I will admit, and I don't give him much credit right now, Edwards did the right thing.

[PresidentObama]

That interview had to be tough. And he could have continued to lie about it, said the National Enquirer lied, and chances are they would have never been able to fully prove his affair with Ms. Hunter. I have some respect for the fact *HE* asked Nightline for the interview, and he choose himself to not have Elizabeth present. I think we all are tired of having the woman stand by her man when he's done wrong, and I was somewhat proud (not of him, but of his action) that he told ABC that he didn't want her there and he had to own up to this on his own--because she didn't do anything wrong, he did.

It was more than an apology, and an "I fucked up" interview. Edwards did something few Republicans in the same situation would do and few people would, he came clean to the public after lying to them and told them what happened in quite difficult to swallow detail. I must admit as a passionate follower of his, I had tears in my eyes watching him talk about a small town boy growing up to be bigger than he ever dreamed of and letting all the spotlight and the fame make him feel bigger than he was and egotistical. Watching him say the words "I never thought I would get caught" hurt because he believed he was above the fray, and he was *too* important to get caught.

John let us down. He let Elizabeth down. His kids. And himself.

He's going to have to come to terms with what he did, and if he wants to continue to push the causes he cares about--he'll have to earn the respect and trust of those who once supported him.

[seabeyond]

1. he choose himself to not have Elizabeth present.... the ONE thing

i told hubby he did right. hubby agreed. the worst was seeing spitzers wife standing next to him as he talked about being a pig. that turned me off more than all the rest. dont get it, at all. i would say fuck you to hubby if he asked me to stand there. actually i wouldnt be standing anywhere near him

[PresidentObama]

4. It's just so insulting. And like Edwards said, he shouldn't use her as a shield.

[hendo]

2. Well, he was human

Humans are flawed. He f*cked up, but he made it right. All he is asking for now is forgiveness. He already got it from his wife, so it would be unfair for the rest of us to not forgive him. At least he told the truth, unlike Billy boy.

[jonnyblitz]

3. at least he told the truth? BWAHAHA

you fucking apologists are a hoot! :rofl: He and his wife FINALLY told the truth after TWO YEARS OF LYING WHEN CONFRONTED with this so give me a fucking break on the truth thing. He told the truth because he had no choice after the Enquirer OUTED him. He and his wife LIED while he ran for president and took donations from his loyal supporters KNOWING this could come out anytime.

[PresidentObama]

6. Did you see the interview? He said he lied, it was a mistake.

I'm sorry you think you're inhuman, and don't make mistakes.

And he could have kept lying about it, and denied the Enquirer story and claimed the photos were photoshopped. They had VERY weak evidence, after all.

And finally, I gave him $500+ and I don't regret a dime. This changes NOTHING about why I supported him, and the causes I pushed for on his campaign. Bill Clinton had an affair, and in 1992 it was outted. He's the only two term Democratic President in how long? So don't give me that crap, people make mistakes.

[LibDemAlways]

10. Did he tell the truth? If he had, indeed, ended the affair and

confessed to Elizabeth two years ago, why was the mistress on the payroll and travelling with him during the campaign? Why would Elizabeth, given the poor state of her own health, have encouraged him to run knowing they would both be harboring a secret that could blow up in their faces and bring the Dems down should he have become the nominee?

Also, why was he in the woman's hotel room in the middle of the night three weeks ago, as he admitted in the Nightline interview? He says it was to make sure the secret stayed secret, and, unfortunately there was no follow up question asking, "WTF?"

I suspect the affair never ended and he only recently told his wife when it became apparent the Enquirer had the goods on him.

As a former Edwards supporter, I'm mightily disappointed that rather than come clean immediately both he and Elizabeth (at some point) chose the path of lies and deception.

[undeterred]

12. Political wives are a whole different breed

They tend to stay with their man. Hillary stayed, Gary Hart's wife stayed, and countless other wives are staying with their cheating husbands - for reasons that many women would never accept.

[PresidentObama]

5. I think it will take time for that, and I don't know if everyone who supported him will forgive him.

I already have, even though I know he's made a tragic mistake.

With that said, he'll have to earn my trust again.

[undeterred]

7. How do we know he's told the whole truth?

He only gave the interview because he got caught. And the whole scenario of him going to a womans hotel room in the middle of the night and a married friend is suddenly the father of her child- well it stinks. He may have told Elizabeth the affair was over when it actually wasn't.

[LibDemAlways]

11. You and I are on the same wavelength. See my post #10.

[NeedleCast]

8. Coming Clean After Lying is NOT the Right thing.

Not doing it in the first place is the right thing to do.

Being honest about when questions arose would have been the right thing to do.

Coming out months after the fact (and probably right before someone else outted him) is pretty much the opposite of the right thing to do.

[cynatnite]

9. He'll always be remembered as the guy who cheated on his cancer-ridden wife...

How anyone can earn the public's forgiveness and get their trust back after that....well, I'm an atheist and don't believe in miracles.

[JeanGrey]

13. The right thing? Oh please. He got CAUGHT and had no choice.

[applegrove]

14. I agree the interview was the way to go. Alone. Allows him to tell

his story and apologize. I think this will blow over in a week. He's no longer in the running so what difference does it make to important things like the continued race for the White House.