A past indiscretion (namely Rielle Hunter) has come up behind John Edwards to bite him squarely in the behind. Thanks to the mainstream media, prompted by the unlikely source of the National Enquirer, the whole world now knows what a sneaky philanderer he is. Edwards joins the ranks of Gary Hart, Bill Clinton, Elliott Spitzer, and Kwame Kilpatrick (among others) in allowing ego and libido to overrule common sense and decency.
Never mind the conjecture that campaign funds might have been misappropriated to bankroll the mistress. While John Edwards is an independently rich man, if he used campaign funds for his paramour, that’s a clear violation of the law. Perhaps this is a can of worms better left to investigators to sort out.
Any way you look at it, there’s no cheering John Edwards’ fall from grace.
What was he thinking? Didn’t the man know he was living in a glass house? For God’s sake, he could have been the Democratic presidential hopeful! He could also have been the vice presidential pick!
When I hear about such lapses in judgment, my heart goes out to those hapless victims left in the wake of such news. It’s bad enough for the wife when a regular Joe has an affair. I cringe when I think of what Elizabeth Edwards and her children must be feeling and thinking, with the high jinks of their high-profile family member (hopefully now firmly assigned to the dog house) splashed all over the tabloids.
Okay, I’m not a complete idiot and I’m not living in a lily-white Utopian village where everyone is good and kind and we all hold hands and sing Kumbaya. I know what the statistics are on infidelity. According to the Monogamy Myth by Peggy Vaughan, about 60% of men and 40% of women who are in a committed marriage have had an affair at one point or another. That makes half of us guilty of coloring outside the lines. If you haven’t had an affair, you probably know someone who has.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
When White People Reenact Billie Jean.
2 - klondikekitty
Personally, i think it sucks that a politician's private life should be open to public scrutiny. While i don't condone Edwards' affair, i don't agree with the prevailing logic that he shouldn't be allowed to continue his political career because of it. If the truth be known, i would be willing to bet all the money i own that at least HALF of the members of Congress have either had an extramarital affair, are in the throes of one, or are planning to have one.
It is ridiculous to assume that public figures cannot be allowed the same temptations and falls from grace that everyone else in the country experiences.
I say, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone . . . ."
3 - Jordan Richardson
There are enough moral discretions on both sides of the aisle to fill up several enormous tomes, without question.
The real shame is when politicians vote vehemently against something like gay marriage or other so-called moral issues while hiding fairly significant skeletons in their own closets. The hypocrisy is staggering. The idea of an affair alone isn't particularly wounding and I too, like the poster above, don't agree with the idea that the indiscretions of our politicians are our business. My car mechanic serves me, but I have no business knowing who he fucks and yes, I do need to essentially trust him with my life.
I'm more interested when a particular person's indiscretion impacts the job they do to an extent that it alters the service. If my car mechanic is, therefore, so distracted by his love of whips and chains that he can't properly service my Subaru, it becomes my business.
Dumb analogy, but I think you get the idea.
4 - Dr Dreadful
It seems to be only you Americans and we Brits who get so het up about our elected officials' "lapses in judgment".
After the former French president François Mitterrand died a few years ago, it came to light that he'd been porking a series of mistresses and had a grown-up daughter by one of them. These revelations were met with somewhat less than shock and seemed to be regarded as more or less normal behavior by most French people.
Then there's the current French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who divorced his wife soon after getting elected and promptly married a Hot Babe. Again, no-one in France seemed to bat an eyelid.
On a lesser (but still by American standards career-ending) scale, there was the revelation during the recent Australian election campaign that Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd (supposedly a devout Christian) had been seen cavorting drunkenly in a New York strip club. Granted, the incumbent prime minister John Howard was so deeply unpopular that Rudd could probably have sacrificed his entire family to Satan on the steps of Parliament in Canberra and still won the election, but the reaction from the Aussie public was a flood of "good on yer, mate"s and a notable absence of outrage.
In Britain, by contrast, if a politician is caught having an affair it's pretty much a given that he or she will resign. But then we're British and therefore prissy. What's YOUR excuse, Yanks?
:-)
5 - El Bicho
So do you not know of any cheating Republicans or purposely choose not to name them?
And I don't see why the Enquirer is an unlikely source. They usually travel in this muck and have a good percentage rate of getting it right.
6 - Joanne Huspek
There are probably more than a few Republicans guilty of having affairs and making dumb judgment calls. Unfortunately, none immediately came to mind. (After I wrote this, I remembered that John McCain's current wife was his former mistress.) Perhaps Republicans are better at hiding their indiscretions? I'm not a Republican, but an independent. Anytime I hear about these "exposes" it makes my stomach turn.
7 - El Bicho
Sen David Vitter of New Orleans with a hooker, Mayor Rudy Guilani liked it so much he did it twice, and Larry Craig unless you believe that was his first time dealing with his wide stance. There are others, but you don't have to remember them, even though your memory for Dems goes back to 1984. You can search on the Internet since you have access.
8 - Jordan Richardson
I've actually got a whole book on Republican indiscretions that I'm going to be reviewing soon. It's called You Don't Know Me: A Citizen's Guide to Republican Family Values and it's by the illustrious Win McCormack.
Some of the "highlights" include a certain Republican DA and judge-elect who fondled his 10-year-old daughter at a Hillary Duff concert, a conservative White House reporter who solicited himself out as a gay prostitute by posting nude pictures of himself online, and several cases of GOPers distributed kiddie porn.
9 - Dr Dreadful
Sounds trashy but enjoyable. Can't wait!
10 - Bev
Republicans where left out such as Sen. McCain and Newt Gingrich. Maybe it is because they married the women they cheated with on their previous wives. And thanks El Bicho. I had forgotten about David Vitter with the prostitutes and Rudy Giuliani who also married the woman he had cheated with on his previous wife.
I think both the Democrats and the Republicans have just about an equal share of political philanderers. I would not be surprise if some of the philandering politicians under the radar of both parties are running scared because of what is happening with John Edwards.
If the full truth be known, some who are now blasting Edwards are secretly in extra marital affairs. I remember Newt Gingrich who as the Speaker of the House continued on in his affair while blasing Pres. Clinton about Monica Lewinsky. Now Newt (who I like) at the time felt Clinton's infidelity was worse than his, because Clinton was the President.
This is not Democrat vs Republican. It is the virtue of fidelity vs the vice of infidelity. This virtue and vice can be found in elected officials of both parties.
11 - Joanne Huspek
"This is not Democrat vs Republican"
I agree. I'm not finger pointing. I'm not looking at the party affiliation; I'm looking at the sad state of affairs (no pun intended) in what drives people to do this, and the train-wreck watching that goes on afterward. I agree with Bev in that the outcry would have been more pronounced, but how can one throw a brick at a glass house when you're in one yourself, and up to your eyeballs in the same indiscretions?
12 - Baronius
Joanne, I didn't read your article as Democrat vs. Republican. I was a little surprised that you only listed Dems, but I didn't think you did it to make a partisan statement. Surely even the most ardent Republican can't claim that his party has a clean record on extramarital affairs.
I agree that there's nothing good in this story. It's just sad. I was saying the same thing on the Politics board, and no one agreed. There is an interesting lesson about the mainstream press, though. They say that they didn't report the story earlier, because Edwards had denied the affair. Is that the new standard?
13 - Condor
This and Clinton's brush with indescretion all point to a character flaw. A lack of common sense. When you "live in a glass house" and the press is all around you, waiting for a scoop.... what do you do? Misbehave?
I really don't want people in positions of power lacking common sense. Do you? At least we're forwarned. Perhaps we were prior to the rise of the Clinton machine (Bill and Hillary). Is dysfunction good in regards to leadership? I would rather not have it.
The key word in public figure is "public" that means you and me. When "public" figures make an ass out of themselves on the world stage, it should be an embarrasment and affront to the citizens who elected the representive (representative is another key word).
Good riddence Edwards. Your conceit has found you out.