European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 2, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                May 2007 stars and stripes Mideast edition Page 13 opinion Edwards due for another look in the Mirror John Edwards is there Are two one for the Rich and another for everyone he lives in the former and campaigns in the Philip Gailey and some times he for gets where he in the other Amer there is dressed in jeans and a work announcing his second demo cratic presidential bid against the grim Back drop of a new Orleans neighbor Hood devastated by then he shows up in the Rich getting haircuts and advising a new York hedge fund for the kind of wealthy insiders he denounces on the Campaign the haircuts and the hedge fund Are if not in trying to understand Edwards political character and Why would a presidential Candi Date who joins Union picket beats up on Walmart and campaigns As a populist Champion of american workers indulge himself in something As extravagant As a haircut and then Bill it to his Campaign not All of whom Are Rich trial lawyers and hedge fund managers what was this son of a textile Mill worker thinking when the embarrassing Story Edwards reimbursed his Campaign for two haircuts totalling but not for the More than his Campaign spent on make up for the that the least he could he certainly can afford it he listed his net Worth at Between million and Mil lion in his 2003 Senate but i wonder How Edwards would explain to a Walmart worker that his Campaign donation had gone toward a haircut by Torrenueva hair designs in Beverly after leaving the Senate and starting his second presidential Edwards opened a poverty think tank at the University of North Carolina in Chapel he also built a com Pound on 102 acres valued at More than no one should be grudge Edwards his wealth or his dream the Roosevelt and the Kennedy lived and so do the but commuting to a poverty Center from a mansion fit for a saudi Prince Doest exactly burnish his populist appearances matter in al though not the kind Edwards is concerned Edwards also did something else that undercuts his populist message about the same time he was opening his poverty think Edwards became a paid adviser to a new Yor based hedge fortress investment As the Washington Post reported last it was an unusual Choice of employment for de who for years has decried offshore tax shelters As part of his broader Campaign to reduce Ine while fortress was incorporated in the Post its hedge funds were incorporated in the Cayman enabling its partners and foreign investors to defer or avoid paying by the time Edwards left the hedge fund last the Post re he had received More than in donations from for Tress employees and executives for his 2008 in his Edwards often decries the two different economies in this country one for wealthy insiders and then one for everybody what was Edwards think ing he didst need the and surely he must have known How it would a Campaign spokeswoman told the Post that Edwards still believes offshore tax shelters Are wrong and that As president he a was talking Afruth would end the haircuts probably have done More damage to Edwards political Persona As the Champion of the poor than his Busi Ness and fundraising relationship with a hedge a presidential candidate is in trouble when he be comes grist for lat night television who pounced on Edwards to sorial then there was the video of Edwards checking his appearance in a Small compact Mirror while fluffing and spraying his hair be fore a television it ended up on youtube to the tune of i feel someone should explain to Edwards the difference Between grooming and you say what Edwards pays for a haircut matters less than what he would do As president about health care and i but a candidates judgment and so far Edwards has done Little to inspire Confidence in his judgment or his sincer it appears there Are not Only two but two John de Philip Gailey is editor of editorials for the Petersburg Giuliani reckless when he says one party int Safe by Rosa Brooks Are we a nation of irrational wimps Rudy Giuliani thinks last week he claimed that if we elect a Democrat to the we should expect More he is enough to scare the pants off the voting Public and Send voters scurrying frantically to support republicans such As Rudy Giuliani line of argument though argument is too generous a word int since our political leaders have proceeded on the Assumption that americans Are cowardly souls More than when we hear the word to suspend our critical mortgage our futures and Jettison our civil liberties and our principles All for impossible assurances of the awful thing Many of us obediently conformed to this con descending the United states is the most prosperous and powerful nation in the but after Many of us started to act As if were in danger of imminent sex were the attacks were appalling and trag but they did not threaten the survival of the the year 2001 total deaths not just of americans caused by International terrorism worldwide have never exceeded or even approached a 11 was an outlier on a group of extremist islamic thugs got very even Osama bin Laden  have imagined that the twin towers would killing nearly of dead is too but keep it in As a we have survived far we lost More than americans in world War More than in world War in in Vietnam All without al lowing our National character to turn into quivering every we also lose millions of Ameri cans to preventable accidents and were More Likely to die on the Road than As a result of a Laidas after the Republican line was that All terror attacks on soil must be pre vented at any that the line Giuliani was but its effectiveness hinges on our collective willingness to let fear swamp our capacity to contrast the Republican response to with the Republican response to the Virginia tech after the when Many commentators suggested that we might consider tighter gun control Regula most gop leaders were outraged the right to Bear arms is sacred the massacre didst occur because guns Are easy to obtain but because the shooter was mentally Dis and if he haunt had Access to he would have found some other Way to kill people no legislation can completely protect us against maniacs in a there not about every de Tail their interpretation of the second amendment is and stricter gun regulations might at least reduce the frequency of mass but there right to say that the Cost of eliminating some harms May be just too and in the not every harm can be we probably could reduce school shootings by making schools resemble Superman but is that what we want then Homicidal maniacs would just Start shooting up shopping malls take away the and sooner or later someone May Well decide to make a Molotov to quote Donald stuff Hap Giuliani right if we elect a demo crat to the there Likely will be future terrorist attacks on the United but there will Likely be attacks under republicans As there always will be people who want to Hurt and some will we can take clearheaded precautions to reduce the frequency and severity of but we need to coolly assess the Trade offs and recognize that we cant entirely eliminate All just As Giuliani was suggesting that presidents should be evaluated on their ability to keep terrorist attacks Down to president Bush was insisting on the opposite principle at least when it comes to expressing frustration with those who see the continued bombings in Iraq As evidence of administration he insisted that some level of violence is when the interviewer asked if he was saying that Zero violence is an unattainable Bush agreed the Standard of Success is no we have just handed those who commit suicide bombings a huge Victo George and you Guys really need to Rosa Brooks is a professor at the Georgetown University Law this column first appeared in the los Angeles prickly City by Scott Stantis Ivall seems tue