Edwards' Hideaway: Charity Work in El Salvador

Most politicians trekking to El Salvador to build homes for the poor would be milking their good works for good publicity, but for John Edwards it looks more like a way to escape the media’s glare. Edwards took his third trip to the country last week, but he’s done virtually nothing to draw attention to the trips, and wouldn’t respond to Politico’s inquiries about them. He’s mentioned them publicly just once, to deflect accusations he’d abandoned charitable projects in the US.

“I think he’s pretty damn sincere. There’s nothing to lead me to believe he’s phony about any of it,” says Michael Bonderer, who contacted Politico about Edwards to drum up interest for his Homes for the Heart organization. So far El Salvador’s proved a good hideaway. "I think there’s a quality of redemption about it and also a certain allure to the escape," says the president of the Holmes parent organization.“The common folks don’t have a real keen sense of who he is.”
(More John Edwards stories.)