oh how I wish John Edwards had kept his penis in his pants. He would have been

[robinlynne]

the president we needed. He was the one who said he would fight big corporations. Obama said he would sit with the Republicans from day one of his campaign. bring everyone together. Right after all the crimes they committed. I didnt want them at my table, our table.
It's strange even remembering him right now, when Elizabeth just died, but when I remember the election, I just wish it had been Edwards.

[Clio the Leo]

1. He would have ...... not been President.

It was Hillary or Obama ... a win/win either way.

[Hardrada]

2. A Suck/Suck either way.

[Life Long Dem]

5. Go Democrats!

:patriot:

[Psephos]

3. The problem was not his sexual organ. The problem was his moral organ.

It was diseased.

It still is.

I am sick to my earlobes of flim-flam men infesting the political class.

[Bobbie Jo]

53. THIS. nt

[CTyankee]

54. I'm not so sure he was moral otherwise...I have heard some disturbing things

about his real motives with the poverty "two americas" message he carried...that he didn't really care about the issue, it was just a power play, a vehicle for his ego.

I have no link so I cannot prove this, but it was talked about during the campaign...since I was an Edwards supporter, I always listened when his name came up. I'd still like to know if that was true or not...plenty of people had their own agenda when it came to John Edwards so I am not trusting anybody at this point...

[Very_Boring_Name]

73. He was a pure bred blue dog before he ran for president

He had by far the most conservative record out of all the candidates running. It wasn't until he decided to run for president that he started talking progressive. I honestly never understood why nobody seemed to see right through him.

[Uzybone]

59. +10000

human scum is human scum... personal and in politics

[bluestateguy]

4. They would have mercilessly smeared him for being a personal injury lawyer

And as we now know (never mind the affair), he was a fraud. As soon as his political career was over he closed down his anti-poverty initiative.

[Whisp]

11. ha! no kidding. I wonder how much he is helping the poor.

[liskddksil]

29. Actually he has been in Haiti and El Salvador helping

organizations with home-building projects.

[karynnj]

39. True - and it is something he needs to do to rehabilitate his image

Only time will show the real depth of his seriousness on these efforts. I bet that he will do a huge amount.

I also bet that he will not be able to translate that into enough trust to run for any federal office. Trust once lost is very very hard to regain. In his case, it is more so than most because his 2008 image was based on his words - not his record. It was due to the fact that many people DID trust him that he could gather a large number of supporters believing he was what he said he was - even though it did not match his record.

His gift at doing that - which was key to his success as a trial lawyer as well was shattered when he with the same unblinking wide blue eyed look lied his coming clean confession , saying that the baby could not be his because of the timing. The timing - showing that he was with Rielle a few months after Elizabeth got the awful news - was likely why he lied.

Knowing that he not only opted to continue the campaign, but to continue the affair, when Elizabeth and his family most desperately needed him, shows no character, sense, honor or decency. Remember that when the hearts of most people - not just Democrats went out to the brave Elizabeth still out their fighting for healthcare etc by working to make him the nominee, her husband was not only betraying her as a husband, but willing to risk everything that she and other Democrats were working for - if he succeeded in winning the nomination.

Find someone else - may Sherrod Brown or Bernie Sanders - with a similar message.

[karynnj]

37. The Hedge Fund $500,000 was more recent and more damning

He blasted Obama and especially Clinton for corporate contributions and money from lobbyists, while he took $500,000 for a job that was described as working "two to three days a month" on whatever he wanted. Can anyone with a straight face argue that this job had nothing to do with his future possibility to be President, Vice President or a cabinet member - in a position to help the Hedge Fund?

It is beyond hypocritical to do this and attack the others for accepting a maximum of $2,300 from a lobbyist. In fact, as long as the Presidential candidate is kept blind to the checks, there would be no problem with that. Lobbyists have a front row seat seeing how legislators work. On a business level, the problem is that they will favor those who are good for their company. However in a primary, where the positions are likely relatively similar within a party, it might come down to their knowledge of the good (or bad) qualities they have seen watching what most people to not see. Obama wrote a provision in the ethics law passed in 2007 that prevented lobbyists from bundling contributions and giving large sums to Congressmen. Saying, they are not entitled to contribute period takes away their right to do what every American can do.)

The chutzpah to say he did it to study poverty is head shakingly hard to believe.

[Cali_Democrat]

6. The same John Edwards that supported the Iraq War?

[FrenchieCat]

7. I cried for Elizabeth Edwards yesterday........and will again on Saturday, I'm sure.

However, her husband is another story.

To hang on to some theoretical speculative coulda, shoulda, woulda.....
may give you solace,
but he couldn't, shouldn't, wouldn't, and didn't.

However, if it makes you feel better to believe
that he would have been the President of your dreams,
than that's your right, even if it only a dream...one
where anything can come true and be exactly what you want it to be.
Enjoy.

[akbacchus_BC]

8. You need to stop that. It is not about John Edwards! Let us respect

a woman with valour! No need to bash her husband on here!

[benny05]

23. Don't Bash JRE Right Now

He needs all of the support he can get since Elizabeth slipped away. It will be a challenge for him to raise his kids. He had depended on EAE to keep things running in his life.

I am thankful I met her through him. And I refuse to think otherwise for such a great advocate of causes. I'm hoping he will rise out of this and do something meaningful.

Mudcat Saunders said that John is crushed at the moment, and I believe Mudcat is telling the truth.

So y'all, let's not get into the morality of John Edwards here. We should be thinking of the Edwards family and how this loss will impact them. Take a deep breath.

[timo]

42. are you serious???

If he was so "dependent" on her he wouldve kept his dick in his pants and done the right thing, I feel bad for the kids, but he wont get any sympathy from me, "crushed" was he crushed when he was bumping uglies with that skank?? jeez he feels so baaad NOW, what a load of crap!! If I were her I wouldve left it in my will that he NOT be allowed to attend the funeral, he wasnt there for her in life, so dont pretend in death!!

[karynnj]

43. I would agree, but op's like this one do demand a response as they are impliciting an indictment

of President Obama.

I do believe that Edwards is crushed by her death. I als do believe that he loved her for many many years - and that he always respected her intellect and advice. It is very clear that his change from mocking Kerry's healthcare plan in 2004 as unaffordable in the last primary before the big superTuesday where Kerry clinched the nomination to his 2008 plan that was a quantum leap from his 2004 plan was Elizabeth's contribution - and it was a contribution to the entire healthcare debate.

I agree that he now must now concentrate on raising his two lovely younger children and being there for Cate, for whom the last 5 years had to be a nightmare - even as she succeeded at Harvard Law and became engaged. (It is impossible not to admire her resilience as shown by both these things! ) There is no way in this internet world, that those two young children don't know far more than is healthy for them about the tawdriness of their father's actions. Elizabeth's actions to try to preserve his reputation, though ultimately unsuccessful, have to be seen in that context. Her willingness, to put her own hurt aside, to try to keep his relationships with the kids as strong as possible - knowing her diagnosis was unbelievably unselfish and the right thing to do for the kids.

John has to take the NEED the children now have for him to do the right things for them - making them his priority - as she always did. My guess is that he was neither the 2004 or 2008 campaign image OR the evil, self centered jerk that the Rielle episode shows. In 2004, my own doubts about his sincerity (and they were HUGE) were countered by the fact that He married Elizabeth and she married him. I seriously doubt that, even if Elizabeth fell for him because of his charm and looks that she would have stayed with him for 30 years if he underneath was as unworthy as the Rielle episode shows.

Although it often happens, no one can really be completely defined by their worst - or their best - moment. There is no reason to think that Edwards does not love his 4 living children and will not do his best to do right by them. However, I do think he has lost the ability to gain the public trust again to the degree he had it in 1998 - 2008. Much of that trust was just that - trust. Once lost - especially for good reason - it sometimes can never be regained. At this point, he should assume that will be the case.

That doesn't mean that he should not do good things - in fact, only by doing good things can he become a person that his children can look up to. He is fortunate that Elizabeth had the grace to see that the kids needed to love and respect their father.His role though is very changed from 1998-2006. Then he could be a leader for those goals - using his voice and his popularity to bring more attention, funds, activism etc to these goals. Others, less charismatic and well known - did the detailed, day to day work on specific projects. Now, without an office from which to legislate (or administer) in support of these activities and without the potential to be President, which gave him the platform he has, he needs to do what he appears to already be doing. Finding ways that his skills and involvement can be used. Not so much to rehabilitate his image, but to do things he and the kids can be proud of. (I wonder if he could head some kind of legal defense organization where he could help the people his campaign was designed to help - even if JRE in court might not work (most jurors could at least now have a prior negative opinion) he certainly could help young activist lawyers with strategy.)

It is possible that by quietly working against injustice and poverty - not as a glamorous spokesperson, but doing things that need to be done - even if there is no spotlight or credit, over time he will gain some of the trust that he once had. If not, it is not so bad, he will have gained the respect of his family, friends and those who do know what he is doing. Not the glitter of being a media favorite in 2002/2003, but something that is more solid and real.

[Whisp]

9. he would fight big corporations?

he WAS a big corporation.

oiy

[CakeGrrl]

10. Too bad. Unless people work to get a RELIABLY Democratic, filibuster-proof majority

in the Senate, Republicans will hold sway over votes.

But now there will be more of them in both houses of Congress come January.

More woulda, shoulda, coulda. If you think this contingent of Blue Dog Dems would have stood fast to hand no-compromise legislation to Edwards to sign, I'll bet you'd be in for a disappointment.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

12. The guy who worked for a hedge fund?

:rofl:

[JI7]

13. but he said he joined the hedge fund to learn about poverty

[Starbucks Anarchist]

15. That's like a nun joining a brothel to learn about chastity.

[vaberella]

31. ! n/t

[JI7]

14. he lost the Primary long before anyone found out about the affair, in fact even those

who did not like him thought the affair rumors were lies and smears. you act as he if he would have won otherwise when that was not the case.

in fact the affair had nothing to do with why he didn't and wasn't going to win.

[girl_interrupted]

16. I wonder how the National Enquirer feels now?

I know John Edwards was to blame for his own actions, and for sure he was no threat to either Obama or Hillary in the primaries. But was all of this really necessary? I'm thinking of Elizabeth Edwards and their children. Maybe John had to be shown for what he was, but at what cost? Elizabeth was already a very sick woman, did she really need to be publicly humiliated too? And for what? A Headline. Her life and her children's lives turned upside down in the cruelest of fashions. To sell some rag. The whole thing is so tragic.

[JI7]

17. i think it would have been better if she had not known of it, but a Baby being involved

made it harder. also it was Rielle Hunter who was tipping off the Enquirer . so if it wasn't them she would have made it public in some other way.

[karynnj]

44. Once the baby was born, it was impossible for things not eventually coming out

Edwards made it far worse by lying in 2008 - likely because he knew that admitting that he continued not just his campaign, but an affair as his wif dealt with stage 4 cancer - would have looked worse. The fact is that he already had ZERO chance of public life even if the confession were 100% true and he was not the father. It was his ego, that thought he was still a possible speaker at the convention or a cabinet member that likely made him lie.

The NE is a tabloid - and it is despicable - and often untrue. It can not be defended, but JRE betrayed EE - not the NE.

Not to mention, are you comfortable that a little girl would have always been denied by her famous father?

[Raine]

18. If he had been all he claimed to be he would've

been good but NONE OF THEM are what they claim they are.

[cali]

19. mindless wishful thinking. Mr Hedgefund would have folded

as quickly or even quicker than Obama. Anyone thinking differently forgets both his history as a private citizen and his record in the Senate. You forget his Hedge Fund stint, his support for the Iraq war- and really it went beyond that to cheerleading it, not to mention his support for such things as Yucca.

Unrecced.

[tammywammy]

47. +1 exactly. n/t

[tammywammy]

48. +1 exactly. n/t

[lamp_shade]

20. My stomach hurts.

[cornermouse]

21. You just couldn't respect the children's pain at losing their

mother to wait until after the funeral to take a public slap at Edwards on a forum the older child might visit due to the fact that Elizabeth once posted here? Shame on you. unrec and bye-bye.

[RichGirl]

22. I wish he'd have kept it in his pants...for Elizabeth and his children.

But regarding him being a the president we need...

Can't remember who said it...but the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expect different results.

We...the people...need to learn that campaigning for the presidency is light years different than being president. I don't think anyone of us can even imagine how hard and complicated this job is, how many obstacles and how much opposition, how many people you have to consider for different reason...and on and on. In the end, we have to elect someone who is intelligent, knowlegable and most of all, someone we can trust...so that we can support him even when we disagree with him. WE HAVE THAT NOW.

When I read people who are unhappy with Obama immediately looking for another person to save us...I sigh. All those people are wonderful and we are lucky to have them in our party...but they aren't miracle workers. For them too, it would be an uphill battle on a greased pole. And if they don't get to the top fast enough, we'd be throwing stones at them.

As unhappy as some are with Obama...you need to at least consider...maybe he is our best and only hope. When you are drowning...just being tossed the lifeline is enough.

[elizm]

24. And you took HIM at his word? Good grief. Get over it.

[old mark]

25. Not really - he is a phoney and probably would be worse than now....nt

[boppers]

26. 1. He couldn't/wouldn't speak midwest US english.

2. He was too focused on his looks.
3. He thought that his wife having cancer... was an inconvenience.

He killed himself with his own arrogance and self importance.

[Vinca]

27. His "two Americas" spiel was probably just a con game.

I've lost all faith in the honesty of politicians.

[craigmatic]

28. If Edwards had, he'd be Attorney General or Labor Secretary by now.

[impik]

30. Hee. Hilarious. He would have been the president of his Golf club maybe

[vaberella]

32. You don't understand the political climate if you're saying that. n/t

[Freddie Stubbs]

33. The Rielle Hunter story wasn't an issue during the campaign

It was widely ignored by the mainstream media. It only started getting widespread attention in the summer of 2008, long after Edwards was a viable candidate.

[krawhitham]

75. the truth has no place on DU anymore

[dionysus]

34. !!!

:rofl::rofl::rofl:
:spray::spray::spray:

[mtnsnake]

35. Even when he had it in his pants he was nothing but a smooth talking PHONY

I can't believe how so many people fell for that. I guess they got charmed. Edwards could make his next fortune selling religion, praise the Lord!

[dionysus]

45. "ahm involved in this here hedge fund studyin pahvetty for mah campaign"

[mtnsnake]

46. LOL

Well done, Mr Edwards!

[Starbucks Anarchist]

63. Ironically, some of the hardcore Edwards people thought Obama was all about speeches.

:rofl:

[karynnj]

36. John Edwards not only convincingly lied to his wife, but to the country as a whole

- and the lies were NOT confined to his sexual dalliance. You suggest that he would stand up more than Obama has - yet he - not Obama - voted for an atrocious bankruptcy bill. He also worked a "few days a month" doing what he thought useful for $500,000 a year from a Hedge Fund - and he called it studying poverty! (I suggest borderline illegally contribution to Edwards from the Hedge Fund - making his "no lobbyist" and "against corporations" rhetoric suspect.

Look at his actions. In the Senate, he did not push any anti-poverty legislation - which most, if not all, of his 2004 and 2008 opponents did. (2004 - Kerry - worked with Kennedy as cosponsor on SCHIP, after writing precursor with Kennedy, and pushing the affordable housing fund for over a decade until it was included in a 2008 banking bill; Dean, many VT healthcare and other programs; Gephardt lots of things related to healthcare and unions. 2008 - Clinton - pushed health care while First Lady, Obama - cowrote and cosponsored Illinois' version of SCHIP. Edwards - the closest you could get is as a cosponsor to Kennedy's long pushed patient's bill of rights.) His voting record - very close to Evan Bayh's. He voted for the 2001 bankruptcy bill - and you can't say this was because he was a novice - this was Elizabeth's area as a lawyer.

Back in 2006, exasperated with Edwards sudden transformation, I did the following exercise. The official Senate record is searchable - and you can find speeches containing specific words. Taking 2000, because it seemed the fairest year for Edwards - as he was a novice in 1999, 2001 was weird, and after that he was campaigning, I searched for words like poverty, poor, needy etc - and compared the number of speeches for Kennedy, Kerry and a few other Senators who I can't for sure remember. Of all of them, Edwards was by far the lowest. Kennedy was the highest - with Kerry surprisingly close. (surprisingly, as Kerry was and is a key foreign policy Democrat and Senators do specialize.) I did not take all Senators and suspect that Dubin and Harken might have been up there with Kennedy.

Then look at his 2004 platform - it was to the right of all the major viable candidate's (except for Lieberman on the war). He was DLC, with a DLC voting record. So, why his 2008 positions? You can argue that he became convinced that Kerry's more liberal platform, which he mocked in the primaries, were right. On healthcare, Elizabeth's health issues made her an advocate for needed changes and she obviously led the effort on that issue and did it well. As to everything else - Look at the politics - Hillary Clinton had the center right sewn up - the only opening was on the left and Edwards went for it.

The best thing about Edwards was Elizabeth - and look how he ultimately treated her. I suggest that he likely really did love her more than he did people following him politically. Do you seriously thing that he would have more loyalty to his followers than to Elizabeth - if he thought the easier path for himself was different?

[WI_DEM]

38. He was going nowhere even before the revelations of his affairs, he put everything into Iowa

because that was a state he was supposed to do well in and came in a distant second. His campaign never recovered.

[jillan]

40. Hedge Fund Edwards? The one who hides his money in an offshore tax shelter to avoid paying taxes??

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/22/AR2007042201339.html

Elizabeth is the one that should have run for President - not her slimeball husband.

[BeyondGeography]

41. It was about more than the penis

And the proof is he was going nowhere before we even knew about that.

[Enrique]

49. Edwards's populism was just posturing

he was probably the most corporatist Dem canidate, second to Lieberman, in the last two elections.

[cherish44]

50. He's the Democratic party's equivalent to Sarah Palin

Vapid, no substance but looks pretty. EE was the driving force behind John Edwards for sure. WIthout her he'd have been another rich, country club lawyer who cares most about his golf game and his hair.

[TwilightGardener]

51. He would have been eviscerated by the GOP had he been the nominee.

Too many weak spots and incongruities between words and character even aside from the affair. He didn't have one fatal flaw, he had quite a few.

[shimmergal]

52. To much yadda yadda on this thread,

that's not to the point at all! He DID push both Obama and Clinton to the left during the campaign, and if he'd kept his credibility could possibly have made a difference afterwards too. I suspect somebody behind the Enguirer's revelations wanted to eliminate this possibility.

While on a personal level the hurt he caused Elizabeth was enormous, my takeaway in the scandal's aftermath is the deplorable lack of judgment he showed.

It's not just a matter of "couldn't he keep his penis in his pants;" too many men can't. Even so, had he never heard of a condom? Without the baby, the affair might have been deniable and certainly would have been less hurtful to Elizabeth. And why the *&#@ did he go visit Rielle & said baby at a hotel where he could be trailed and photographed?

Everyone is susceptible to acting "crazy for love" once in their life, I guess, and the sanctimony shown by too many commenters here is ridiculous. They may need to prove to their mates that they never would; does saying it here serve that purpose? Elizabeth obviously had more grace and understanding. She wanted him there during these last days despite it all--would you overrule her just to prove your superior morality?

I hope that his willingness to "be there" for her this time is the first step in his redemption.
( Nobody is beyond redemption.) We should be hoping for that on a personal level, even though no political comeback is likely in his future. I just hope he goes on to be a good father to all his children, and keeps up his work in Haiti etc.)

[Name removed]

55. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Phx_Dem]

56. Isn't that akin to "if only that guy hadn't been a crook, he would've been a good president."

Or, It's too bad that guy beat his wife, he could have run for president.

Bottom line. John Edwards was NOTHING he claimed to be. He was a PHONY, a LIAR, and the WORST kind of ADULTERER and FATHER -- the kind that cheats on his dying wife, then lies about it and blames a staffer, making no claim to his child. Shoot, he would have been a great President. Not.

[polichick]

57. He turned out to be a lying fraud - why wouldn't his policy positions be bullshit too? nt

[ecstatic]

58. He has a corrupt character. Why would you think he could be a

great president? And believe me, he would have been to the right of Obama. Very delusional OP. K&U

[mstinamotorcity]

60. John Edwards got what he deserved

his lovely Mistress with the reincarnated Dalai Lama baby.And no ability to run for dog catcher. Sounds like a fair trade off.

[benny05]

62. And do you think your comment is what EE would want to hear

Not at all.

Many folks didn't know him or her, as they think they did.

Please respect Elizabeth's passing by not posting such venom for him. She left the house and car keys to him to raise the kids, and he will step up to challenge. He could have been like the husband in "Terms of Endearment" but isn't going there. John will step up and he needs our positive thoughts.

Elizabeth is ready for us to do some healing. Can't you?


B

[V4Edwards]

69. My view

I have not posted in years. I missed the grace period to change my username. I really would like to change my username - though now it could mean V for Elizabeth Edwards. I was furious with John Edwards.

I feel such a void now that Elizabeth is gone. Can it be that we can no longer hear or read her "voice"? It's all so hard to take in.

John Edwards' downfall is much more complicated than most of us can comprehend. He lost his 16 year old son - that is the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Many married couples who have experienced the death of a child end up divorcing. The pain is too great. There are reminders everywhere. This is my theory - only a theory. Elizabeth said that John turned to a woman so utterly unlike her that she couldn't believe he could have married her and be attracted to someone so different. Perhaps that was the key. Perhaps when he was with Hunter he could pretend to himself that his son hadn't died - he probably felt like he was in another world. An accomplished cheater would not have let the other woman get pregnant. Yes, it was incredibly cruel to Elizabeth. But she eventually came to a place where she still believed in him. She still wanted him to raise their children.

And I believe that, for his son, Edwards would have continued to try to improve the plight of the poor in America. That was not a phony passion of his. Would he have kept to his campaign promises? We can never know. My personal belief is that he would have fought corporate America in the same way that he fought them in the courtroom. That was part of his whole being. To me, he is the classic example of a relatively good man with a fatal flaw. He is not the villain that many people make him out to be. He would have been a good vice president to Kerry. He might have been a good president also. Once again, we can never know.

[mstinamotorcity]

74. Elizabeth Edwards is the epitome of something very few women

have.... forgiving CLASS!!!!!! This is not a post on how we feel about the Late Ms.Edwards, this is about John. We were not married to him so we have nothing to forgive him for. But those of us who supported him and those who did not,had a level of expectation for accountability. From potential Presidential Nominees or Nominees for vice-President.

As Far as me healing....I'm good!!!!

I think any man who has not the ability to be a man and admit when things are going wrong, to put the members of his family whom he swears he loves dearly, out there for hurt, is some cold shit. I think women who know Married men are married and decide to become their lovers,Mistresses, or one night Stand, have lowered themselves to second rate trash. Yes there are circumstances that make people do things they shouldn't,but it does not excuse the action or the pain.Everybody does things wrong or make mistakes. Screwing a woman under your wifes nose while laughing in her face and getting friends to keep your dirty little secrets,while whispering behind your back,and a perky little bitch with a camera taking pictures of my husband and I while waiting for the moment to be in his arms, is just plain fucking WRONG!!!! I wish Lady Elizabeth Edwards a safe and peaceful Journey its a rest well deserved.

As for John Edwards like I said he now has what he put on the line when he decided to play HIDE THE SALAMI!!!!!Three beautiful children who will always know what loyalty he showed to their mother. Trust me they won't forget. They will probably forgive to get along. But it will forever be a seed in their Heart. Worked with too many children know this for a fact. He has an out of body experience reincarnation of the Dalai Lama child number four. Who will grow up knowing exactly who and how she became. A Mistress with snake like tendencies, and his ass can't get elected DOG CATCHER!!! I'm good with that.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

61. He was a phony.

But consider that people said that Elizabeth was the one pushing him to run for President. That she was the ambitious one that did not want to let cancer interfere with his campaigns.

I wonder, if this was true, how her ambition for him to run for President interacted with his actions? He was running for president because she wanted him to, but lying about what he would do for poor people?

Hmmm...... :shrug:

[benny05]

64. and you wish to trash her? n/t

[Manifestor_of_Light]

70. I'm not trashing her.

I'm just posting what I have read that are hints that she was the one who was politically ambitious.

I've read numerous articles about celebrities where they don't want to come out and say what they mean, so they make it sound milder than it is. She may have been extremely politically ambitious, but because she was a nice person, at least in public, nobody wanted to expose that side of her personality.

They found out she had cancer on Election Day 2004 and that did not slow her down in campaigning in either 2004 or 2008.

John denied the affair, said that Elizabeth knew about it even when he was campaigning for the Presidential nomination in 2008. A lot of people said that was extremely irresponsible, that she should not have pushed him when she knew about the affair and the baby. When a man is running for President, that kind of conduct is a bomb waiting to go off.


For example, I read about a famous British actor who got divorced from his equally famous actress wife. She's gotten a Best Actress Oscar, and he's probably been nominated as a director, I'm not sure.

He was described as "flirtatious". That probably was a euphemism for "multiple affairs". One of the affairs was an equally famous British actress, but none of the women were mentioned.
A good way to make a celebrity look nicer than they are, and not get sued for libel.

Other examples: Kitty Kelley's books that expose how mean and petty some famous people are, like Frank Sinatra. People don't want their idols to be brought down by being shown as human and even unpleasant or dishonest.

I know that Elizabeth Edwards had been through hell and I am thankful that she is no longer suffering. When she went on Oprah talking about John's cheating on her, I turned it off. I didn't want to hear about it. I suspect that she was a much better person than John ever deserved.

[treestar]

65. How would he have done any differently?

With the same Congress?

[tritsofme]

66. Edwards is and always has been a big fat phony.

Because hey, what better way to learn about poverty than to make millions of dollars at a hedge fund?

The incident with his mistress and illegitimate child just exposed to world what we had always known about him.

[Creative]

67. No, No, No...we do not need another phony con man in the White House.

John Edwards was, is and will forever be a nothing more than a total fraud.

[Occam Bandage]

68. Bull-fucking-shit. John Edwards was a two-bit scam artist, through and through.

He was a milquetoast conservative Democrat with a milquetoast conservative record during his entire Senate career. Then '04 rolled around, and he suddenly became a smilin' southern-fried-populist outsider. Then he needed to pay the bills, and he suddenly became a high-rolling hedge fund manager. Then '08 rolled around, and he suddenly became a full-throated progressive.

John Edwards was an empty suit, a nice haircut, and a dazzling smile. He was nothing else. He was never anything else.

[akbacchus_BC]

71. Sorry to say this, now is not the time to bash John Edwards, just let

his wife Rest In Peace!

[cali]

77. then ops like this one shouldn't be posted.

[akbacchus_BC]

72. The guy with the $250.00 hair cut, how would that resonate with the poor?

[quaker bill]

76. Had Edwards been viable

the primary battle would have ended sooner because he would have grabbed some states Hillary Clinton took, and neither of them would have been in it close to the end. In a way this would have been a bad thing because the extended primary battle brought in lots of free media, setting us up better for November.