Jackson Free Press

John Edwards' has recently admitted to an affair of some length with a paid campaign advisor.

Edwards also begins by stating he's been 99% honest - if that's 99% honest, then that's like leaving out the 1% which is most important.

It also illustrates a man who is still finding it hard to leave ego aside.

What do you think? Or, should we even think anything about it?

Previous Comments

ID

132943

Comment

She wasn't a "campaign adviser." She was more of a contractor. No matter, though. He is clearly a first-class cad and liar. Truly unbelievable to put your wife through that when she's sick (or in remission). Whatever. Reminds me of the candidate here who had cheated on his wife while she was pregnant. And then had the gall to run for office. I'm sorry. If their families can't trust them, then their constiuents can't trust them. Call me old-fashioned.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2008-08-08T21:56:48-06:00

ID

132945

Comment

That Edwards had the gall to cheat while his wife is battling cancer is the most horrifying part of all this. A big to-do was made when Newt Gingrich served his wife divorce papers while she was in her hospital bed suffering from cancer; the same should happen with Edwards. I believe this all but ends his political career.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2008-08-08T22:04:41-06:00

ID

132947

Comment

oh leave Edwards alone. they all cheat and lie. and I am from the old school.

Author

bware

Date

2008-08-09T08:29:28-06:00

ID

132948

Comment

yeah, good points all around. it reminds of someone who said, "if he'll cheat on his wife, then he'll cheat on me."

Author

John Sawyer

Date

2008-08-09T08:54:16-06:00

ID

132949

Comment

I didn't like Edwards early on in the campaign; I felt that he was capitalizing on his whiteness and maleness, that he was otherwise a completely uncompelling candidate, and that he reminded me of the kind of upper-class slicksters I try to avoid at parties. Didn't like him in 2004 (as a presidential candidate or as a running mate) because of the slickster factor and the ludicrous idea that a guy who couldn't win a second term as an incumbent in his home state would somehow bring in Southern electoral votes. But by the time he dropped out, I dug his anti-poverty message and the details of his universal health care proposal. So chalk one up to first impressions, I guess. What I didn't understand--what I think a lot of people didn't understand--is why, if he was going to make poverty his signature issue, he didn't actually do more to fight poverty (a) before he ran for the Senate (there are nonprofits that could have used his money and his passion), (b) while he was in the Senate, and (c) during his 2004 campaign. And even between 2004 and 2008, after he'd discovered he was going to run on poverty, he didn't do that much to deal with it. He didn't make it his An Inconvenient Truth issue, like somebody needs to do. Now that his political career is over, reckon we'll see what he's really made of. If he dedicates the rest of his life (or a good chunk of it) to the poverty issue, in a compelling way, then we can legitimately wonder if he might have made a great president had he been able to behave himself. But if he doesn't...well, the play's the thing.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2008-08-09T09:07:03-06:00

ID

132950

Comment

To: Tom Head Sir you are so right about many things. Their is no one in politics that tell the truth about what they will do for( WE THE PEOPLE) And our court system's in our state of MS. are no better. All the bribe's and pay off's are letting the poor hard working people suffer. I know because I am one of them. I am trying to live on $589 per month. If you would like to talk more email me at: [email protected]

Author

bware

Date

2008-08-09T09:28:41-06:00

ID

132952

Comment

The media reaction to Edwards' affair seems like so much non-news to me. The guy had an affair. Most men (and many women) do at some points in their lives. It doesn't make it right, but it's not earth-shatteringly newsworthy either. It seems to me that we hold our politicians to near-god-like standards. We pick apart their every personal move from childhood forward, putting them under the most intense scrutiny, then crucify them when their mistakes are uncovered. Of course they have made and continue to make mistakes. They're human. Politicians lie, if not by commission, I've yet to see one who doesn't lie by omission. Their constituents (that's us, BTW) demand it; many of them (us) will only accept perfection. It's screwed up, but to a large extent, it's our own fault. We expect our leaders to be: 1) massively charismatic, which demands a massive ego; 2) trustworthy, completely absent of any incidents of breaking trust; 3) pure as the driven snow and unaffected by greed, lust and all those other common human attributes; and 4) a fun person to go drinking with. It's an impossible standard, which is one of the reasons we get the leaders we get--narcissistic schmucks for the most part, really good at covering their tracks. In other words, slick, professional politicians. I'm in no position to throw stones, but then again, I'm not running for office. I've learned to take everything politicians say with a double-dose large grain of salt. Tom, I agree with you: the play's the thing. I think Edwards is an *sshole for cheating on his wife, sick or well. But that's a far cry from wholesale condemnation.

Author

Ronni_Mott

Date

2008-08-09T10:15:15-06:00

ID

132953

Comment

**Didn't like him in 2004 (as a presidential candidate or as a running mate) because of the slickster factor and the ludicrous idea that a guy who couldn't win a second term as an incumbent in his home state would somehow bring in Southern electoral votes.**<--Tom Head, 10:07am post Tom, Edwards chose to run for president in 2004 instead of seeking re-election to the Senate from North Carolina. However, it's true that the Kerry-Edwards ticket lost North Carolina to Bush in the '04 general election.

Author

Kacy

Date

2008-08-09T10:52:00-06:00

ID

132956

Comment

yeah, but he didn't run for re-election because the poll numbers showed he would be in for quite a fight and it would look awful to lose a Senate race, but claim you could win the Presidency. also, ronni, most men and women do NOT cheat on their spouse. its a common myth about men sometimes spread by men to justify their behavior.

Author

John Sawyer

Date

2008-08-09T12:50:36-06:00

ID

132957

Comment

Thanks for the correction, John. A quick google search reveals that 22 percent of men and 14 percent of woman have cheated at least once on their spouse, so I amend my statement to say simply that many people cheat (I never said "most" women, BTW.) Given that we have more than 300 million people in the U.S. that's some 54 million cheaters (in great big round numbers) but "many" will suffice. Most of the Internet sources also say that statistics on cheating should be considered unreliable because of the inherent secrecy surrounding the act (i.e., cheaters are loathe to identify themselves).

Author

Ronni_Mott

Date

2008-08-09T13:37:38-06:00

ID

132958

Comment

and, ronni, i wasn't trying to "point" it for "points" - no pun intended. But, i am getting my phd in psychology (and have my masters in marriage and family therapy) - this is not a bragging statement, but letting you know where i come from - and so i just hate when statistics on marital relations are thrown around especially with respect to adultery because it can lead people to a. denigrate marriage as impossible or b. lock men in some sort of box where they are helpless to behave otherwise. does that make sense?

Author

John Sawyer

Date

2008-08-09T15:02:56-06:00

ID

132960

Comment

Does anyone eally give a hill of beans about Edward's affair? his wife knew and isn't complaining at least to the public so why is everyone jumping on this? Edwards is human and subject to failure just like all of us. Do we know if his wife has always been faithful? Is it our business. How many men or women admit to affairs anyway? Why are we treating politicians like they are GOds? They don't walk on water and men and women before anything else. He who is without sin cast the first stone. Do you really know what you will do in the future? It is fine to strive for perfection but no one can look into the future and say for certain what they will or want do. We need to stop being so judgemental.

Author

jada

Date

2008-08-10T00:09:24-06:00

ID

132962

Comment

Jada, to be honest I'm much less concerned about Edwards, pro or con, than I am about the issue of poverty. He had built some political capital on this that he really could have used as a non-politician to bring the issue to the forefront, but he has seriously damaged his own credibility by demonstrating his lack of willpower to the world. It also bothers me that he ran an entire campaign based on his electability in rural areas when he knew good and well that there was a time bomb in his history re: the extramarital affair that would inevitably come out and potentially cost him those same voters. What if he'd won the nomination? Because he certainly tried. What kind of guy sleeps around on his sick wife and then decides, less than a year later, to run for president?

Author

Tom Head

Date

2008-08-10T00:31:23-06:00

ID

132965

Comment

jada the problem is that if you cannot be honest in your home, to the wife you vowed honesty to, then how can you be honest to us - the public? so, its not about politicians being Gods, its about sizing up people's character. read mauren dowd's column in the NY Times today - its excellent.

Author

John Sawyer

Date

2008-08-10T09:00:53-06:00

ID

132973

Comment

my problem with Edwards and Clinton is not as much the affairs, but that the affairs are with subordinate women who are in a sense working for them. THe power differential isn't appropriate for an affair. It sets a terrible example as a leadership style, esp. for other women working in that environment. If anyone thinks I make too much of it, I suggest you look at npr.org today at the show Tell ME More. There is an expose of the staggering number of rapes of US Military service women by other members of the service. There is a tacit acceptance of these crimes in some cases as "women who sign up getting what they deserve." Often men do not want to see the impact and truth of this systematic demeaning of women.

Author

Izzy

Date

2008-08-11T08:42:24-06:00

ID

132974

Comment

Does anyone eally give a hill of beans about Edward's affair? I don't since he's not the Dems nominee nor is he running for office. Neither did the lamestream media really until the National Enquirer scooped 'em.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2008-08-11T08:52:08-06:00

ID

132985

Comment

Interesting that few people are talking about John McCain in this context. McCain met current wife Cindy while married to first wife Carol who was disabled because of a car accident. OK, GOPers, what gives? Why wasn't McCain's career over?

Author

Ronni_Mott

Date

2008-08-11T17:28:22-06:00

ID

132986

Comment

Three reasons that come to mind: (1) It was more than 30 years ago. People seem to have a habit of forgiving long-ago offenses, as evidenced by the fact that we have a president who's a former cocaine addict and was arrested on a DUI in 1978. (2) McCain had not been back from Vietnam long when the affair started, so it plays into the whole tortured vet image. (3) He owned up to it a long time ago, which means that there's no breaking news element to the story. That said, it was definitely a scumbag thing for him to do, and I do think that it needs to play a more visible role in the media cycle than it does. If people can go after Obama for spending part of his childhood in Indonesia, for God's sake, then McCain's sexual history is certainly fair game.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2008-08-11T18:16:06-06:00

ID

132987

Comment

While I agree that men should not go after women who are not on their level what about the women who go after powerful men to enhance their careers or get better jobs? These women are found everywhere.politics, entertainment church. We know women who go to church just to flirt with the pastor if he is young and hansome. Powerful men are just as week as non powerful. Men can't seem to help themselves they don't know how to say no to offers of free sex. All should not be put on the man for being the dog he can be women should keep their draws on and stop flirting. These women are not to be compared to the women who are raped especially those in the military or other places that use to be all male.

Author

jada

Date

2008-08-11T19:31:15-06:00

ID

132988

Comment

Jada, the issue from where I sit is not that the partners are on different levels; it's that one has direct power over the other. Lewinsky knew that if she pleased Clinton he could make her career, and that if she didn't please Clinton he could break her career. That's pretty much the definition of a sexual harassment dynamic. I would have no issues about dating a woman who was perceived as being above or below my level as long as she wasn't my employer or employee. And men can help themselves; that's part of the trouble. They help themselves to the sex. If men really were helpless children as some folks suggest, and not just allowed to behave like helpless children because we live in a chauvinistic society that says men can do whatever the hell they want, then it would be necessary to pass laws prohibiting them from holding positions of authority. Not that there aren't days when that sounds like a good idea, but I'm not big on biological essentialism and neither is science. The fact that some men choose to behave badly doesn't mean that all men must. If I really believed that I was completely helpless when faced with a woman who didn't have her draws on, I'd look into chemical castration. Fortunately, I can control my hormones. That doesn't mean I always want to, but I can. If Clinton and Edwards and so forth can't, and I don't believe that for a second, then neither of them has enough willpower to have any business making policy decisions. Personally, I think Clinton and Edwards have plenty of willpower--a look at their resumés tells me that. But clearly there are some circumstances where they choose not to exercise it. That's a matter of poor judgment, not weak willpower.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2008-08-11T19:50:24-06:00

ID

132989

Comment

Ronni: Because most people don't think of Mid-70's grandparent types as having an active sex life? :) Otherwise, I'll just "Amen" Tom and pass the plate.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2008-08-11T20:09:40-06:00

ID

132993

Comment

Well, I agree he is a scumbag for this. And, listening to him talk about it made me want to punch him in his throat. But, I also don't really give a damn. It is none of my business. Clinton's affair is none of my business. McCain's affair is none of my business. It's none of my business that Newt Gingrich cheated on his wife (while she was in the hospital with cancer). It really is none of our business unless they are breaking the law by hiring prostitutes or molesting children. It's none of my business who they are screwing, as long as they aren't screwing the public. Now, can the media talk about something that matters, or is it gonna be more personal b-s and comparing each other to celebrities?

Author

Tre

Date

2008-08-12T08:26:14-06:00

ID

132995

Comment

A quote from Sen. Edwards in 1999 following the Clinton/Lewinsky affair: “I think this president has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter,” Edwards said in 1999. “It is breathtaking to me the level to which that disrespect has risen.” I also remember Gov. Fordice (R) condemning Clinton in similar hypocritical fashion considering how he wrecked a state vehicle a couple of years earlier racing down I-55 from Memphis after carrying on with his mistress.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2008-08-12T09:11:34-06:00

ID

132999

Comment

Thanks TRe that is my point exactly. Why are we wasting brain power on this?

Author

jada

Date

2008-08-12T14:59:51-06:00

ID

133002

Comment

jada, i get your point. i do. but, how someone acts in private, when the cameras are off tell us a great deal about the character of a person.

Author

John Sawyer

Date

2008-08-12T15:38:08-06:00

ID

133003

Comment

I don't have any more to say about this myself, but BFP makes some damn good points.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2008-08-12T18:09:08-06:00

ID

133045

Comment

Thanks TRe that is my point exactly. Why are we wasting brain power on this? Perhaps because there is reason to believe that campaign funds might have been used as "hush money" to support the alledged love child. I really don't give a damn about this douchebag pretty boy's extramarital appetites. Bottom line for me is the money trail. If it was paid with campaign funds, a crime was committed.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2008-08-13T15:40:02-06:00