'Hardball' not so hard for Edwards

The former U.S. senator fields questions on Iraq, foreign policy and labor

CHAPEL HILL -- Likely Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards passed the world leader pop quiz Tuesday night.

He correctly identified the leaders of Canada, Mexico, Iraq, Germany, South Africa and Italy when quizzed by Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball" program.

In fact, Edwards seemed to have little trouble fielding questions, ranging from the war in Iraq to his relative lack of foreign policy experience to his political ties to organized labor, before a live UNC-Chapel Hill crowd and a national TV audience.

"This is not hardball, this is batting practice," Matthews complained to the audience during a commercial break. "This guy is killing me. He couldn't do this four years ago."

Matthews also couldn't make Edwards, the former senator and vice presidential candidate, tip his hand on whether he plans to run for president in 2008, although it is one of the worst-kept secrets that Edwards is preparing to launch his second try for the White House sometime during the next several weeks.

"That is the process I am deciding," Edwards said. "The question for me is: What is the best place for me to serve."

Edwards was a guest for the entire hour of "Hardball" in an atmosphere that was a strange mixture of public policy program, show biz and college pep rally. A packed Memorial Hall featured the Carolina cheerleaders, mascot and pep band, which played the school fight song when it was time for a commercial break.

"We are taking Hillary to Duke -- what do you think?" Matthews quipped before the show. He was referring to New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, who is leading in early Democratic presidential polls. Matthews attended graduate school at UNC.

But the program also had more serious notes, and Matthews is in the process of having all the major presidential candidates appear on his program.

Edwards said it was unacceptable for President Bush to delay making any changes in U.S. policy in Iraq until January.

"I think the war is a mess," Edwards said. "The Iraq study group makes that clear. ... There is a desperate need for a change in policy. It is amazing to me and totally unacceptable that the president of the United States, after having led us there and created this mess, along with the help of others, is not taking responsibility to change course."

Edwards said that the United States should have known better than to become involved in Iraq, referring to a centuries-old tribal war.

"The idea that we can fix this with military intervention is absolute nonsense," Edwards said. "The only solution is a political solution."

Edwards said he would withdraw 40,000 to 50,000 service members immediately, while shifting more responsibility to Iraqi authorities.

Matthews closely questioned Edwards' growing ties to organized labor. Matthews particularly asked Edwards about his support for legislation that would make it easier for employees to organize unions by allowing workers to form a union if a majority signed a form -- rather than actually voting. Wouldn't that lead to big union supporters intimidating workers into signing? Matthews asked.

"Why would you assume it is the fellow employee who is going to intimidate instead of the guy who writes the check?" Edwards asked. "It shows I have a complete belief in workers having a voice. I don't think we have a problem in America with big multinational corporations having their voices heard."

Edwards said he wanted "a level playing field" for workers, who often face union-busting tactics by employers. He said companies are rarely fined for using illegal union-busting practices.

On another subject, Edwards said he was not against Wal-Mart. Edwards has participated in a union-led campaign to pressure Wal-Mart to increase salaries and benefits for its employees. He said nearly half of the children of Wal-Mart employees receive their health insurance through Medicaid, a taxpayer-funded program.

One of the toughest questions came from a student, who asked Edwards whether he had sufficient foreign policy experience to be president.

"That is really an important question," Edwards agreed, who then ticked off countries he had recently visited, including Uganda, the Middle East, India and Europe. "I think that has been enormously valuable in terms of adding to the depth and maturity of my view about what is happening in the world," Edwards said.

Near the end of the show, Edwards was joined on stage by his wife, Elizabeth. At one point, she interrupted her husband when he started to respond to a question about what he thought Sen. John Kerry meant recently by a joke about students flunking out and going to Iraq.

"Don't go there," Elizabeth Edwards said, adding that her husband can't tell a joke, either.