WASHINGTON – John Edwards has to be a mighty hungry man before he'll touch that mushroom on his plate. Mitt Romney says he's never met an eggplant he'd eat.

Presidential candidates do not seem to be fussy eaters for the most part. Yet they have distinct dislikes, mostly from the veggie kingdom.

The Associated Press asked them a series of questions about their personal tastes, traits and backgrounds. Today's question and their answers:

What food do you hate?

Democrats:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton: "I like nearly everything. "I don't like, you know, things that are still alive."

Former Sen. John Edwards: "I can't stand mushrooms. I don't want them on anything that I eat. And I have had to eat them because you get food served and it's sitting there and you're starving, so you eat."

Sen. Barack Obama: "Beets, and I always avoid eating them."

Gov. Bill Richardson: Mushrooms, specifically. "I'm not a big vegetable eater." Recalling the first President Bush's distaste for broccoli, he said: "I sympathize with that fully."

Republicans:

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani: Liver.

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee: "Carrots. I just don't like carrots. I banned them from the governor's mansion when I was governor of Arkansas because I could."

Sen. John McCain: "I eat almost everything. Sometimes I don't do too well with vegetables."

Former Gov. Mitt Romney: "Eggplant, in any shape or form. And I've always been able to avoid it."

Former Sen. Fred Thompson: "Not much. I've tried to do better about that. I jokingly say that we kind of have a diet around our house that if it tastes good, you don't eat it. I haven't quite got there yet. There's not much that I turn down. That's a good thing on the campaign trail because you get quite a variety."