina-based think tank, flew over the compound in a Cessna and snapped an aerial photograph, which he promptly posted on the Web. Carrington also writes for the think tank's publication, the Carolina Journal, where he posted a story about the estate....
The main house on the compound is more than 10,000 square feet and is joined by a long enclosed walkway (actually, a huge photo gallery) to a gigantic red barn. "The Barn," as it's called on the Edwards' building plans, houses a basketball court, a squash court, a four-story tower, two stages and a swimming pool.
The estate, which the Edwards family moved into last summer, is the hot topic of chatter among some Democrats in Washington. Operatives (yes, people outside of the Edwards camp) have whispered that those stages in the recreation barn are actually amphitheaters that will function as presidential debate prep rooms. Some gossipers even insisted that Edwards had a helipad installed to accommodate the likes of Marine One....
***
Information about the estate has come out in drips and drabs, with the Raleigh News & Observer joining the fray this week. The paper reported the rural estate's worth at $6 million and quoted Elizabeth Edwards, wife of the former senator, as insisting that the luxurious home is in no way contradicts her husband's campaigning rhetoric about the plight of poor people. She compared her family to the Kennedys, who similarly, she pointed out, were both rich and fighters for the working poor....
Spokeswoman (Jennifer) Palmieri defends the 2008 Democratic candidate this way: "As Senator Edwards has said, he has lived the American Dream and has had everything this country has to offer. He worked hard to do well, but he did not succeed on his own. He had the support of his country; a good family, good public schools and loans for college. Too many of those opportunities are closed off to working class people today. He is running for President to make sure everyone has the same opportunities he has had."
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