Edwards, in turnabout, cancels speech at UB
Drops public events until after election
It looks as if former Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards won’t be making an appearance at the University at Buffalo after all.
In fact, Edwards has canceled all his speaking engagements until after the November election.
UB officials Wednesday told The Buffalo News that Edwards — who has been keeping a low profile since acknowledging an extramarital affair — was still scheduled to debate Republican strategist Karl Rove on Sept. 26 as part of UB’s Distinguished Speakers Series.
Thursday afternoon, however, Edwards canceled all of his appearances, which included an event Monday at Hofstra University.
Edwards released the following statement to UB:
“I’ve decided to avoid any public engagements until after the election in November. Nothing is more important than electing Barack Obama and Joe Biden. I don’t want my appearance at these events to be a distraction from the important issues of the election, or from the important purpose of these meetings.”
Edwards, who was the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, began his presidential campaign in 2006 but left the race before the Super Tuesday primaries after placing second in last January’s Iowa caucuses.
The former senator from North Carolina admitted last month that he had an extramarital affair with a filmmaker working for his campaign, and since then, both he and his wife, Elizabeth, who is suffering from a recurrence of cancer, have stayed out of the public eye.
UB is working to get another Democrat of national stature to replace Edwards and debate Rove on issues involving the presidential campaign, said Dennis R. Black, UB’s vice president of student affairs.
The university was disappointed by the Edwards cancellation, Black said, because only Wednesday his representatives had confirmed his commitment to the Sept. 26 engagement.
“We’re dealing with politicians,” Black said, “so we should be used to flip-flops.”
