Just because a tabloid story went mainstream, I can’t see that being enough anymore. The divide between tabloid and mainstream news broke down sometime during the Clinton years. Mainstream news outlets frequently cover stories with nothing to them under the guise of sharing with their readers what’s circulating in the world of tabloids/Rush/Drudge.
Now if the story were substantiated by mainstream reportage, he’d immediately be out of the running.
You mean the National Enquirer, the most trusted name in news, hasn’t retracted yet and named a space alien as father? They can get away with it since suing would be the stupidest thing Edwards could do.
I doubt this would have any impact, assuming it isn’t true, which I’m sure it isn’t, but Edwards would be a terrible choice in any case.
Are you misremembering? That sex scandal and the financial chicanery surrounding it led to the appointment of an independent prosecutor, David Barrett. Cisneros left HUD in January, 1997 and was indicted in December of that year.
He eventually agreed to a plea deal and was pardoned by Clinton in his wave of out-the-door pardons. But the sex scandal terminated his tenure in the Cabinet and ended any hope of higher office for him.
So yeah, it hurt.
The famous incident of McCain’s fictitious illegitimate black child (which IIRC the Rove pollsters never actually claimed existed but just asked something to the effect of “How would the knowledge he has an illegitimate black child affect your opinion of him?”) is believed by some to have done some damage to his momentum. However, I’m not sure if it was the illegitimacy or the biracial nature of the child that never was which was the biggest culprit.
Both I’d say. And that is a perfect example of how something like this can stick to a candidate (or his VP choice) even when categorically false. I’d say Obama has enough other problems without taking any chances, unless this whole thing is both 100% false AND it gets no traction with the public (those two states not being equal of course).
-XT
That particular incident has some weasley overly-literal fourth-in-the-list-of-definitions-at-dictionary.com truth to it, though, which helps when the disingenuity starts after they get called on their bullshit.
Frankly, there are people around here who resort to that, too, but fortunately there isn’t a branch of government at stake.
No, that would have been the Weekly World News, the last American tabloid to deal with Bigfoot and space aliens, as opposed to the celeb news that is the staple of the Enquirer and the other remaining tabloids.
Unfortunately, the WWN went out of business several months ago. 
Yes; it’s what’s termed a “push poll”. You ask people “How would you feel about the candidate if ( insert falsehood )”. It’s a way of lying without technically lying.
I have to differ with you there; I would bet that every single corporate contributor (especially health-related ones) to every single Congressman would be providing a ma$$ive amount of opposition to Edwards being Attorney General.
Which is precisely why I’d like to see him get the job.
“Ma, Ma, where’s my Pa? Gone to the White House, Ha ha ha.”
Election of 1884. No, I don’t know that it would affect his chances, particularly since the NE is the source.
I’m badly out of date. The last Enquirer I bought, which was about 40 years ago, had that kind of stuff.
Yes. Elizabeth Edwards is far more universally liked and respected than her husband. Hounding around behind her back is political suicide.
This is the aspect that would bother me the most, and that would IMO destroy Edwards’ viability, surely for VP and perhaps for AG.
The National Enquirer actually has a very good reputation for investigative journalism.
Well that and the whole cancer thing. Can you imagine if she stood beside him at a news conference wearing a chemo do-rag? The reporters would kick the shit out of him. But I repeat my earlier statement that he should go after the paper. He was quite the Don Quixote in his day and did very well at it.
What nobody seems to take note of was the claim that hotel security kept the reporters back until John could escape. Kinda sounds like they were detaining the reporters. If the paper goes after the hotel then it will keep the story afloat a little longer.
Ma, Ma, where’s my Pa?
Gone to the White House, ha ha ha.
I voted for Edwards in the primary (early ballot); I’d love to see an Obama/Edwards ticket. No, a love child wouldn’t affect that.
That would actually be a very easily checked statement. I wonder if any bloggers (or even any reps of actual news agencies) have called the hotel to ask about this.
I would disqualify the main stream media as fair and balanced though.
This cite is Not Fox News
Oh yah, Obama would want a cancer victim, a mistriss and a bastard chld sucking oxygen out of election day.
They will or already have. Comparing this to the Kerry story I mentioned, the CNNs of the world kept quiet about it for a few days and it was Drudge who broke the story - because the news agencies checked it out and decided there was nothing to it. Eventually they reported it as a rumor and it was debunked pretty fast. You may see that pattern play out again here.