E-mail from neighbor describes Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards.
This piece about North Carolina senator John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice-presidential nominee, was posted to various political newsgroups and web sites in early August 2004, attributed to oneBrian T. Nicholson, 'a neighbor of John Edwards.'Mr. Nicholson does live on Yadkin Drive in Raleigh, a street which intersects Alleghany Drive, where Senator Edwards resides. However, Mr. Nicholson now maintains that he did not pen the essay attributed to him, but that he wrote a private message to family and friends which was altered by someone else and turned into the piece now circulating on the Internet. (He has not yet produced the original version or explained which parts of his message were altered, however.)According to the Raleigh News & Observer, other neighbors of Senator Edwards report they haven't observed the behaviors attributed to him in the piece quoted above.For example, the Internet essay maintains:If you drove past him as he was jogging on the road and didn't slow down enough for his taste he'd flip you the bird. He last showed me his middle finger about four years ago.However, the News & Observer reports:But neighbors this week said they saw Edwards wave while jogging, sometimes giving a thumbs up or stopping briefly to chat. No one said they saw any rude gesture. 'I've never seen him be rude or ugly,' said Tootie Flythe, who was so upset by the essay that she wrote a multipage response in longhand, which she is keeping to herself. Flythe lives across the street from the Edwardses, and she said John Edwards sometimes cuts through her yard to get to a greenway. He always stops to ask about her family, said Flythe, a 54-year-old registered Democrat. The essay says Edwards didn't hang out with neighbors on the Fourth of July or go out to sledding hills to watch kids play in the snow. But Edwards' neighbors said they don't do that, either. Ray Mays lived across the street from Edwards for 10 years, until he sold his house this summer. Mays, a 61-year-old who said he will vote for President Bush this fall, said he and Edwards were 'passing acquaintances,' though he knew Elizabeth Edwards better. Mays attended one or two Christmas parties at the Edwards home and remembers Elizabeth spending most of her time in the kitchen, cooking. 'They were always friendly,' he said. 'They never gave the appearance that they were stuck up in any way.'The essay also claims:My neighbor John invited reporters from TV, radio, and print news organizations to come to his house in January 2003 for the announcement of his Presidential bid. He didn't want any news vans parked on his property - in fact, he made sure all the cameras and reporters waited in the street at the bottom of his driveway. That way everyone could get good footage of him strolling down the driveway to make his announcement, young children in tow. The news vans drove into the yards of John's neighbors and parked there. I heard two families ended up re-sodding their damaged yards, and John never apologized to anyone, much less offered any compensationBut on 2 January 2003, the day he officially announced his candidacy for president, Senator Edwards sent a note containing the following apology and offer to repair damaged lawns (at his expense) to his neighbors:Dear Friends & Neighbors: As you know, 2003 has gotten off to an exciting start for our family. In light of our recent decision, we know that many of you may also be feeling the effects. We want to apologize for any inconvenience you and your family may have experienced. Please call our assistant, Andrew Young . . . if you have any lawn damage from the media traffic. Our personal lawn maintenance company will make any necessary repairs. Thank you for your patience.The Internet piece goes on to claim that the standard security provided to presidential and vice-presidential candidates is somehow an inconsiderate and selfish whim of Senator Edwards', one which has made access to the Raleigh neighborhood where he lives inconvenient for other residents:The appearance was good for my neighbor John. Nobody else seems to matter to him. Since then, when my neighbor comes home (as he did July 10, to be interviewed with John Kerry for '60 Minutes'), Raleigh police officers block off the street. Those of us who live near him end up coming and going to and from our homes on a circuitous route, on a bad, unsurfaced road. Forsyth Street has been closed to through traffic, except when my neighbor is in town, because the road has been ripped up for installation of new gas and sewer lines. My neighbor's street is a public, city-maintained street, and it is the best way to get to homes just north of his. If my neighbor is around, though, apparently none of the rest of us can use the street at all.Again, however, the News & Observer reported differently:When Edwards is at home, which isn't often these days, police block his section of Alleghany Drive but let residents, guests and home repair services through. The essay complained about that inconvenience, but Alleghany residents said they manage easily. 'We have a lot of contractors coming and going,' said Brenda Gibson, 47, a registered Republican. 'I have nothing negative to say.' Some of the neighbors said they liked having traffic access limited because it stops cars from speeding down the narrow street. 'Alleghany was just a thoroughfare,' said Clotilde Collins, 74. 'You take your life in your hands trying to get out of your driveway.' Some said they are excited to have Edwards as a neighbor. And they like looking out their windows to see Secret Service agents. 'I love the security,' Gibson said.
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