John Edwards Lands a Speaking Gig at Brown

According to the AP, JRE is going to be doing some public speaking again; this time at Brown University:

RALEIGH, N.C. — A Brown University student group says two-time presidential candidate John Edwards will speak on the campus.

Edwards has remained largely out of the spotlight since publicly acknowledging last summer that he had an extramarital affair with a woman as he planned his second White House bid in 2006.

Edwards canceled a series of events before the November election, saying he didn't want to be a distraction to former rival, now-President Barack Obama. He made a couple of quiet appearances after the election but has since avoided public speeches.

Looks like March 10th.

Good for JRE and the college crowd. I'd like to hear his thoughts about Obama's slower withdrawal of troops from Iraq and other ideas to tackle poverty issues. I heard third hand he has been doing some work for the Poverty Center again, but on the sidelines.

Update from the Brown website:

John Edwards, former United States Senator and the 2004 Democratic Vice-Presidential Nominee, will recount why he started a career in public service in his lecture "Beautiful America" tonight, March 10, at 8pm in Salomon 101.

Doors will open to ticket holders at 7:15, and tickets will be accepted
until 7:45. The lecture is open to the public - space permitting -
after that.

Sounds inspiring. JRE's talk is from 8-9:30 ET.

Oscar Picks Tonight

Nate Silver is probably correct about the Oscar picks.

Here are mine, with in parenthesis which ones I think should win, but may not:

Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger (Philip Seymour Hoffman)
Supporting Actress: Taraji P. Henson (Viola Davis)
Lead Actor: Sean Penn (Senn Penn or Mickey Rourke)
Lead Actress: Kate Winslet (she or Meryl Streep are fine choices, but I think Winslet should have nominated for Revolutionary Road; the Reader is more of a Supporting role)
Best Director: Danny Boyle (Danny Boyle)
Best Song: Down to Earth (Down to Earth)
Original Screenplay: En Bruges (Milk)
Adapted Screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire (Slumdog Millionaire)

Oversights for nominations:

Gran Torino for Best Picture
Clint Eastwood for Lead Actor (Grand Torino)
David Kross for Lead Actor (The Reader)
Ralph Fiennes for Supporting Actor (The Reader)
Bruce Springsteen, "The Wrestler" for Best Song
John Patrick Stanley for Best Director (Doubt)
Nick Schenk, Original Screenplay (Grand Torino)

We'll see how close it is.