John Edwards has a lot of gall to run for president and ask for our support when he knows full well that his entire candidacy can blow up at any moment if his extramarital affair is exposed. What if he had won the nomination? What if we had a nominee that carried out an affair as recently as 2006 with a campaign staffer that he steered PAC money to, despite her lack of qualifications, to make campaign videos? John Edwards is an asshole. Only an asshole would presume to take up the banner of the left knowing full well all the time that his own personal life is a ticking time bomb that can crush all the aspirations of the left. I feel bad for Elizabeth and for his family but I don’t really care about that. He attempted to betray the entire left in this country when he presumed to become our nominee. I’m pissed.
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
read that nugget and had the same thought.
hinted in a comment last week this rumor (now admitted) will scratch this horse from any slot in an Obama government.
OOOOH and he had the gall to add the tagline that “he did not love her”
nothing worse for a man to say when he’s discovered in an extramarital affair…. “but, but I didn’t love her” It accentuates the wife’s pain.
What a cad!
My reaction exactly!!!!
“So you betrayed me over and over with a man who meant NOTHING to you and — this is supposed to make me feel BETTER???”
He doesn’t love her, the baby’s not his because the affair ended too long ago, yada, yada. Then why the hell does he go visit her recently?
making sure the whole skeleton doesn’t rattle out of the closet..
Don’t believe a word from his lips:
Edwards on Bill Clinton in 1999.
J.E. is a good
lawyerliar – a requisite. And Kerry, knowing that, still picked him to be VP!Kerry did what he thought he had to do, politically.
Gephardt may be boring and a doofus, but at least you know what you’re getting. And he might have gotten us a few votes in Ohio.
Kerry was not forced or blackmailed into selecting Edwards was he? How do you pick a guy you know that’s untrustworthy to be your VP?
It was ultimately his decision, of course, but there was a lot of pressure on him to choose Edwards, as I remember it.
Methinks that you give emntirely too much credit to the saintly Mrs.Edwards.
I think she was colluding from day one to make her husband John the President.
She was willing to participate in this family charade that duped the entire Democratic Left and put at rsik the election of a genuine democrat.
This is the logical outcome of a society that makes sex between adults a crime, either by statute or by insinuendo.
John Edwards gave in to his primal urges.He revealed himself to be a human being.What is wrong with that?
As well it should. It should cost him any involvement in any aspect of politics in the Democratic party. As I said in a post my my blog, for situations like this it is time to bring back the practice of shunning.
No organization in Democratic or progressive politics should have anything to do with him for a good long while, given what he risked and how many people he betrayed. Not even in an advisory capacity.
Invitations should be rescinded.
Associations should be ended.
Websites should be edited.
Letterhead should be reprinted.
A clear message must be sent: This is simply not done. And if it is, and is found out, either careers will end or some extended time in the wilderness will be in order.
For the love of peace. If you aren’t getting what you need at home, work it out. If for some reason your spouse can’t anymore, suck it up. The vows are “for better or worse, forsaking all others, etc.”
If I were married to the guy … let’s just say he wouldn’t be able to give television interviews. There wouldn’t be enough make-up in the world to cover that big red handprint on his face, at the very least.
If nothing else, you’re big boy. You’ve got “lefty” and you’ve got “righty.” If you’re not acquainted with them, you should be. Pick one.
his wife and kids up front in New Orleans and everywhere else.
Here I am thinking: At last…a politician who doesn’t have his nose filled up with nooky.
He would have made a great Attorney General in an Obama Administration, because I truly believe that he would have opened all of the Pandoras boxes.
But I really don’t know about that now. I think that his career is salvageable, but he’s got to make some right moves in order to make that happen.
Talking about McSame’s cheating on Cindy while still married to his maimed first wife is a start. That would put the kibosh on any more bullshyt discussions about how this latest mess puts a dark spot on the Obama ascendancy.
What about Fortress? What about his votes for MFN status? Then talking about two Americas? I’m sorry, but that Johnny Boy was two-faced should not be that much of a revelation.
beyond stupid, and the sad part is that this will, at the least, minimize or, more likely, eliminate, elizabeth’s work vis-a-vis obama’s healthcare proposals and programs.
what an ass.
Why would it? Elizabeth didn’t do anything wrong so far as I know, and, as the press loves her, she can be an effective spokesperson on health care.
As for Edwards…well, what can ya really say? He’s a fucking idiot.
…still be effective?…not in the bizarro world of the beavus and butthead proclivities of the msm.
see fabooj’s comment below…a very good summation of the circumstances and consequences…she’s finished as a spokesperson.
She knew about the affair in ’06 and was still pushing for her husband to president this year.
Think about that.
Those people didn’t give a fuck about you, me or the Democratic party. They were in it for themselves. Sure, the Clintons had the same issues, but Edwards severely lacks Clinton’s ’92 mojo and Mrs. Edwards is certainly no Mrs. Clinton. Not to mention just the whole political environment is different today than in ’92.
So instead of asking “What was Edwards thinking?”, you should be asking “What were the Edwardses thinking?”.
you believe Elizabeth knew, knowing there are those who will dig and find any dirt there’s to find??
She did not just stand by but took an active role – health care – during the primaries while he ran for the presidency —
when Elizabeth confirms that she knew in ’06, I’ll believe it. J.E. has proven himself a liar.
She said so today at the Orange Place. She knew back in 2006.
then both are complicit…in a betrayal of their supporters. They don’t give a f^^K.
It gets worse. Edwards PAC paid the woman $114,000 to produce video for his campaign, even though she was a novice filmaker with little experience. I’m sure the Republicans will not be shy about pointing out that this comes mighty close to some kind of barely legal prostitution.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5441195&page=1
Well the Republicans do know a lot about ILlegal prostitution.
Well, you all know that I’ve never liked, nor trusted Edwards. I mentioned last year and as recently as Monday that the story was boring whether it was true or not. I certainly was willing to believe it was true simply because I didn’t trust the guy, but I have to say that I am shocked at the timing of the disclosure. I even told a friend on Tues. that if he admitted it, that he probably wouldn’t do it until after the election. I was wrong.
The best spin I can put on it was that the evidence had become undeniable, and he was no longer in control of the story. Worst case, he’s a sore loser. I never trusted him either but I actually trust him more to be a gracious loser than that. I think it is the case of the former – they have too many facts now.
I’d bet that Edwards and Obama talked and decided to exercise some damage control and announce it sooner than later, rather than letting the Republicans play ‘gotcha.’
And to do it on a day where news traditionally goes to die, i.e. a Friday. And what a coincidence! Most Americans will be paying attention to the Olympics, not to the revelations of a former Presidential candidate.
And right as Obama is going on vacation with his family – shielding Obama from having to answer questions about something that has absolutely nothing to do with him, and highlighting Obama as a family man. I guess there’s a silver lining after all.
Yeah true, but it’d still be nicer if there weren’t a dark cloud to go along with that silver lining. grumble grumble mumble 🙂
I have given up judging people on the private decisions they make. No one knows what goes on in other people’s marriages. However, what a fucking ass for having the gall to run for president knowing that this could be exposed at any moment. Thank goodness he didn’t win the nomination.
Stampede at DKos to apologise to the banned Stranahan.
What happened? I missed all that, evidently.
Called him a troll because he said they needed to get out front of the story, wouldn’t let go of it, said it was going to come out eventually — lo and behold, it did. MSNBC had him on about an hour ago…
To be fair, several people have called for his reinstatement.
The silence from the admins is defeaning.
Wow. Yet another. I was banned too for pretty spurious reasons – right in the middle of a top recommended diary of mine.
Two Americas …. one for each face.
Oooh! Touche!
Ouch 🙂
Zing!
imho, the best quote of the day on The Edwards Affair goes to Laura Rozen
“As the political scientists always say, never trust a man who spends so much time on his hair”
This totally confirms my image of him – a real phoney. And did you see the quote at that link? He had an affair but “didn’t love her.” To me, that makes it even worse. If he at least loved her, he was only hurting one person, his wife. But if he didn’t love EITHER of them, he was hurting them both for no good reason.
Wow. I’m so glad this is out now. I know there were a lot of people who really had a passion for him. I never trusted him.
im pissed too
not because he had an affair
because he picked a skinny assed blonde to do it with….i admired him for his choice of elizabeth because she had a really nice big round rockin ass.
he also evidently had unprotected sex with the blonde….which means he could have brought home diseases to his already immune compromised wife….big no no.
so if we find out barack had an affair or the larry sinclair stuff turns out to be true i guess we get to be pissed at him too.
I have to agree with you, BooMan.
And now I am sorry I voted for him in the primary (even though he had already dropped out) when I could have voted for another dropout like Kucinich, whose positions and principles are much closer to my own.
Well . . . what can I say? I was an Edwards supporter until he dropped out. Unlike the vast majority of Republicans, though, I can admit that I was wrong about something. Or someone.
I liked his message, and I liked that he talked the talk. But as had been said pretty much everywhere before, to have something like this sitting there, ready to blow up had he gotten the nomination, reveals a stunning lack of judgment. I like my Presidents to have better judgment than that. (Or at least that’s what I remember)
What is it with Democrats? FDR, Kennedy, Hart, Clinton, now Edwards. And I know I’m forgetting a few.
I don’t care one way or another who he (or anybody else) as long as they’re of age. And at least Edwards was not going around promoting the “family values” horseshit. But how can he (and Clinton and Hart) be so goddamn dumb? Even if Edwards didn’t care about the party, surely he cares about his own career and his reputation and the humiliation his family will go through.
It has to be some kind of arrogance — a belief that one is so special that he can get away with it. And some kind of compulsion to push at the limits ’til the line is crossed and all is lost. I have to think our sick electoral system selects and breeds precisely this kind of person. Which might explain why we haven’t had a really admirable president in so many decades. The chickens come home to roost in so many unexpected ways, don’t they?
Anyway, what pisses me off most of all is that I wasted my chances to move to a grownup and civilized country like France, where schoolboy gossip like this would barely make it to the back page.
You seriously think dems have the edge in adultery? Hahahahaha!
No, I think they have an amazing talent at the highest levels for letting their dicks destroy their hopes and their party. The difference from Reps is that Dems do it with those of legal age. And don’t make careers out of hetero-bashing and then get caught in bed with a woman.
At least they pick partners of consensual age, and aren’t trolling airport bathrooms. 🙂
Important lesson here, folks. In the end, all politicians will do something stupid, that’s why I’m here. Yes, this means Obama too. I’m hoping his support for FISA was the limits of his stupidity.
I doubt it will be.
Not even close! He’s planning a Surge<sup>TM</sup> in Afghanistan, and he has always intended to reconfigure and continue the occupation of Iraq.
And given that he wants to significantly increase the size and budget of the military, who knows what all else he has in mind as Emperor of the World.
I am one who supported Edwards all the way until he dropped out. I still championed him as VP or A-G. Now, I hope he is never involved in politics at all. Because he pulled a Clinton? No! Because he repeatedly lied to us (like Clinton) about it. A man whose word if false should never be A-G, no matter what his technical skills. Similarly, Bill Clinton should not be speaking at the Convention.
I understand Edwards wanting to spare his wife and children public humiliation, but when he was caught, it was the time to step up and be honest.
Many of the presidential candidates (like Dodd and Richardson) had skeletons like this in their past. If this had been a bit further back in Edwards’ history, he may have had a stronger case in claiming that their marriage was a private matter or that he and his wife had put it behind them. Instead, he lied.
It’s always the coverup that sinks politicians.
Actually, I don’t think this sinks Edwards for every possible role in the Obama administration — just not one that is in line for the Presidency. Unlike Clinton, Edwards did not lie under oath. Americans can overlook many sins — especially since so many have short attention spans. If Edwards stays out of the spotlight until January, he still might contribute something.
Right now, I’m more disappointed in Edwards, than angry. I’d be angry if he were the presumptive nominee.
All’s I can say to you Edwards maroons is…
I TOL’ YA!!!
What a fake.
And you couldn’t see it here?
When he used an backdrop of paid black kids and a rented work shirt (A buttondown workshirt, fer chrissake!!! With the buttons buttoned. Sad.) to announce his candidacy?
Whadda you…tone deaf or sump’n’?
Wake the fuck up.
He was jive from the getgo.
AG
those three little words you’re longing to hear:
Arthur was right.
🙂
Those words are not the ones that I want to hear. All I can do is lay down what I see. Whether people think that I am “right” or not is immaterial, as long as folks pick up on them.
I don’t want credit, I simply want right action. The political process in America…which is driven almost entirely by the media…is rotten through and through. All front, no substance. The newsmedia…and to some degree the cultural media as well…cast people the way a director casts a film. The Good Guy, the Villain, the Male Ingenue, the Bitch Goddess, Little Ms. Goodwife, the Nutso Outsider, etc. And the population identifies or feels antipathy towards these actors as if they were real people. Of course…they ARE real people, but not necessarily the characters that they are supposed to be playing.
Even THEY buy into the drama. Just as do movie stars.
What did Edwards say in his own excuse?
Yup.
So it goes…
Even Obama is falling for his own character. I watched him basking in the adulation of European audiences a couple of weeks ago when I was in France. let us hope that Michelle is steady enough to keep him grounded. That Hero/Good Guy role can be a killer.
Literally.
How to stay free of the hypnosis?
NEWSSTRIKE!!!
Duh.
After a while, after cold turkey and a fairly protracted time offa the newsjunk, you can actually return for short periods of time without the cravings.
Without the hypnosis.
And then? Then you can SEE!!!
See Edwards for the narcissist he is.
See Kerry for the plodding social climber that he is.
I mean…the information is out there. It’s just hidden by multiple layers of media bullshit. It always comes out eventually…Edwards dipping his wick while posing as the staunch suppporter of his sick wife, Kerry throwing the election (You think not? He could have fought the theft. Instead…skiing in Gstaad. Please.) But by the time sit comes out, the work is done. They ‘rte just minor characters, after all. Actors whose job it is to help move the plot along to the desired conclusion. They’;re not really the Hero or Male Ingenue. They just play one on TV.
Here are two such pieces of information
One about Kerry before his shameful electoral debacle and one about Edwards during the 2004 campaign.
Batman and Robin.
SMOKE that crack!!!
It’s out there…if you wake the fuck up.
Bet on it.
Later…
AG
Yeah, I was wondering when Artie was gonna show up on this one.
Oldest rule in the book: Never trust a politician.
Y’know…I trust Howard Dean.
Still.
And maybe Barack Obama as well.
I DAMN sure trust Michelle Obama.
And I am not entirely averse to trusting Hillary Clinton as well. I do not agree with some of her tactics…or Obama’s either, centrist as they seem to be…but the goals at which they are aiming those tactics?
Yes.
The correct iteration of that rule? Never trust a CROOKED pol.
Which of course means about 99.9% of them.
But every once in a while…
AG
Oh yeah! Obama’s (and Hillary’s) goal of reconfiguring and continuing the occupation of Iraq is just great for everyone. Wonderful idea……….NOT.
And Obama’s goal of having extending The Surge<sup>TM</sup> to Afghanistan – simply brilliant! Increasing the number of your troops committing violence is ALWAYS an effective way of decreasing violence, not to mention the resentment of the people against whom you are increasing your violence……….NOT (by the way, has anyone bothered to look at the polls showing what Iraqis think about whether The Surge<sup>TM</sup> worked or not?).
Oh, yes, great goals, simply great!
The “goal” at the moment is to get elected.
After that?
The goal is to heal this country at least sufficiently for it not to go belly-up in the grand fish tank of nations.
Literally. That is the only “goal” that a potentially effective pol can have right now. The only one in which I have any interest, anyway. All of the rest is tactical action taken to get into a position where that goal might be achievable.
From how to get elected right on through healthcare , economic, energy, environmental and military policies. All tactical action.
I do not “believe” what ANY pol says during an election.
First…they must get elected.
In oder to get elected, they must garner votes.
In order to garner votes, they must reach the voters while being portrayed in a positive light.
In order to be portrayed in a positive light, they must be looked upon with favor by the media.
In order to be looked upon with favor by the media, they must curry favor with the owners of the media.
And there they are. The literally cannot openly advocate non-use of the military. It is the biggest business out there short of energy supply. It must be kept occupied. And…we do indeed have enemies out there. Powerful enemies. Is their enmity justified? In many instances, yes it is. We have risen to prominence in the world by 400+ years of predatory, economic imperialist action. In many other cases? No, they are just rival gangsters who want a piece of our action.
Afghanistan?
Pakistan?
The Islamic world in general?
The Third World in all of its rising glory?
The renascent Russian kleptocracy?
This is a very complex situation, and there are no easy fixes.
I wish that there were. I imagine that Obama and Clinton wish that there were as well.
Maybe I am wrong. Maybe they are both as bone-deep stupid, as ravenously predatory as have been the forces that backed Nixon (At least until he tried to cross them.), Reagan and the Bushes.
But I think that they are not.
That’s MY guess.
Keep sniping though, Hurria.
Maybe you…and your fellow leftiness snipers and snippers…will hit something sufficiently hard to cripple it.
Like…oohhh, say…Obama. The way you managed to wound Clinton before you turned your fire on the new target of opportunity.
And then we can deal with President McCain.
Can’t wait.
AG
“The “goal” at the moment is to get elected.
After that?
“
Exactly. After that – what? Well, we have two main things to go on. One is the candidate’s history, and another is what the candidate has said he plans to do. And what is Obama’s history on Iraq, for example? Well, there is one major speech against the invasion and occupation, and a few minor statements. After that is vote after vote after vote supporting it.
And what has he said he would do about Iraq? Well, that is quite interesting, because there is are important differences between what his sound bytes and P.R. literature seem to say about his intentions, and the actual plan he has fleshed out. His sound bytes and P.R. literature are intended to lead people to the conclusion that he intends to withdraw completely from Iraq within 16 months, and that indeed is what many, many pretty sophisticated and aware people have been insisting is the case for months. “At least he will get us out of Iraq”, they cry, and when I point out to them that this is not the plan he has laid out publicly, that the plan he has laid out publicly is merely to reconfigure the occupation, they insist that I don’t know what I am talking about.
The fleshed-out plans that he laid out right from the beginning (and Hillary had one that was almost identical) is NOT a withdrawal plan. It is not even a plan to withdraw “all combat troops” based on the “missions” he has described for the tens of thousands of forces he intends to leave in Iraq indefinitely – unless he plans to use cooks and mechanics for combat duty.
That way of conducting his campaign – creating the strong impression that he intends to withdraw from Iraq while creating and talking quietly about a plan to stay there with a reconfigured occupation – does not fit with your theory at all.
Look, Edwards is an imperfect human. I never cheated on my wife during my twenty years of marriage, but there were a few times I thought about it.
I think that the line, “I didn’t love her,” was pretty bad. Better not to mention it at all.
But John Edwards expressed an egalitarianism that’s been missing since he dropped out. He spoke for the working class. So he fucked someone who wasn’t his wife. Deal with it. He’s gone. Not Obama, not Clinton, no one is talking like he talked.
I dunno, it’s a shitty and completely disrespectful thing to do. He loses a shit-load of my respect, personally. But this “I’m pissed” reaction – like he did something to trick or offend us personally – coming from the progressive side of the intertubez echo chamber is a but disingenuous. Nobody’s perfect, especially egoists who aspire for the most powerful job in America (if not, the planet.)
Everyone reading this wonderful website knows someone who has “stepped out” or has been “stepped out” on by their legal partner. I does not matter what said persons’ occupation or station in life is, it’s shitty and low class. Regardless of the circumstances (of which NONE of us know.)
Whatever, people need to quit acting mad because someone you thought was something is not what you thought he was. Seriously, are we not used to it by now? In a lot of ways, this discourse is entirely propagated on the idea that “leaders” (or even people of significance) are somehow inherently “better” than “us.” Fuck that. Edwards is a cowardly shit for stepping out on his cancer-ridden wife. But hardly any better or any worse than most of us.
I think you might have missed the point. The point is that John Edwards seriously risked the fate of this country and indeed the entire world by making a serious bid for the Presidency knowing that he had committed something that amounts to an election deal breaker. It was bound to come out sooner or later, and if he had been the nominee we would be guaranteed another eight years of what the world has been subjected to for the last eight, and possibly even worse given the indications that McCain has a strongly irrational streak.
I preferred Edwards over both Obama and Clinton, and if he had won the primary, the world would be in deep s*** right about now.
I just heard the news. I was avoiding the news, but this slipped through. I haven’t read the comments yet, but I just had to say, I am pissed. What is it with men? Just fucking keep it in your pants already! Is it that fucking hard? Gads fucking dammit, you fucking idiot. I give up. I hate Hillary, but if men can’t control themselves, I don’t see any other choice. Gee, be president or get laid…I think I will get laid. WTF!!!?!
Arrrrgh. </end rant>
When he voted for the Iraq war resolution. Heck, when he co-sponsored the Iraq war resolution. The rest of his voting record was no better.
I can see honestly regretting one vote when new information comes to light, but the knowledge was out there all along about the war. We knew it, Obama knew it, others who took the time to look into it knew it.
Only pols who wanted to be on what they assumed was the winning side of an issue were for the war. Career before country. Any man who betrays his country so callously would have no problem betraying his wife.
“Obama knew it“
Yeah, well, if he knew it that sure did not stop him from supporting it with his votes every chance he got. And it won’t stop him from keeping the occupation going indefinitely, albeit in a reconfigured form.
Come on, get real! Actions speak louder than words, and Obama’s actions regarding Iraq have belied his words.
… I could care less. Like Booman, I’m pissed about the way JE had this ticking bomb if he won the nomination or the presidency? but outside of that? I couldn’t give less of a fuck if I tried. I’ll just paste what I said at Dkos:
…adding Elizabeth Edwards has known since 2006, and you don’t know what their circumstances were then. Maybe she was too sick to have relations with her husband and told him to take care of himself: that’s not entirely uncommon in couples when one partner is really sick.
So yeah, I’m angry about what the potential political ramifications could have been, but since he’s not running for anything and his wife knew, I don’t give a shit what John Edwards does with his penis as long as its with another consenting adult.
Except I don’t think she was sick in 2006, was she?
and only found out what her prognosis was in early 2007; then I’m sure that there was test after test trying to figure out what was going on to rule everything and anything out…or in.
I just wonder if he cheated, not just because of his candidacy, but because he feared and dreaded the possible verdict on his wife’s health. This is not to excuse his culpability, and yeah, I do believe that he didn’t love this woman; he just took the opportunity and ran with it, and she took $114,000 from his campaign and ran away with that, too.
I’d like to see the result of the DNA test to see if he is the father of Rielle Hunter’s little girl.
I swear, they all think that they can get away with it. The Kennedys were the last to get that kind of Teflon, kid gloves, wink-wink-nod-nod treatment from the press. Any sexual episode with a live girl or a dead boy…candidates should be steering clear of. But they always forget.
“It is wise to remember that you are one of those who can be fooled some of the time.” (Laurence A. Peter)
I think that’s what has people in such an uproar. We’ve just had a sharp reminder that we can be fooled too.
Also, as someone commented above, he did gamble with our futures. We, and the country, would be in a world of hurt now if he’d won the nomination. He knowingly put us all at risk of four to eight more years of Republican misrule.
We dodged a bullet, but I don’t feel relief yet.