The Edwards Affair
I’ve been thinking about John Edwards’ affair with Rielle Hunter. I see a few sides of this story.
- First, John Edwards is absolute scum for this. He has an affair that he had denied. He goes on ABC Television and says that he came clean to Elizabeth, his wife, and his family in 2006. Then he says he doesn’t love Hunter and that her child isn’t his. He knows this because of the timing of the affair. Yet he won’t take a paternity test.
- I normally don’t care when a politician (or anyone, for that matter) can’t keep his pants zipped. It’s part of what I expect from politicians anymore. The list of philandering politicians is long: Bill Clinton, John Edwards (now), Newt Gingrich, John Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt. Normally the skirt-chasing doesn’t detract from that person’s duties. That’s what I care about normally — that the politician is doing his job and I normally don’t care who he sleeps with.
- Elizabeth Edwards is ill with her second (?) round of an incurable cancer. I don’t care that her cancer was in remission (as Edwards made a point to say) when he began the affair. It’s a weak defense. It’s reprehensible behavior no matter how you slice it.
- Edwards is, as he pointed out, a narcissist. Any politician, especially someone who has run for president twice, is going to have a healthy ego. But Edwards is a bit over the top even for that group.
I hope Elizabeth Edwards is doing as well as she can with this. She really did not need this on top of fighting a horrible disease.
Not to mention the fact that the woman he had an affair with is pretty nasty. I gotta say, this news story was the most shocking thing I’ve seen since someone sent me the link to – a blog where some guy gives updates on his battle with IBS.
Deannaizme: I’m removing the link to the blogspot blog. I don’t think my readers need that one.
I posted my a** off about all this and am now going to stop. I am just really disappointed in Edwards. And I do feel sorry for his wife. I can’t help but to think that the stress of it did affect her health and may have contributed to her cancer returning in the way it did.
And you’re right. It’s par for the course for politicians. I guess men in general have a hard time keeping it in their pants! But where’s the discrimination? They’re leading a public life.
It’s a crazy world. Can’t wait till November 4th and Obama is elected.
I had so admired both John and Elizabeth before this came out. When I saw this story on the news Saturday I had to turn it off. There is never an excuse for infidelity. I am never surprised when I hear of it by politicians or athletes. Edwards does join the ever increasing list of people I have no respect for personally but I admire their work.
My heart does go out to Elizabeth. She is a truly amazing woman. Of course, Fox News is reporting some nasty comments made by Hunter about Elizabeth. This story is getting worse each day.
I agree…I was repulsed. And…I just wish the media could let it die so his wife can live out her life in peace. Goodness, imagine what the stress of this going public must be doing to her:(
It has to be horrible for her, having it dragged out again after they talked about it in 2006. My heart goes out to her, too … Elizabeth Edwards is an amazing woman.
Like I said, I rarely care about what people do behind closed doors. I figure even politicians have the right to privacy on this one, so long as it isn’t distracting from their jobs. But Edwards’ affair bothers me.
Deanna — it would have sounded better if he had said he was stressed because of Elizabeth being sick and he was temporarily insane from the stress. It would not have made it right but at least that would have shown signs that he was human.
But making the point of saying ’she was in remission’. Sleazy, sleazy, sleazy!!!
Then making the point of saying he wasn’t in-love with Rielle. Sleazy!
You mean he can spend $400 for a haircut but can’t buy a pack of condoms?
And then Elizabeth had to find out from the press that he was at the hotel with Rielle a couple of weeks ago when she thought the affair was over with 2 years ago? That means that there has been communication in the past 2 years and obviously they slept together at least May 0f 2007 because we know that the child IS HIS. And if she thought the affair was over 2 years ago then seeing pictures of him holding Rielle’s child must have sent her over the edge.
Sleazy, sleazy, sleazy!!!
I agree, Paulette. It would have sounded better if he’d said something like what you say. He’s not handling this well (not that it’d be handled well in any case, but he could be doing better. At least he faced the music by himself and didn’t drag her out there too) But he’s scummy, nonetheless.
I think we all get what we deserve, except the defenseless. Who were they here?
Elizabeth Edwards knew about her husband’s affairs back in 2006. Had Ms. Edwards told John the fact that the affair would come out sometime (as Rielle Hunter had told many people plus she was pregnant later)? What about the 1/3 of Iowa voters who were duped by John Edwards would have helped put Hillary on top? Seems like Elizabeth has some moral issues of her own. Elizabeth Edwards drank the koolaid (like Hillary Clinton did when Bill dated Jennifer Flowers as governor for 12 years!) and refused to call her husband on his infidelities. Now, Elizabeth is stuck in the lies of John and all the after-effects. Elizabeth’s power-drunk quest for power with John left out the later feelings of three innocent victims who will forever be scarred by this enabled betrayal: the Edwards’ young chidren. God help Elizabeth’s soul!
I think blaming Edwards voters for Hillary’s loss in Iowa is unfair. Many of those people were voters who’d decided that they would not support Clinton. I really don’t think that they would have put her over the top and handed her the nomination.
I understand how you feel, Beverly, but I can’t blame Elizabeth Edwards for her husband’s affair any more than I could blame Hillary for Bill’s dalliance with Gennifer Flowers or Monica Lewinsky or Paula Jones or whoever. However those wives handle it, it’s their marriage and it’s not our place — in my opinion — to second guess what they’re thinking. You’re right — there are indeed victims. Perhaps the women stayed to minimize the damage to their families. Or maybe it was because they have political aspirations. Who knows? I do feel badly for Elizabeth Edwards and Hillary, and every other woman whose husband has cheated on.
I am really getting tired of this John Edwards non-story. My local newspaper (The Buffalo News) as of today is still running John Edwards articles on the front page and the Russia-Georgia conflict already has been moved to page three. What the hell is wrong with the media and the American people? He did not commit a crime like Vitter, Craig, or Spitzer so who cares?
Some people are saying the media should have reported on this sooner. Huh!? Yeah right, it’s the media’s job to print unproven allegations in regards to public people’s sex lives.
The only thing John Edwards is guilty of is being human. I think most of the people criticizing Edwards are either bitter
woman who have been cheated on and hypocritical men who have or are cheating on their wife.
What about Rielle Hunter? This is a woman who apparently was whoring around the Edwards staff since a aid says he is the father of her baby. Edwards’ backers have been paying her money to keep her mouth shut about the affair. Who is the bigger scum bag?
I only wish John Edwards when he held his news conference instead told us to mind our own business and that matters between him and his wife are private.