The American Spectator

The Spectacle Blog

John Edwards appeared on yesterday's "Meet the Press," and host Tim Russert questioned him to the point of overkill on Iraq (more than half the interview), which was still useful since it revealed many self contradictions in his views on the war. He also talked about his plan to raise taxes in order to create universal health care (or, Breck-care). His primary opponents, check; his poll ratings in Iowa, check...and the nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain?! Yeah, check that one too.

Gay marriage, the 2004 campaign, his current campaign strategy, and Barack Obama -- all covered. But what did notoriously tough questioner Russert skip over? Yep, the house.

Speaking of da house, CBS News could have had the scoop on Edwards's new pad two months ago, when he allowed a cameraman and correspondent Rita Braver on the property for an interview about his book, "Home." You can watch a video at the link of the interview, and you will notice all the shots of the place are pretty limited in scope: the front porch, inside the hallway, walking on the grounds. No sense of the size; only a mention of his "100-acre property," with the "spanking new home" he's got on it. I guess 28,200-square-feet in the middle of one of the two Americas wasn't newsworthy.

Considering the lack of interest from Russert about the house, the fact that Braver gave only a limited interview, and the fact that the Edwardses would not allow The News & Observer of Raleigh on the property, I e-mailed Braver and asked if there were conditions on the interview that they couldn't film broadly or mention the size of the dwelling. Here's how she responded:

Think I might have hit a sensitive spot? Point is, CBS News could have broken the story two full months before the rest of us, and they blew it.

topics:
Taxes, Barack Obama, Iraq