A few thoughts on the Edwards three-ring circus...

[Obamarama]

1) This may be new news to us, but he confessed his affair to Elizabeth two years ago (from what I read in the AP news report). Whatever strife this brought to the marriage seems to have passed or was worked through. It's water under the bridge.

2) Why oh why do we obsess so on our politician's marital/sexual lives? Look at Sarkozy in France. The French were fairly non-plussed over his marital infidelities/antics. Who a president (or presidential candidate) boinks is and should be a private matter. Americans need to chill out over this sort of nonsense.

Now, I admit that knowing how ridiculously ga-ga people in this country react to marital shenanigans, that Edwards was stark-raving stupid to think he could run for president and hope to keep this a secret. If he had emerged as the candidate he would have served the presidency to the GOP on a silver platter, so on that account I am very disappointed in the man.

I am not, however, disappointed in him as a leader. I still think he's a great guy, and now I know that he's just as flawed in some ways as the rest of us. We should be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater with Edwards. FDR, the greatest president of the last century and standard bearer of the Democratic Party, had dalliances too. But we still venerate him.

We need to chill out and stand behind Edwards as a leader and accept that he's human and flawed like the rest of us.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. Well said

I don't care who or what my physician is boinking. Same for my lawyer, accountant, hair stylist, mechanic, mailman.

If they get the job done, that's all that matters. There are no laws being broken. It's a private matter. Everyone else should just butt out.

[wain]

9. Could you imagine how history would read

If all great leaders were monogamous?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

11. Just the Popes

I mean, there's a certain amount of genius that goes into being unfaithful - if you're good at it.......................

[mediaman007]

2. Personally, I was hoping that this would be a charade to demonstrate

the shallowness of our main stream media. Wouldn't it be nice to play them for the fools they are? Just once!

[bemildred]

3. I just want to say that I don't give a shit about Edwards or his past or present sex life.

I don't in fact give a shit about anybodies sex life.
And I wish Elizabeth all the best, whatever she wants in life.

[MercutioATC]

4. My only issues:

(in order of importance}

1) With the faux-puritanical stance of most Americans, this could have seriously hurt the party had Edwards been the nominee. He knew this and he ran anyway.

2) He doinked an intern. It's completely unacceptable to screw a subordinate from a labor point of view.

3) He lied when the story first came out. I understand the natural inclination to do this, but it irreparably discredits him in the eyes of many people.


I'm not experiencing any moral outrage. I don't care who my President (or Senator) fucks as long as it's not me.

[inna]

7. an intern?? i'm pretty sure you're confusing him with BC.

she was not an intern, to the best of my knowledge.

[MercutioATC]

10. You're absolutely correct. He hired her video production firm...she wasn't an intern.

I retract #2.

[Bluzmann57]

5. Edwards is a Democrat

So therefore, his affair must be trumpeted far and wide. The repubs have guys who chase Congressional pages, meet gays in bathrooms (when they say they are not gay), go after prostitutes while wearing diapers, are scared of blacks, and commit crimes that can actually result in death, such as treason. But that doesn't matter because they are repubs and as such, cannot be held accountable for being insane. At least that's what the media would have us believe. You see, cheating on one's wife is the worst thing one can do in repub world. Except for hookeres, etc. Fuck them. I've had enough of the hypocrisy. It's time to expose the media types as well.

[inna]

6. K&R and totally agree, awesome post! n/t

[Booster]

8. I still want John to be Attorney General, but I am so very

disappointed in him as a man. If you're going to say you are the better man, then be the better man.

[monmouth]

12. And while he was campaigning, his wife stood next to him with

full knowledge of his infidelity. The both of them lied, that's the facts...