Edwards and Maher have “Real Time”

ABC News’ Raelyn Johnson reports: In an appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher” Friday evening, Democratic presidential contender John Edwards gave viewers a sampling of campaign life, and gave Maher a healthy serving of campaign issues.

The interview began by pointing to the fact that it’s already been a lengthy campaign season, with Edwards joking that he declared his candidacy 37 years ago.  Edwards told viewers he spends his time between town halls, campaign busses and hotels– all of which at times are enjoyed with the company of his wife Elizabeth and their children.

“Is it romantic?” asked Maher about campaign life. 

“It’s way not romantic, except of course when Elizabeth’s there," said Edwards.

Maher has been a long time supporter of Edwards, and though he made no official endorsement of any candidate, it was clear that his personal favorite was sitting next to him.

“When I think– go through my head, the other candidates, the democrats do have a lot of good people this time,” said Maher.  “But when I think…Hillary Clinton, what could go wrong?  Well yeah, things could go wrong.”

Try telling that to Bill O’Reilly. Earlier this year in an appearance on “The O’Reilly Factor” Maher dubbed Edwards a “sure thing” in ’08.  The admission caused O’Reilly to shoot back saying, “I think you’re out of your mind that John Edwards would get anywhere close.”

Edwards took it all in stride telling Maher, “that’s the best endorsement a Democrat can get is to have Bill O’Reilly be against you.”

After briefly discussing universal healthcare and Sen. Clinton’s vote on Iran, Maher quizzed Edwards on environmental issues, particularly on ethanol, a corn based biofuel that Edwards is proposing the U.S. produce at a rate of 65 billion gallons annually in addition to other biofuels by the year 2050. He also floated the idea that it might be necessary to impose a gas tax to help pay for the restoration of the planet.

Maher injected a little cynicism and sarcasm telling Edwards, “Why do I think if we had the first primary in Vermont we would be subsidizing biofuels made out of syrup.”

At the culmination of the interview, Maher asked Edwards how he would surge in the polls. Edward quickly pointed to the Howard Dean scenario in 2003 before adding, “When it gets to the end people in Iowa and New Hampshire who are looking you in the eye and not just watching you for 30 seconds on television, they want to know what you’re made of.”

“They want to know if you really stand for something if you’re willing to take on this system that doesn’t work, whether your ideas for healthcare, ending the war are real and whether they can trust you.”

“I would give you money if I thought it wouldn’t come back to hurt you,” said Maher, making it clear that he does indeed trust Edwards’ candidacy.