I like Edwards, but am really, really, really, really glad now that he's not the Democratic nominee. I doubt he'll be speaking at the DNC in Denver now, certainly.

That said, his personal life is his own business, not mine.

It is a rite of passage for Kennedyesque Dems, they have to pork the bimbo then give a giggle.

The Kennedy legacy for American culture, send the whole lot of Kennedys back to Ireland where Irish women are dumbshits, apparently.

And he thought this info wouldn't get out? Oy.

The liberal media waited as long as they could, until forced to acknowledge Edwards' misdeeds by Drudge and other heroic independent news providers. Kevin, don't you know the main "job" of the MSM is to defend liberal/Democrat politicians?

But as a conservative, I must confess I am perplexed why most of my comrades (and that same liberal media) don't care much about the fact that John McCain had an adulterous affair with a woman who stole narcotics from her own charity. Then he married her after ditching his first wife, who wasn't as capable or pretty as before. This new wife might become the First Lady, not just a "bimbo" left in the past.
Why is that?
;-)

And here I thought he was a straight talker... I think this explains why Edwards pulled out of the race before Super Tuesday: he couldn't chance continuing to be in the public spotlight. And he couldn't chance actually winning the nomination.

Jesus Christ, let it go already. What useful service does stringing out this prurience provide? Hamdan puts the nail in the coffin of our justice system, and it's "Look over there! Sex!"

And here I thought he was a straight talker... I think this explains why Edwards pulled out of the race before Super Tuesday: he couldn't chance continuing to be in the public spotlight. And he couldn't chance actually winning the nomination.
Posted by: fyreflye

Yep. Shame. I think he would make a great AG.

The good news is, Mickey Kaus has now outlived his usefulness, and can safely be retired.

The Kennedy legacy for American culture, send the whole lot of Kennedys back to Ireland where Irish women are dumbshits, apparently.

No, knuckledragger, you're the dumbshit.

Who cares?

Did he break the law like Vitter? No.

Did he break the law like Craig? No.

This is his and Elizabeth's business and I frankly could care less.

(And before the winger freaks join in on the fun, I'd remind them that it is pretty clear that McCain was running around on his first wife with Cindy before his divorce. And I don't care about that either.)

What consenting adults do with their protrusions and orifices is nobody's business. However, I find adultery a particularly loathsome act. Not for the sex, but for the betrayal. Add to that the fact that this jackass was running for the Democratic nomination, and it's obvious that he was betraying not only his poor wife and kids, but also all Democrats: Did he actually think he'd be running for president and nobody would find out? How screwed would we have been now if Edwards was our nominee? I hope he slithers away and stays hidden. Maybe that expensive haircut did say something about the man's vanity after all.
____________________________________________

okay, now that we've established the ground rules, let the muckraking begin. what's up in McCain's bedroom?

So, can we now take up that Lee Stranahan got banned from DailyKos for keeping up with this story?

http://stranahan.com/

You know, it is his business, and I wish the press didn't dig up all this shit. But that said, since this has been rumbling about in the tabloids and foreign press for awhile, I'm almost relieved that it has finally broken in the mainstream media. It was just getting annoying otherwise, and now they can get it out of their systems and it can fade away.

(Although unfortunately there's still going to be gossip about the paternity...)

Bad John Edwards' penis! Bad!

There, I feel better.

"What consenting adults do with their protrusions and orifices is nobody's business. However, I find adultery a particularly loathsome act. Not for the sex, but for the betrayal."

I always find amusing the idea that "it's not the sex it's the deception/betrayal" that people get all upset about. If that's really true, why do people having affairs almost always lie about it in the first place? I wonder how Elizabeth or most other spouses would react if they were told "Hey, honey, I'm going to have an affair. I just wanted to put you on notice so I won't be deceiving you and doing something behind your back."

How many spouses would say "Wow, that's a relief! Thanks for telling me!"

What, only Republican politicians can have affairs?

Jesus Christ, let it go already. What useful service does stringing out this prurience provide? Hamdan puts the nail in the coffin of our justice system, and it's "Look over there! Sex!"
Posted by: Riggsveda

Actually, military lawyers in a military court has help save our justice system, as much as they can. The jurors, all military officers, pretty much gave the Bush administration the finger and the judge mooned it by responding in kind to Hamdan's Insa'lam.

If the Republicans want Edwards, they can have him. They can have Bill too. You shouldn't cheat on your wife, and you shouldn't lie to everyone about it. These guys are scum at heart.

McCain too.

I wonder if he thought of his dying wife while doing the deed.

(Seriously, this is inexcusable personal behavior, unless Elizabeth knew and consented in advance. Cheating on your spouse is one thing. Cheating on your dying spouse -- with whom you should be spending whatever precious time she has left -- is quite another.)

And another thing: It's sheer hypocrisy for reporters covering an affair to criticize the person having it on the grounds that doing so is wrong for the spouse/family. If the reporters cared so much about how the person's family felt, they wouldn't be reporting the issue in the first place.

Looks like the silky pony has families in both Americas now.

Amazing how they can work homophobic insults even into a stories about Edwards having affairs with women, isn't it? It's almost an art form.

The MSM has all the information about when and where and how Edwards has lied to them. When will they apply the same fine-toothed comb to McCain (and I'm not talking sex)?

Given that Edwards holds no elected office and isn't up for any elected office, this affects Americans about as much as finding out that Brad Pitt cheated on Jennifer Aniston, and yet the press is going to treat this as though they'd found out the President had authorized torture or started a war on false pretenses.

Oh, no, wait, it's going to be treated as more important than those two things. My bad.

This is very, very disappointing. I voted for Edwards in two primaries and one presidential election, but thank heaven he's not the Democratic candidate now.

Like the Lewinsky scandal, I think the matter should be left to John and his wife to deal with, but politically, how could he be sooooooooooo stupid and arrogant?

When he spoke about "one America," did he mean one America and another on the side?

I always find amusing the idea that "it's not the sex it's the deception/betrayal" that people get all upset about. If that's really true, why do people having affairs almost always lie about it in the first place? I wonder how Elizabeth or most other spouses would react if they were told "Hey, honey, I'm going to have an affair. I just wanted to put you on notice so I won't be deceiving you and doing something behind your back."

How many spouses would say "Wow, that's a relief! Thanks for telling me!"

Actually, yes, I would much prefer that happen to me, rather than finding out about it after. The deception causes a level of distrust that's even worse for the relationship than the desire to sleep around, because after you find out, you never know if your spouse will do it again. You can't work out the problems in the relationship if you aren't honest about them, and even if the relationship had to end, I'd much rather split up with my spouse before she slept around than after.

So, can we now take up that Lee Stranahan got banned from DailyKos for keeping up with this story?
http://stranahan.com/ Posted by: Scu

Kos is a dick as is Duncan Black. The former takes himself way to seriously and the latter's "postings" pretty much make him the Glenn Reynolds of the left blogosphere.

"It is a rite of passage for Kennedyesque Dems, they have to pork the bimbo then give a giggle."

Nice to see misogyny and misandy so readily handed out.

She's a bimbo. And it's all his fault. Cool. Sadly, that denies the history of homo sapiens, and denies agency towards the woman, but what the fuck, it's a nice message to tell.

Men.

(Shakes head sadly.)

Now that JE has admitted the affair, I suppose everyone will act dignified and all.

And move on to John McCain, maybe?

Or maybe not. McCain is well past his randy prime. Stories about his affairs, even fairly recent ones, will be met merely with an admiring "Attaboy."

So now we'll get endless speculation in the media about how this will affect the Obama campaign. Sigh.

Just like all the endless media speculation we've had about how Giuliani's affairs, his lying about them, and his using government funds for his mistress will affect the McCain campaign. Right??????

So it goes....

At least Edwards wasn't diddling little boys or begging for blow jobs at rest stops - a sure sign that, at heart, Edwards was no Republican.

Much ado over nothing. There's a Parnell Street, or Parnell Place, or Parnell Bridge, or Parnell Road, in every town in Ireland, and they're bigger prudes -- or were when the dedications were made -- than ever we were.

Does anyone know how to contact Mickey Kaus? I hear he'll be serving up a lot of goat soon and I have a herd of 'em that I'd like to thin...

"At least Edwards wasn't diddling little boys or begging for blow jobs at rest stops.."

At least he wasn't running a homosexual prostitution ring out of his house or hiring call girls or putting an intern under his desk.

Wonder why he didn't just tell her to get an abortion and get rid of the evidence? Do we really need another unwed mother in the two Americas?

One reason why this IS newsworthy is it points up the elitism and arrogance of some presidential candidates. Posted by: che che

It's hardly limited to presidential candidates. However, due to the intense scrutiny they undergo once they get into the primaries, it's a wonder they bother to run when they've got this kind of things in their lives.

Watching Slingboxed MSNBC. Did I hear that right? JE denies he was at the hotel in Los Angeles?

He still needs to take a paternity test.

The issue is not the affair. The REAL issue is the mainstream media virtually ignoring this story (and it IS a story) despite the fact that:

A. They pretty much knew it was true

B. Edwards lied his ass off about it.

The NY Times had no qualms about running with a story sans evidence that McCain may have had an affair with a lobbyist but they wouldn't touch this one.

Take your medicine, quit pointing fingers and making excuses. Edward's is another slimeball lying POS just like Bill Clinton. Lie = Distrust = DFL.

Edwards still can't top McCain's twofer: being a corporate whore AND sleeping with one.

Election 2008: the year when having enormous skeletons in your closet was damn near a requirement for running for President.

It's actually rather funny that such a prudish country as the USA can't find enough people without sexual hijinks or corrupt wallets to elect to our highest offices. No nipples on TV on a Sunday afternoon but anything goes for our political class and we keep putting them back in office!

Whaddacountry.....

What a dumb-ass. And I voted for him.

Jesus H. Christ.

I have never understood why progressives supported this hedge fund flunky. Edwards has not only cheated on his wife, he has cheated many progressives and probably damaged the progressive movement, which is worse. Thankfully he will not become president.

I wonder if he had sex with Marcotte.

Okay, I am enormously upset because I love Elizabeth. But maybe there is a bright side.

I have the perfect new McCain add. "It's been too long since our presidential field has been dominated by its brains. First Clinton and now Edwards lying about their affairs and misleading the American people. What America needs now is a candidate old enough to know better, in fact too old to misbehave.

Vote McCain because sometimes what character can't restrain, age can"

Whadya think?

Will politicians ever cease being politicians?

If there's one thing discussion of the candidates during the Democratic primary shows (now moreso) is that it's really really really hard to know the candidates well enough to trust them.

Finally, what this means is we didn't really have a Progressive/Liberal Dem candidate in the race we could entirely trust. After all the right-wing nuts I wonder when we on the Left get to have one of our guys/gals become president.

Always voting for the 'lesser of two evils' isn't exactly inspiring, but that's where we are once again.

So Edwards sneaks into the Beverly Hilton to visit Hunter at night with her baby - but the affair's over and he's not the father. How stupid does he think we are?

Why the hell else would he be there and why the hell else would Hunter be taking photos of him with the baby with her phone/camera inside the room and selling them to the NE if he wasn't the father?

What a dope - doesn't he know it's ALL going to come out and Elizabeth is going to know EVERYTHING! He just made it worse by publicaly lying about it again.

And it does matter because there went any cabinet position as well and the poverty tour with Obama to boot.

Vote McCain because sometimes what character can't restrain, age can.

I like it, Shrink in SF.

Thanks.

Meanwhile, the Russian army has apparently invaded the sovereign Republic of Georgia.

Not that such trivial issues of war and peace should be of paramount concern to you all, especially in light of recent revelations about the whereabouts of John Edwards' penis, but I just thought you'd like to know.

I am so, so, SO disappointed.

Never liked John that much, but I LOVE Elizabeth. She deserves much, much better than that fluffy pretty-boy.

And Shrink? I think McCain ISN'T too old. He's got that lobbyist chick on the side, right? Plus, given his cheatin' history, I think he'll respond about "private lives." He really can't afford to have his "ditching crippled wife who stayed loyal while he was a prisoner of war" story displayed too prominently.

BTW, I am waiting (waiting, waiting) for the wingnuts who lampooned Kerry for marrying a rich woman to do the same for McCain. Won't happen cuz he's a war hero. A straight-talkin' maverick war hero. Did I mention, he's a war hero?

Plus, he's got a comprehensive economic plan.

che che,

You're comically naive. How could someone who cared about "honoring their word" so much go into politics in the first place? As I've said before, it would be like someone who could never lift a finger against anyone wanting to be a Mafioso!

And your argument is bogus. Nixon and Bush II didn't have any affairs that we know of, and boy, weren't they the most trustworthy presidents we've ever had!!

There must be something inherent about politicians' personalities that make them seek out extramarital sex when their wives are sick, in hospital or First Ladies. Politicians need lots of attention and adoration; when their wives are too sick or busy to provide them with the attention politicians' personalities crave, they have affairs. Or maybe that's just men's personalities.

Well, che che, that doesn't make what I said any less true. There's a lot of racists and homophobes as well, that doesn't mean they're right.

Jeez - if a candidate can't lie successfully about an affair, how is he going to be able to lie successfully about a war?

Vote McCain because sometimes what character can't restrain, age can.

Apparently not as McCain is on wife number 2 and may have been diddling that lobbyist as well.

I'm sure the McCain camp will be giving this story wide berth.

What if a candidate's spouse -- husband or wife -- didn't object to the candidate having an affair? Is America ready to accept the possibility that consenting adults may actually consent to a non-monogomous marriage?

These joint husband-wife press conferences to addres infidelities in public seem silly. If the spouses are truly offended they can just walk.

Why would anyone want to be monogamous anyway?

What if a candidate's spouse -- husband or wife -- didn't object to the candidate having an affair? Is America ready to accept the possibility that consenting adults may actually consent to a non-monogomous marriage? Posted by: pj in jesusland

In the land of "snowflake children," are you kidding?

Stupid, isn't it? In a vulgar and slavishly low brow country that eats up shit like Desperate Housewives, Survivor, Big Brother, Next Super Model, etc., thinks Donald Trump is a business genius, and will buy "fashion" and recordings from a guy who styles himself P-Diddy (you know, a good urologist can fix that), we just can't bring ourselves to accept something quite like that, other than watching "good parts" for $4.95 a month on the Internet(s).

Whoever the Neanderthal was who posted @ 4:21 today and didn't have the courage to identify himself: Sorry, pal, but a woman's body is still hers to do what she pleases with, and she obviously,for whatever reason, wanted this child.
I agree that the ideal is to have two parents to raise a child, but since that can't always be, many single mothers over the last half century have done quite well by themselves!

Point taken, Jeff II.

So how about this:

Vote McCain--because what his character rarely restrained, age will.

Hey, I'll toss out a ray of sunshine. This makes Obama look better/smarter/more qualified.

I admire spousal faithfulness in a politician. I admire it in Bush and I admire it in Obama.

And btw, who here thinks the MSM would sit on a story of this magnitude, initiated by a tabloid two weeks ago, if it were about a Republican of like prominence?

Well, let's compare this story to when Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for governor of California and the National Enquirer ran a story about his long-term mistress. How did that work out for Arnie? He has no political career and lost the election because the mainstream media ran with the story, right? Right?

Edwards wasted everybody's time with his campaign this time around. You can't lie about an affair and get elected presidenct. His whole campaign was a waste. He should refund, out of his own deep pockets, every contribution made to his campaign this season.

Can We hear a word from all the dopey tree huggers who actually supported (or worse, gave money to) this lying asshole? You are now relegated to the same place as all those morons who voted for Bush.

Hey, I was an Edwards supporter. But I'm not bitter or too awfully exercised by any of this.

He's awfully pretty, his wife was ill, he was on the road all the time . . . Stuff happens. I still admire him, and even his marriage.

McCain, on the other hand.

You are now relegated to the same place as all those morons who voted for Bush. Posted by: mutraman

Yep. Committing adultery has the same moral equivalence as being a mass murder and a thief.

errr, I mangled my facts on the last. I guess EE wasn't ill at the time of the liaison. The rest stands. If EE can deal, shoot, I can too.

There must be something inherent about politicians' personalities that make them seek out extramarital sex when their wives are sick, in hospital or First Ladies. Politicians need lots of attention and adoration; when their wives are too sick or busy to provide them with the attention politicians' personalities crave, they have affairs.

I think you started off right, Brojo, but went off the rails after "extramarital sex." There is a certain superpowered libido, addiction to risk and sense of sexual (and other kinds of) entitlement that goes with the personalities of many people whose egos are big enough to permit them to run for president.

"Politicians need lots of attention and adoration" is right; limiting that description to "those who have sick wives" isn't, as our history full of philandering presidents with healthy wives shows. It's more accurate, I think, to say that some feel so entitled and self-centered that they will do this in spite of the sick, or, in Elizabeth Edwards' case, dying wife.

We can turn this to our advantage, by bringing up the narcotic-stealing Cyndi McCain and her marriage-busting affair with McShame (with or without literal sex before the split - every time a Rightie brings up gripes about Edwards.

"Yep. Committing adultery has the same moral equivalence as being a mass murder and a thief"

well actually its more than just committing adultry- he lied about it, he cheated on a woman dying of cancer, and he ran for president knowing he had this in closet. Anyhow, I'm not comparing Edwards to Bush, I'm comparing the Morons who supported him to the morons who supported Bush.

paxr55 - So you think he had a short affair with Hunter back in 2006 and went to her hotel room last month at night because....???? The baby's not his and he's no longer having an affair with her, but he just wanted to see what all the fuss was about? The problem isn't the old affair cone to light that we should just deal with - but the ongoing lying.

I don't recall coverage of this at all at the time, though I clearly remember LAT sitting on their hit piece until three days before the recall election. Perhaps because Arnold is a celebrity RINO the affair wasn't dredged up by the press, in combination with the influence of the Kennedy family. If he was an actual conservative, I have no doubt the press would have had a field day.

Ah, so many excuses. You asked for an example of the press covering up for a Republican, and I provided one off the top of my head. I could probably provide more given a little more time with Google.

But, please, continue with your persecution complex and insist that, well, if Schwarzenegger had been a real conservative, the MSM would have run with it. It's very amusing.

Edwards wasted everybody's time with his campaign this time around. You can't lie about an affair and get elected presidenct.

Is that a deliberate joke?

Still waiting for breaking news on this story and continuous coverage on all networks:

The Los Angeles Times did some solid investigative reporting and published a very damaging item yesterday on John McCain’s personal background, which is of course a key part of his campaign. We learned that McCain turned his back on his wife after she was seriously injured in a car accident, committed adultery, and left the mother of his children when he found a younger, wealthier woman.

Worse, we also learned that McCain didn’t tell the truth about this in his own memoir. McCain insisted that he was separated from his first wife before he began dating his second wife. That’s not true. McCain also insisted he’d been divorced for months before remarrying. That wasn’t true, either. (In fact, the LAT reported, “McCain obtained an Arizona marriage license on March 6, 1980, while still legally married to his first wife.�)

C.B.--The thing is, I really am not that exercised by the story. I'm mostly chagrined that now Mr. pax is saying: "I told you! All plaintiffs lawyers are like this!!" On and on.

So I agree it's a legitimate news story, and, yes, JE may be treating us to an ongoing lie. I don't know. I'll probably decide what I think once I believe I have all the facts. In the meantime, out of respect for EE, I think I'll not say much at all.

I do think the stories about McCain's adventures, and the story of how these have been suppressed over the years, will provide a bit more grist for the mill.

Is that a deliberate joke?

I hear you, but the person who posted that has a point: in these times, to run for president with this in your closet shows a disregard for or perhaps denial of an enormous danger (there's that love of risk again). Edwards understood more than most candidates what's at stake in this election; that he would be arrogant and self-focused enough to chance losing it all for us--and, in particular, for the truly powerless and unrepresented people for whom he was the strongest champion--is hugely disappointing.

Where are the folks who yesterday were posting that the alleged affair was a big lie?

The mainstream media should be embarassed, but they will not be. It will be interesting to see if the bias results in a quick burial of the story or they stay on it.

Edwards is a big phony. Those who have significant experience with lawyers could see it from a mile away. I suppose, in a sense, enough of the American people were smart enough to see it too, but he did come relatively close to pulling it off. A few thousand more Iowa votes in 2004 or 2008 and he might have got the nomination.

Everyone feels bad for Elizabeth for her illness and for being married to such a bum; however, in view of their "team" approach to the campaign, if Edwards is telling the truth about telling her about the affair in 2006 (a big if but one unlikely to exposed as false), to what extent is Elizabeth culpable for the deceit fostered upon the American people? She will get a pass, and perhaps deservedly so in view of her illness, but she did support the deception.

however, in view of their "team" approach to the campaign, if Edwards is telling the truth about telling her about the affair in 2006 (a big if but one unlikely to exposed as false), to what extent is Elizabeth culpable for the deceit fostered upon the American people?

Wow, that's quite a dramatic fantasy life in your head, isn't it?

"Deceit fostered upon the American people"? I'm guessing you're one of those people who thought that Hillary should have to apologize to the American people because her husband cheated on her.

Seriously. It's just sex. Russia and Georgia have started a shooting war, and the most important thing on the table is where Edwards, who holds no office and is running for no office, has been sticking his dick? Jesus Christ.

wait a sec. this story was published almost a month ago. July 10.

indeed. did I miss the 24-7 coverage?

no. there was none. total double standard. and unlike Edwards, McCain is actually a candidate for president

I always find amusing the idea that "it's not the sex it's the deception/betrayal" that people get all upset about. If that's really true, why do people having affairs almost always lie about it in the first place? I wonder how Elizabeth or most other spouses would react if they were told "Hey, honey, I'm going to have an affair. I just wanted to put you on notice so I won't be deceiving you and doing something behind your back."

How many spouses would say "Wow, that's a relief! Thanks for telling me!"

I call bullshit on this claim. It is, and always has been, about sex, because the US has all sorts of weird, confused and inconsistent beliefs about sex.

What's my evidence for this? OK, let's suppose that we have a family that has done exactly what you say: the Smiths have decided they will have an open marriage, and both Mr and Mrs Smith bring home a new bed partner once a month or so. Canm you honestly tell me either Mr or Mrs Smith have the faintest hope in hell of getting elected?
Heck, let's dial down the level of fun. Mr and Mrs Smith don't have sex with other people, they simply like to visit sex clubs --- where they don't even have sex with each other, they just like to watch. Come on, they still have no hope of being elected.

Personally I think this is very sad, very stupid, and probably keeps a huge number of people from running (heck, every man in America who ever saw a hooker would be wise not to run for office), but at least I'm not in denial about how this is because the Americans are such heroic defenders of fidelity, rather than it being because Americans are insane prudes.

Maynard,

I think you misunderstood me. I agree with you totally. I wrote my comment to show, in a mocking way, that I thought honesty about this issue would do a person no good whatsoever--either with their spouse or with the electorate.

other media chose not to pick it up because, perhaps, they thought it was not salacious enough

no, because of deference to Republicans.

the media did not defer to Edwards-they're roasting him

mcCain as usual, is getting a pass

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned John Edwards's opposition to gay marriage. There are other aspects of this affair that bother me, but even if his wife gave him permission to cheat beforehand, Edwards is either a hypocrite or a shameless panderer, and most certainly an asshole. Either way, I'm glad we won't be seeing any more of him.

How do 90 people manage to have opinions on this?

the media did not defer to Edwards-they're roasting him

They are now that he's admitted it. But few respectable news sources would touch it for a long time - I suspect this is because the National Enquirer was the source, but perhaps also out of sympathy for his poor wife. I hadn't even heard of the original rumor until late June, and I didn't see it discussed very widely until the last few days, except by cranks like Kaus.

Well, darn. You support a candidate based on his platform, but he doesn't tell you he is having an extra-marital affair. So, if you aren't psychic, you're a moron for supporting him. Makes sense perfect sense -- to cretins.

Kevin, I am profoundly disappointed that you ran away from this one. Fortunately Ezra stepped up to the plate:

"No one forces you to devote your life to national advocacy of important issues. But if you decide to do follow that path, with all the plaudits and moments of roaring applause it entails, you have to make certain sacrifices, and shoulder certain realities. Among them is that if you falter, you can harm all that you're advocating and deny help to all whom you claim to represent. I don't know if it's true that Edwards' affair started and ended in 2006, but if so, that's actually the most morally unforgivable of possible timelines. If Edwards had won in Iowa and captured the nomination, this could easily have lost him the election, and thus destroyed the country's chance at health reform, withdrawing from Iraq, and so forth. This reaches back and recasts his candidacy as an act of extraordinary selfishness. That's not to say it was conscious -- we all contain multitudes and we all compartmentalize mercilessly -- but it was gambling with the fates of the very people Edwards was running to help."

Amen.

"Well, darn. You support a candidate based on his platform, but he doesn't tell you he is having an extra-marital affair. So, if you aren't psychic, you're a moron for supporting him. Makes sense perfect sense -- to cretins."

Considering Edwards did a 180 over the years on his platform, as Russ Feingold has pointed out, even a cretin should have figured out that his candidacy left a lot to be desired.

There is a huge "emperor has no clothes" quality to this and similar stories. I have heard people who work in Washington say that it's common knowledge that most politicians have affairs (as do most celebrities, athletes, etc.) There is no way that the media can not know this while everyone else in these circles does. The only explanation is that they choose to act surprised when a particular case like Edwards comes to light so they can publish a "sensational" story. If they really thought that the public needed to know this stuff to judge candidates, they would put it in context by noting that it's the norm, not the exception.

Thank you, anymouse, @10:13.

That was my very first thought upon hearing the fell news of L'Affaire Edwards.
JE's Obama endorsement after the West Virginia primary.

So which state does she get? New York is taken.

Meanwhile, the Russian army has apparently invaded the sovereign Republic of Georgia.
Not that such trivial issues of war and peace should be of paramount concern to you all, especially in light of recent revelations about the whereabouts of John Edwards' penis, but I just thought you'd like to know.
Posted by: Out & About in The Castro

Yeh, let's worry about JE sex life. Meanwhile people are dying all over the planet. Wars are started everyday.

Who give a hoot what JE or anyone else does in their personal life. Lot's of powerful people are sociopaths. Who cares. We elect these people.

Is this what the liberal/progressive movement has come to? You folks make Goldwater look like a left wing wacko!

Does this mean ufo's are real too?

I guess I don't see what the big deal is.

Democrats Move Quick to Lessen Damage of John Edwards Affair
ABC News - 47 minutes ago

Hey maybe it's pay back for Larry Craig, but Edwards doesn't hold any office right now and I'm sure he isn't going to be VP, so who cares.

I mean, Craig is still hanging out in congress, so are Repugs really going to bitch?

(This story appeared 20 years ago in the old Spy magazine, with names.)

A network anchorman was conducting one of his habitual affairs, one too many for his short-suffering wife, who decided to have her own affair, with a prominant columnist. Said affair came to the attention of a socially prominant leader of what passes in DC for high society.

She made it known to both parties that the offended party would be told of his being a cuckold before the weekend, and offered them the opportunity to tell him themselves that day.

She then invited a dozen or so of her closest friends to come and watch the anchorman that night, to see the extra line or two of tension on his normally unflappable face.

(It's not about the adultery and its effect on a family. It's about the weakness of leaving yourself open to the mercy of the merciless by a trivial, momentary affair with a filmmaker or an intern.
Better, better by far to abandon a wife stricken by cancer or a car wreck for a younger, fresher model, thus proving yourself a truly strong man, one like US.)

I'm glad it broke now, rather than later and I am deeply disappointed in Edwards. It might be about sex to Repugs, but it is about a betrayal of trust to anyone who had faith in him.

Naturally, the MSM will use this story to distract us for two weeks while ignoring Iraq, Iran, Afganistan, McCain's unscrupulousness, etc.

I'm reading this stuff while watching the opening in China and thinking Edwards expressed things which we could contemplate here at home.His words of feeling 'special' and'narcissistic'are things that many of us could take to heart.The Chinese in the ceremony look much better than they did in pictures from 50 years ago.Their fat content seems much less than ours.The children are beautiful.

I didn't want to believe it because I thought Edwards was better than this. His wife is wonderful and I thought they had a good marriage.

For those who say it is just a private matter, well it is but I don't have to like it. Edwards also held up his marriage as one of the reasons for voting for him.

I didn't want to believe it because I thought Edwards was better than this. His wife is wonderful and I thought they had a good marriage.

For those who say it is just a private matter, well it is but I don't have to like it. Edwards also held up his marriage as one of the reasons for voting for him.

paxr55 and "Mary" agreeing on something? Strange days indeed.

"Considering Edwards did a 180 over the years on his platform, as Russ Feingold has pointed out, even a cretin should have figured out that his candidacy left a lot to be desired."

Yeah, he quit being a conservative hawk, and moved to the left, and had the strongest national health care plan of the field. In an election all about change, you'd be a idiot to support, you know, change.

"Considering Edwards did a 180 over the years on his platform, as Russ Feingold has pointed out, even a cretin should have figured out that his candidacy left a lot to be desired."

Yeah, he quit being a conservative hawk, moved to the left, and had the strongest national health care plan of the field. In an election all about change, you'd be an idiot to support, you know, change.

Obama does 180s overnight.

Lee at 3:45PM: I wonder how Elizabeth or most other spouses would react if they were told "Hey, honey, I'm going to have an affair. I just wanted to put you on notice so I won't be deceiving you and doing something behind your back."

My perception over the years has been that there are a lot more "open marriages" than most people suspect (or will admit to in their own cases).

There are varying degrees of "open", ranging from "don't ask, don't tell" to "wait a minute until I get fresh batteries in the camcorder", but I'm hazarding a wild guess that probably around 10% or marriages have some sort of understanding that occasional sex with someone other than your spouse isn't that big a deal.

I know of at least one marriage where the wife knew about the affair before the husband did. (One of the wife's girlfriends asked if it would be okay to kick the husband's feet out from under him; "Okay, but have him back home by midnight.")

"Mainstream media, you may now begin covering this story."

On what basis is this permissible?

Puritan, thigh-rubbing voyeurs may be obsessed with such questions, but they have no basis in the qualifications for the job Edwards was running to fill.

And he isn't even running for that job anymore.

The funny thing is that the woman was fairly age-appropriate for him. At least Spitzer had the self-regard to pay for a fucking hottie.

Get Ken Starr! We need millions for the investigation! Get the Grand Jury warmed up! IMPEACH!!!!

oh wait...

get a clue y'all, this story is very bad news for...JOHN MCCAIN!

you do the math.

You support a candidate based on his platform, but he doesn't tell you he is having an extra-marital affair. So, if you aren't psychic, you're a moron for supporting him.

Edwards voted for the AUF. Edwards worked for a hedge fund that owned two subprime mortgage companies. No extrasensory skills were required to determine Edwards' platform was a facade, as was he.

...my last post was kinda harsh and cynical. i don't mean to minimize how terrible this is for elizabeth edwards and how lame john edwards is for having been so insanely hurtful and misguided.

still, shouldn't this finally focus the media radar on john mccain's similar transgressions? what excuse do they now have for crucifying edwards while giving "mr. straight-talk" a free pass?

oh, never mind. i'm fantasizing again.

Edwards fucked. How unprecedented! How unpresidential! Except, not exactly.

Back in 2003 I attended an anti-war march in San Francisco and was perplexed by the sign "Latinos for the metric system". (Okay, SF rewards weirdness, we had Mendocino post-Menopausal Matriarchs, or something, and lots of giant puppets).

What's the story? That Edwards isn't gay? I think we already knew this.

The Los Angeles Times did some solid investigative reporting and published a very damaging item yesterday on John McCain’s personal background, which is of course a key part of his campaign. We learned that McCain turned his back on his wife after she was seriously injured in a car accident, committed adultery, and left the mother of his children when he found a younger, wealthier woman.

Not defending McCain's behavior. His moving on from one woman to another is not secret whatsoever. I think the public is willing to not examine past exploits too closely as long as the candidates agree to maintain a heightened level of personal integrity from the current moment forward. Witness Clinton.

SJRSM, IOW, IOKIYAR.

i'm getting a little fed up with the 'it's their business what they do in their private life' excuse. these are potential presidents, or in bill's case, sitting presidents who have had affairs which might cause them to be compromised. can you understand this, 'okay to have sexual affairs' people? do you grasp that knowledge of such an affair gains the knower leverage and influence over the person... in bill's case a president of the most powerful country in the world!? sure, mr. president, i'll keep your secret, and maybe you might help me out with this new bill before the house. so when you 'it's not my concern what people do in their private life' people give that excuse... think about this. do we really want a president who's had or is having a affair to lead us? as to mccain? his affair can hold no leverage over him. it is over and done with and common knowledge. it's the lewinsky's and 2:00 a.m. dash to the bathroom guys you have to watch out for. thank God some in our media have the balls to investigate and report.

wow this a amaging BLog i got info which i want.

Why was John Edward's extramarital affair on every cable TV news channel non-stop, when John McCain's wasn't even mentioned?

... that he would be arrogant and self-focused enough to chance losing it all ... for the truly powerless and unrepresented people for whom he was the strongest champion--is hugely disappointing.

Posted by: shortstop

Really the heart of the matter.

So....what does he have to gain by going public now?

Okay. So John Edwards had an affair and his wife has cancer, and he and the high price divorced bar chick had a baby. National Enquirer reports it at the supermarket checkout. Voters freak out and dredge up every misdeed of all political figures. The issue here is not the misdeed, or even that politicians are not gods. The moral crisis here is that we as Americans even pay attention to this crap when there are more important issues to address-namely war, the economy, poverty, health care, jobs, education, energy, whether your children will be able to breathe or eat in the 20 years. Give me a break. Once again, I cringe for the future of the people and land I love.

Good Lord.

I appear to have agreed with anymouse "Mary."

Nope. But still my fault. I was attempting an arch tone but failed to use "eyes rolling" tags.

I mean, a coerced JE Obama endorsement following West Virginia?

"Edwards voted for the AUF. Edwards worked for a hedge fund that owned two subprime mortgage companies. No extrasensory skills were required to determine Edwards' platform was a facade, as was he."

Psst! Hillary Clinton voted for Bush's war and Barack Obama voted to protect an unconstitutional domestic spy program (FISA). One day, these sordid facts will be revealed by the National Enquirer.

For all you commentors that keep bringing John McCain into this scandel, there is a big difference in a man cheating on his wife and a man cheating on American citizens and over one thousand campaign workers. John McCain did not sign up to run for POTUS knowing full well that he was deceptive. John Edwards was lying all along and doing it with a poker face. He had a chance to withdraw when Elizabeth's cancer returned and decided to keep decieving. He is a total narcissist. Like the pundits say, what if he had been nominated? I suppose he would have accepted and kept up the lies. I will be interested to know where the money that has been paid and is still being paid to Ms Hunter is coming from. This isn't going to be over for a while.

God Bless Elizabeth Edwards.

Aw, pax, I badly wronged you! Apologies. I was dead tired last night and my irony meter was turned off.

I do like the picture of Obama as terrifying blackmailer, though (I only hope he growled menacingly and called Edwards "you damn whitey,"), almost as much as I enjoyed anymouse's repeated insistence at another blog that the Obamas have preemptively confessed adultery in their marriage. The poor thing's conspiracy theories got so tangled that she confused the Obamas with the Pattersons. Hey, all biracial men in politics are interchangeable, no?

"...The question here is whether Obama used this information to pressure Edwards into endorsing him on the day of the WV primary (the same day of Clinton's landslide victory)."...This whole situation stinks because of the way it was used by the Obama campaign, not simply because Edwards put himself into this compromised position."
Posted by: on August 8, 2008 at 10:13

Gimme a break! How could this scandal be used to pressure anyone, seeing that it was essentially already 'out there' by that time anyway?

beck:

Like most conservatives, you have a pathological ability to rationalize away mental contradictions.

We need to get John McCain to come clean on his adulterous behavior, or he will be subject to blackmail in the odd event that this living fossil is elected POTUS (phew, I had to wash my hands after typing that sentence). Where is McCain getting his Viagra prescriptions and when is he going to stop his geriatric cheating???

The American public demand to know!!!

TCD

No worries, shortstop. As I said, I left off the irony tags. I've been glib upthread. I think your comments, OTOH, well express the views of many erstwhile and devoted JE and EE supporters.

Excuse me for shouting, but Edwards is not longer a candidate for office. Who (besides his family) gives a flying f*ck, even if he's f*cking sheep?

I agree that his behavior in this has been pretty shitty. But Edwards is not longer a candidate for office. Adultery is in my opinion a dreadful act. But it's not a crime, and any sanctions or punishments should be decided within the family or, at worst, a civil proceeding such as divorce. Certainly on the TV news.

Um, one should probably say certainly not on the TV news.

There is one person shooting the myth of Elizabeth Edwards as a victim and recognizing that both she and Edwards perpetrated a deceit on the American people.

It is at the Huffington Post, of all places, by former supporter Lee Stranaham -- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-stranahan/say-it-aint-so-elizabeth_b_117867.html

The following is the substance:

"Just taking the Edwards current statements at their words, I am left with a very uncomfortable truth -- both John and Elizabeth Edwards cynically used their marriage as a means to help John Edwards win an election. Right now, they are hoping that the emotional goodwill that they built up from their supporters will carry them through.

I'm sure I'll get some angry comments here but if you're an Edwards supporter, let me put this bluntly; if you gave John and Elizabeth Edwards time, money, support, or goodwill, they played you.

They made a conscious decision to make their relationship a focus throughout the campaign. That emotional goodwill you feel for them? They not only let you feel, they took actions and made statements specifically so you would feel it.

Then when the rumors first surfaced, they made the worst decision of all; they decided to lie about it and to keep lying about it for months. They lied in a way that made the people who were telling the truth look like the real liars. They lied in a way that turned their supporters into attack dogs. They only started to tell the truth when John Edwards was caught at the Beverly Hills Hilton and even now both John and Elizabeth Edward are calling the people who caught him the liars. That's the definition of shameless."

I saw in Elizabeth's statement that she is now praiseing her husband's "courage" and calls the NE people who caught him the "liars" -- amazing.

The most amazing part of Edwards' statement is his claim that he was "99% honest" in calling the report of his affair "completely untrue and ridiculous."

Mr. Edwards ran as a progressive candidate whose platform was concerned about the welfare of the lower half of American society. On the surface that was a good reason to consider supporting him. After his unsuccessful run for the vice presidency, Edwards had an opportunity to become the leader of any number of progressive issues that would have demonstrated his commitment to his platform. What Mr. Edwards did with this opportunity was not only go to work for a hedge fund, that owned two subprime mortgage companies, but also to have an extramarital affair and perhaps father a child. The reason this story has relevance to Democrats and progressives is Edwards' behavior, both private and public, was not put into service for his professed cause of helping the other America. In this way he has betrayed his supporters and the people whose welfare he advocated for. Edwards infidelity to his poor wife is not the issue, it was his infidelity to his supporters and his cause that should have Democrats and progressives upset with him.

ABC is reporting that Hunter's sister seems to think the baby is Edwards and wants him to take a paternity test. Where'd she ever get that idea?

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5546813&page=1

Why won't the press report on McCain's affair with Joe Liebermann? I mean it's not like they're even trying to hide it or anything.

Last October, Edwards said the following about the report of the affair, as part of his "99% true" approach:

"It's completely untrue, ridiculous. I've been in love with the same woman for 30-plus years and, as anybody who's been around us knows, she's an extraordinary human being, warm, loving, beautiful, sexy and as good a person as I have ever known. So the story's just false."

Edwards didn't like him on a personal level, and there was no reason for him to endorse anyone. If you don't like my reason, supply one of your own.

Here are two, neither of which require flights of paranoia or desperate attempts to make this (and every other unrelated) issue all about your hatred of Obama (whose name is not spelled "David Patterson"):

1) Edwards liked Clinton even less than he liked Obama.
2) With very few exceptions, also-rans endorse the nominee. Like virtually every other leading Democrat, Edwards had recognized long before the WV primary that Obama was the choice by every possible measure and that we needed to coalesce around him. He was, quite simply, one of the many who helped to bring the inevitable to closure.

By the way, how does your claim upthread that blackmailable sexual infidelity is everyone's business square with your many avowals that Bill Clinton's infidelity in the White House was never anyone's business but his and his wife's? IOKIYAC?

Why won't the press report on McCain's affair with Joe Liebermann? I mean it's not like they're even trying to hide it or anything.

Aaaaaagh! The McCain Sexual Image as Diet Aid continues! I'll weigh under 100 pounds by the first of November if you guys keep this up.

I think it's a perfect demonstration of how ridiculous our elections are that anyone cares about this story at all. Could anything be less relevant to governing the country? Nixon and Bush Jr apparently didn't have affairs. Most of the better presidents apparently did have affairs. But who cares? Nation of idiots.

Why can't these guys find mistresses who know how to keep their mouths shut? This woman has trouble written all over her, and Edwards should've seen it coming a mile away. On the other hand, in some ways, it's almost to his credit that he's not more skilled in hiding his personal shenanigans (as Bill has since become).

Elizabeth Edwards has always impressed me as an independent bright woman who has weathered many storms that shaped her character.

My prayer was that she would break the trend and actually be the feminist extraordinaire and not stand by her husband--he slept with the bimbo not Elizabeth.

Elizabeth took hormones to have those last two babies at age 48 and 50--these hormones quite possible have made her sick. She lost her son in a car crash. She is brains in this marriage partnership.

Seriously, do you think this is the first time Johnny boy strayed? Doubt it...and the fact that he has returned to the bed of his mistress had to kick the breath out of Elizabeth and his family.

Elizabeth should model to the women of America--especially the poor women--that women do not have to put up with this type of behavior from their men--PERIOD!!!

She is affluent, bright and doesn't need John to hold her back--

However, according to her blog, she is being the good wife--and standing by her man--after he returned to the arms of his girlfriend.

Huge disappointment.