The "sanctity of marriage", the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus..

[ddeclue]

So today we are apparently busy tarring and feathering John Edwards over something that is his own private business not ours.

Yet plenty of ACTUAL Presidents cheated or engaged in inappropriate sexual relationships themselves:

Thomas Jefferson fathered children with his 14 year old slave Sally Hemmings
Grover Cleveland allegedly fathered an illegitimate child.
Warren G. Harding allegedly slept around in the White House and the apocryphal tale is that his wife poisoned him which is why he died.
Franklin Roosevelt cheated through out his career
Dwight Eisenhower apparently had Kaye Summersby as a mistress when he was Commander in Chief of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II.
John Kennedy apparently slept with Judith Campbell Exner and possibly Marilyn Monroe if the rumors are to be believed.
Bill Clinton has apparently slept around with women not his wife, most notably Monica Lewinsky.

7 out of 43 is about 1 in 6 folks so it is hardly out of the ordinary - and this is just what we know about. The press used to have the decency to stay out of people's private lives before the 1980's.

Outside of that there are others with varying degrees of believability to the story that have cheated or engaged in "inappropriate" sexual behavior:

MLK, Jr. - according to J. Edgar Hoover's wiretapping slept around
J. Edgar Hoover himself was apparently gay and a cross dresser.
Senator Gary Hart - Presidential Candidate - cheated with Donna Rice
Jesse Jackson - Presidential Candidate has a mistress w/children by her
Senator John McCain - Presidential Candidate, cheated on first wife left her for current wife.
Henry Hyde - Senator from Illinois, cheated...
Newt Gingrich - Speaker of the House married three times, left his wife on her death bed.
Governor McCreevy of New York - Cheated on wife with a man in a homosexual relationship
Governor Spitzer of New York - Cheated on wife with a high priced hooker.
Senator Craig of Idaho - Apparently tried to pick up a man in a public rest room.

Outside of political figures we also saw the famous television Jim Baker episode where he got caught cheating..remember "I have sinned"????

The actual list of "cheaters" is never ending especially when it comes to Washington and Hollywood where beautiful people and star power (or actual power) attracts groupies and relationships are all too easy to obtain for the star (or politician).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17951664 /

According to one recent study 22% of married men and 15% of married women have cheated on their spouse at least once.

As we know around half of all marriages end in divorce.

The "sanctity of marriage" is about as realistic as the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, or Santa Claus.

Ultimately, what two people have or don't have between THEMSELVES is THEIR business NOT yours so go and judge yourself and mind your own business.

Doug D.
Orlando, FL

[texastoast]

1. It's my business as a Dem when one of us running for office lies

Keep it zipped or don't go before a vetting committee.

[bigwillq]

2. But he admitted this lie

imagine what he didn't admit? :shrug: That's not a knock on John...I am sure that most politicians aren't truthful 100 percent of the time.

[ddeclue]

4. To throw stones is Republican, to forgive Democrat.. n/t

[avaistheone1]

3. That would leave alot of the best candidates with history as the judge

[Codeine]

5. He felt marriage was so important

that he would deny it our our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, but not so important that we would choose not to bang some chick on the side. I cannot believe I supported this guy and made excuses for him.

[ddeclue]

6. Oh and I also forgot that Jefferson chased some other women

including other men's wives while he was our embassador to France.

[Beregond2]

7. Of course it's no one's business.

But that doesn't mean that most Americans wouldn't MAKE it their business, that the media wouldn't have been on it non-stop until the election, that the Republicans wouldn't have raised the specter of the Clintons all over again. How anyone could consider running for president at this pooint in time with an affair in his past, knowing full well it will leak out...

There are no words for his irresponsibility. Even now, when he is not a factor in the election, it still hurts us. I'd like to slap him silly.