Very, very true. I’m only technically a Democrat–really I don’t like anyone–but yeah, loyalist Dems should be ready to string him up for this. Elizabeth Edwards can ask for privacy all she likes; they forfeited that when Edwards ran for President on his family-man image.
Actually, I would prefer to see more on Georgia and Russia; that situation has got me scared to death. But sex gossip is a lot easier to discuss over breakfast; I think it’s human nature to go for the little drama over the scary complicated war.
If you eliminate the politicians who have had affairs from office. the senate and house would be an empty place. The difference is the repubs run on family values. That makes them hypocrites too.
Like many others I don’t give a rat’s ass about his personal pecadillos. He can stick his dick in a snake for all I care. What I’m outraged about, and was outraged with Clinton and all of the others about, is the supreme arrogance of these idiots to think that they can do whatever they want and get away with it because, Hey! I’m Keith Hernandez! (pardon the Seinfeld reference). It’s not just sex. It’s not just having your house remodeled by an oil company. It’s about power and entitlement, and it’s unearned, undeserved, and arrogant.
Did this fucking moron really think that his entire personal life wouldn’t be exposed and dragged squealing in to the light of day? That paying off this bimbo wouldn’t be exposed? How many need to be flayed alive in the public spotlight before they all finally realize that they can’t hide their secrets, no matter how well hidden they think they are?
He sat up there presenting himself as a reliable family man, as evidenced by his strong marriage to a woman whom he was supporting through a bout of cancer. And you have to ask why it’s a problem that this supposed family man was boinking some bimbo on the side? There must be a word for someone who privately does the opposite of what he espouses in public, but I’m not sure “lying hypocrite” is strong enough. Not to mention that he dared to risk shitcanning a nearly certain Democratic win of the presidency in November if he’d actually won the nomination and then been exposed.
He’s a famous private citizen. This isn’t really unusual for a celebrity.
Now if you have a problem with how we treat famous people in general, you probably have a point. But don’t act like this is at all similar to invading the privacy of some random guy on your block.
The other 1% relating to, presumably, the times you stuck your dick in that other woman? Exactly how are we waiting the truth value of your previous statements?
Anyway, since it happened now instead of after the convention, it’s really not much a of a story, and in an ideal world I suppose no one would give a shit regardless. That said, I am so not surprised. Edwards has always struck me as a slimy asshole.
He lawyered his phrasing. He said something like “I don’t respond to lies in the tabloids,” which, I guess, left (in his mind) some kind of pedanitic wiggle room in that he didn’t specify which “lies” he was talking about.
So, there’s a coupla big wingnuts gloating that the Dems’ second runnerup for the nomination cheated on his wife, while being oblivious to the fact that their side’s nominee was guilty of exactly the same thing.
They’re not cynical; they’re just dumb as shit. You need more brain cells than they’ve apparently got in order to be cynical.
I was only going to half-jokingly post the question of when would the Republican’s run a campaign ad either making it a negative that Obama even knows Edwards or insinuating (whether true or not) that Obama was not ready to lead because they were considering picking a man with Edwards’ lack of judgment as a VP selection.
I also think Zoe’s post sums it everything up quite nicely. It should be nobody’s business what you do in your private life. But, in truth, people think it’s important and when you run for office knowing you have such a big, discoverable skeleton in your closet and that it affects your ill wife, had he won the nom, that could have blown the Democrats right out of the water three months before the election.
Dio, Edwards also apparently repeatedly made references during his campaign to Americans having a right to know ‘what kind of man a candidate was’ as he showed his wife and children at his campaign rallies. Don’t get me wrong; Edwards was my first choice during the primaries, and based solely on policy, would probably still be my first choice for president. I like the man both politically and (insofar as I know him, which isn’t much) personally. But he screwed the pooch here.
To me, it means he’s a man like about 50% of the rest of men in this culture; he had an affair and he’s sorry about it, he still loves his wife and his kids, and he wants to stay married. He fucked up. But as a nation, we just eat this kind of thing up for some reason, and he was pretty silly to think he was going to be able to conceal this.
She’s pretty , I suppose, but not spectacular. We expect spectacular, trophy quality skank from our national-level politicians. John Kennedy set the bar so high with Marilyn, and Hollywood has of course jaded us too. One would have thought, looking at Clinton’s choices, that this myth would be busted. But Elliot Spitzer came along and re-ignited our fantasies with his $5k an hour dream hooker.
