That's what I'm thinking, too. Thank god he didn't win.

I'm very disappointed as well -- I liked him as a candidate as well, and would have been happy with him as a VP. Why oh why do people become politicians and then make stupid choices like this? It always comes out eventually!!

We don't need no frigging politics and economics.

Surely you mean "distrust" his judgment, spewey. :-)

Europeans and many Asians accept this rule about those seeking political power or influence over political activities. What politicians do in their private lives or have done in the past are their business unless there exist direct connections of past or private lives and current governing. We are not electing angels or eunuchs nor pastors or spiritual leaders.

We want relatively honest and capable managers with vision and the abilities to get things done to resolve current crises and address meeting future needs in reasonable ways.

Just like McCain, cheating on his first wife after she was badly injured in an auto accident, right? He's slime too, but too bad that didn't kill HIS political career, too. They're both disgusting.

They do what LMSM won't - report the sordid details about
dems as well as repubs.

Edwards says, in tonight's interview:

About his mistress: "But I didn't love her."

About his wife: "But she was in remission at the time."

The man has no gallantry.

Whereas I'm sorry for Elizabeth (but then, we don't know if she's always been faithful to John either), sexual fidelity doesn't seem to be the norm for humans -- if statistics telling us that over half of all relationships (married or not) involve infidelity, are to be believed. The myth of the always-faithful woman verus the seldom-faithful man has pretty much fallen by the wayside.

We humans appear to be genetically programmed not only to procreate, but to do it with as wide a gene pool as possible. That benefits the species.

This is supported by studies of chimpanzees. Interestingly enough, female chimps who spurn low-status bachelor males from their own band are much more willing to have sex with low-status bachelor males from other bands.

At any rate, infidelity isn't news.

But try to tell that to the lamestream media! They love anything about sex, and anything that will keep our minds off how we're really being screwed over.

So, because we are programmed for promiscuity, does that make it ok to roam? Or should we think about these things before we promise someone we'll be faithful to them as a life partner?

One other point. Did Elizabeth Edwards know that her husband had been unfaithful at the time she chastised Hillary Clinton about keeping her house in order?

She is a real dog. YUK

The fact is that's it's hard (I imagine) to have so much wealth and power and not indulge
oneself. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's hard.

First ju get the monee, then ju get thee powah, then ju get thee woomen. Al Pacino aka Tony Montana

Yup, I supported him too.

But then, maybe he'll marry the trollop and run for President as a Republican!

Perhaps the love children of Edwards and Jesse Jackson will be in their own love child play area at the convention while their fathers go onstage to ramble on about family values and morality.

: )
lyra

Edwards denied paying any money to Hunter to keep her from going public but said it was possible some of his friends or supporters may have made payments without telling him.

I've never paid a dime of money to any of the people that are involved," Edwards said.

He also added that he would ask questions about any possible arrangement.

Late today, Edwards' former national finance chairman said he had provided assistance to Hunter and others without the knowledge of Edwards." [end quoted material]

I guess we are supposed to believe these statements, too -- until the real truth is revealed.

No -- not if we make a promise to someone that we won't. We shouldn't break our word to others, nor should we take advantage of their trust in us, nor should we jeopardize our childrens' future. It was also a shabby way to treat all the folks who were working on his campaign.

My point was not to say it's okay what he did; it's not okay. My point is that it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone -- infidelity is very common.

Welcome aboard, btw.

The issue is the lies. He lied and lied, from October 07 on through about two weeks ago. And did it while parading around his family values and his loving wife. That is called hypocrisy. At least Rudy Giuliani admitted that he was a horndog and more or less said "Yes, that's what I did and that's who I am; take it or leave it." We don't know (at least I don't know) anything about the families of Chris Dodd or Bill Richardson or Mike Huckabee or Joe Biden (who has a terrible family tragedy in his history). But who could have missed the Edwards family story? It was deliberately put out there for all to see.

If I had been one of his donors I would be ripping mad at this deception.

But imagine this man going through a nomination process and actually having a chance of becoming the presumptive nominee and knowing he had this deep dark secret that would eventually be exposed. What in the world was he thinking? Didn't he realize that this scandal would become public? He put the entire democratic party at risk by not being able to keep it in his pants.

During the primary I said here he was in it just to be a drag on Hillary and now that this is out I believe it even more. He knew he was going nowhere and he knew that when this came out if he was the nominee he was going to take down the Democratic Party with him in the GE and he decided to take the risk.

He has no shame.

The issue is the lies.

There's no more important promise, to me, than my marriage vows. To promise to be faithful and then to break that vow is the ultimate lie. It's not that Edwards or McCain was a public figure, was running for office, or what they wrote or what they told the press that is so important, it's the fact that they both broke a solemn promise made to their wives before God, and then cheated on them after each of their wives had faced a great physical challenge. There's nothing lower than a person that would cheat on a sick or injured spouse. But some of you will look at party labels and excuse one or the other and then castigate the one with the other label. I know two wrongs indeed do not make a right, and that both Edwards and McCain are scumbags.

Sorry, I have a hard time understanding this whole concept of "stand by your man" from these political wives. Just once I would like one of them to stand before the news cameras and slap the bejesus out of these guys instead of standing there like stepford wives.

2 cents

I'm saddened by her going on there and lending legitimacy to that site. You have to wonder what's going through her mind that she encourage his run for President knowing what she knew and what would eventually happen to his platform and her pet cause should he win the nomination and go down in flames when all this came out.
---------------------------------
On a few blogs people are posting the flame that JE made about Bill during the Monica scandal. I'd already read that a few time but I hadn't see the interview with Katie Couric when she baited the candidates into talking about infidelity and JE took it. Katie brought it up in an obvious effort to humiliate Hillary and it is telling that the only one to pick up the ball run with it was a cheater himself.

That's why I'm endorsing the most morally outstanding candidate. McCain, Edwards, the Clinton clan, etc
have too much baggage.

He states that he absolutely is not the father of Rielle Hunter's baby because of his schedule and the timing of Ms. Hunter's baby, born on February 27, 2008.

The Enquirer article stated that their reporters witnessed Edwards visiting the same hotel on July 26 where Hunter was staying with the baby.

So, why was Edwards who said the affair was LONG OVER and that he had never loved Hunter visiting HER baby 5 months after it was born? There is absolutely no logical reason for him to do so. Why would he even think of it let alone risk a visit unless there was a very compelling reason to do so.

Edwards also admits his Wife knew nothing of his July visit until the story broke. That story likely broke her heart all over again -- especially now that she has been diagnosed with incurable cancer.

Transcript of selected portions of tonight's interview at the link. The comments at the bottom of page 4 are very interesting ... especially the one by 'ag4lyf' at 5:12 A.M.

"Fool me once -- shame on YOU. Fool me twice, shame on ME."

She has the love and support of her children, other family members, and many friends who will be there for her now and always. That cannot be said about her husband.

At this point John Edwards needs to leave the family home so his wife and children can, hopefully, be granted some privacy from the media.
The media will be dogging his every footstep for weeks to come, and she and her children do not need to be subjected to that.

And, it would be fitting for family and friends to shun him completely now that it has been revealed he visited his ex-lover and her 5-month-old baby years after he said the affair was over.

Geraldine Ferraro (does she really work for Fox news? That's disheartening, too) remarked that Edwards's political career is over. I think she's right and she should know after having been done in by her own husband's financial shenanigans. One would think that even these massive egos would "get it" after all that comes out about others.

More than one hypocrite in that marriage.

2 cents

Well, if he did, "get caught" by trickery, thank God he didn't wind up as our president if he is that stupid--since it's an old trick, you'd think he'd be smart enough not to fall for it, wouldn't you? Please--he was and is just arrogant. I don't want to think about what he would have done in a blackmail situation if he'd been elected president or held any other responsible position in the future.

Just watch this interview of John Edwards, talking about, "I, I, I and you'll see why he "got caught." He was thinking of himself and apparently thought everyone else--the people of this country, the democratic party, his supporters and staff, his wife, and family, were going to be too stupid to see "who he really is." Of course, he says in this interview that he thinks we should see who he really is.

Who I Am

Well, John, we do now.

I have a hunch that the slapping (and maybe more) happens before the wives step into the glare of the cameras.

I think most married couples involved in politics have common goals for the spouse in the political arena. It's another variation on the old saw about making sausage -- you don't want to witness it, nor even know about it.

I'm very disappointed and sorry for the Edwards family.

One day that baby will grow up and she'll read about how her birth certificate has no declared father, and how her paternity was uncertain, and how this rich and famous man said "That picture doesn't mean anything to me, I don't understand it."

BTW, the younger Edwards children are not adopted. They are the natural children of their parents. Elizabeth E. took hormones in order to have them. I have wondered if those hormones didn't play a role in triggering her cancer.

Excuse me, but do you think the mother had no control over this situation? Edwards is a stupid man, but the woman who is blackmailing him is a criminal. So one day the baby will grow up and rejoice that she has a criminal for a mother?

Word is that there is no father named on the birth certificate.

David Perel, editor of The Enquirer, said on CNN that money was also "being funneled" to a former aide to Mr. Edwards, Andrew Young, who has said that he was the father of the baby. Mr. Perel said that Mr. Young lived in a $5.4 million house, also in Santa Barbara, "with no visible means of support."

He's a fool, but he may have been set up.

Sorry folks, what a twist this thread has taken! So now this millionaire trial lawyer is being portrayed as some naive lamb led to slaughter by a jezebel ?

Not buying this theory.

Cynical in Cleveland

I honestly do not understand why anyone would feel sorry for a lying cheat who was caught with his pants down, unless the person can relate somehow because they lived the same kind of lie. He wasn't set up and he didn't fall for anything. The man chose to have sex outside his marriage and when his little dolly got pregnant he chose to support her and their child, chose to pay someone else to say he was the father and chose to visit his child and the mother. How much clearer does this have to get before some of you understand the scenario?

Word is that there is no father named on the birth certificate.

Maury, Maury, Maury!

Akrogirl - Where did you find that story of Hunter being related to the people who did the horse killings? I was in Chicago when that happened and recall the headlines and general shock. But I couldn't find a link now.

The family owned "Eagles Nest" in Ocala and her father, James Druck, was one of the big players in the horse killings. He was, allegedly, the person who instructed "the Sandman" (aka Tommy Burns) on how to electrocute a horse without it being caught by a pathologist. Supposedly, James hired Tommy to kill their conformation hunter, "Henry the Hawk" (the horse that Lisa herself rode), for the $150,000 insurance money.

I have included the link to a good SI article that discusses the affair. "Hot Blood" is a really good book about the killings that also talks about her father's role in the whole disgusting mess.

One of Lisa's previous boyfriends wrote another book, "Story of my Life", that is, apparently, based on Lisa herself. Her "character" is described as "cocaine-addled" and "sexually voracious"!

As a side note, the Hunter that Lisa/Rielle was formerly married to is a son of one of the prosecutors in the Jon Benet Ramsey case.

I can't help but think that this man, I once thought to be "different", will end up "happy ever after" with his lady love and all his kids some day soon. Some day, when Elisabeth is no longer with us.

It is all so, so sad.

The original Law&Order did a very good episode, a bit fictionalized, on these events. It plays on reruns sometimes. I wonder if their writers will put two-and-two together and add a sequel. They do enjoy political scandals.

Thanks for the link. I enjoy reading true crime tales and may trot down to the library.

This woman isn't the marrying kind. I doubt very much Edwards would marry her. He'll simply move on to the next one. If it was true love he wouldn't have thrown her and their child under the bus by making the statements he made. The only one he seems to love and put first is himself.

Yes, because it has happened before. Grover Cleveland had an out-of-wedlock child and the Republicans tried to make an issue of it with the slogan, "Ma, ma, where's my pa? In the White House ha ha ha." Cleveland, who acknowledged paternity and provided support for the child, was elected anyway.

If I don't disremember, Ronald and Nancy Reagan were married after conceiving a child. Not really an option for Edwards, but it's not like this is the first time an out-of-wedlock child was around during a presidential campaign.

I'm pretty disgusted with Edwards for the infidelity, but I still like the message from his campaign. Of course, it hardly matters anymore.