Follow this link for a review in The Daily Beast of the book about John Edwards.

Say this for John Edwards and Andrew Young, the author of a chilling new memoir: they deserved each other.

Previously RichardH had sent me this link to Grifters’ Tale, a comparison of the John Edwards phenomenon to the Sarah Palin phenomenon.

I hope these stories don’t lead to a new cynicism that all politicians are like this.  I figure that when a person has an extraordinary ability to move people with his or her words, they could very easily realize they can use that ability for nefarious purposes.  Almost by definition, a successful politician has this extraordinary ability. Not every person with this ability becomes a con artist.  Some become trial lawyers, beauty queens, or movie stars. Perhaps for beauty queens and movie stars the looks move people and the words don’t matter.  Maybe the looks even work for some trial lawyers.

Of course, some con artists may just realize they can use their skills for political purposes.

January 4, 2010, Organizing for America hosted a conversation with President Obama. The President spoke to grassroots supporters and answered questions about OFA’s plan going forward.

Watch the video of the event below.

This video answers a lot of questions you might have about what has already been accomplished and how we will accomplish the rest of the agenda.

Follow this link to the event on the OFA web site.

Follow this link to this video on YouTube.

Follow this link to an article in the New York Times about homeowners who can afford to pay their mortgages, but decide it makes more financial sense to just walk away from their underwater mortgage.

Walking away – also called jingle mail, – because of the notion that homeowners just mail their keys to the bank, setting off foreclosure proceedings – began in the Southwest during the 1980s oil collapse, though it has never been clear how widespread it was.

My sense of history goes back beyond that. I heard from a Texas real-estate agent in the 1970’s that such a situation existed in the Seattle, Washington area during a severe downturn for Boeing. She talked about people mailing in their keys to the bank and walking away. As I recall, this agent had moved from Seattle area to the Dallas, Texas area.

Talking about one particular homeowner, the artile goes on to say:

Most of all, though, he struggles with the ethical question.

I took a loan on an asset that I didn’t see was overvalued, he said. As much as I would like my bank to pay for that mistake, why should it?

That is an attitude Wall Street would like to encourage. David Rosenberg, the chief economist of the investment firm Gluskin Sheff, wrote recently that borrowers were not victims. They signed contracts, and as adults should also be held accountable, he wrote.

Of course, another way to look at it is that the bank, too, was acting as an adult. It signed a contract that said in essence, you agree to pay back this loan or you will forfeit your house to me. The homeowner is merely taking an agreed upon option of the contract.

By the way, I have no direct personal stake in this issue. I am not underwater on a mortgage.

Follow this link to the article in the New York Times, Rules Worth Following, for Everyone’s Sake by Jane E. Brody.

As Mr. Pollan puts it, If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.

I know it’s not politics, but it is an article I want to remember.  Besides being my politics blog, I also use this as a repository of useful information.

This video is an excellent brief discussion of the right policy for our economy moving forward:

Follow this link to the YouTube event that is beginning now February 1, at 1:45 PM EST.