Edwards lack of business judgment

CNNMoney:

Democratic presidential contender John Edwards has investing ties to subprime lenders who are foreclosing on victims of Katrina, according to a report published Friday.

The Wall Street Journal said there are 34 homes in New Orleans that face foreclosure from the subprime unit of Fortress Investment Group. Edwards has about $16 million in Fortress (Charts), a hedge fund and private equity manager, the newspaper said.

Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina, has been a vocal critic of subprime lenders and told the Journal that he would assist homeowners in New Orleans who face foreclosure from businesses linked to Fortress or who have already lost their homes.

"I intend to help these people," he told the newspaper. The report also said he would divest any Fortress funds in his portfolio that are invested in subprime lenders that filed the foreclosures. "I will not have my family's money invested in these firms," the Journal quoted him as saying.

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What does it say about this lawyer that he thinks companies he invested in should not pursue their remedies for default under their mortgage agreement? If they did not they would be both fools and quickly out of business since those paying their mortgages would also have no incentive to make payments.

Here is a clue for Edwards. Businesses who have to foreclose on defaulted loans are mitigating their losses on those loans, not making money on them. Failure to mitigate losses is not just bad business, it is a good way to go out of business, which means losses for investors and a loss of jobs for employees. Edwards ignorance of these economic realities disqualify him from consideration for the office of President.