I’m glad he was found not guilty. Federal prosecutor’s choose to ignore their own Federal Election Commission’s findings that what Edwards did wasn’t a crime. Why on earth they choose to proceed with the case is beyond me. I hope they don’t try this case again on the charges the jury hung on.
On a personal and moral level Edwards fails miserably. But he’s no criminal.
mr. edwards was heard to say to his lawyer, “that’s their case??!” or something close to it, when the prosecution rested.
they really did not put a good case together.
To quote Edwards’ speech afterwards:
“I don’t believe God is finished with me yet…”
My answer, “You don’t know shit about God. Just shut the fuck up and go away. Forever, please.”
And then what did he say?
Not a criminal, still a douche. Go away.
I think he’s realized the only future he has now is as a televangelist.
It’s scary to think how close someone like this came to power. He was the VP candidate with John Kerry. <shudder> Imagine Rielle hanging out in the Rose Garden.
I was pretty sure this case would get over turned on appeal anyway. The Judge wouldn’t let hardly any of the Election Commission’s findings into the trial. Heck, the former chairman of the election commission testified for Edward’s defense, but his testimony was severely limited by the judge. If anybody knows whether this is a crime, you’d think the Fed Election Commission would. I still am stunned that the judge hid most of this from the jury. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure the jury would have acquitted on all counts.
Not a fan of Edwards at all. But, I hate seeing anyone railroaded by the Fed prosecutors. Ignoring the Fed Election Commissions Audit of the Edwards Campaign was just wrong.
It’s easy to forget the one good thing that came out of this mess is the adorable baby girl Quinn. She’s growing up fast and cute as a button.
I’d like to see Edwards return to his legal practice. There’s no denying that he was very, very good at representing injured workers against corporations. Maybe this time, he could do more work pro bono or at least funnel future earnings into a foundation that could help the under privileged workers. I still believe helping the under privileged worker is still one of his priorities. It was a priority long before he ever entered politics.
He may be a horny philander and amoral person. It’ll be interesting to see if he can refocus his professional life outside the spotlight of politics. He could still help a lot of needy people. Whether he does IMHO will be the truest test of his character.
No matter what, I think it’s safe to say his political future is finished.
A friend at work and I were discussing Edwards. He pointed out the many similarities between what Edwards did (cheating on a wife with cancer) and Gingrich. Gingrich also cheated on a cancer stricken wife, cheated on wife #2, married his mistress but didn’t knock her up. Gingrich had the Senate scandal that led to his resignation. Edwards the alleged misuse of a private donors money.
Gingrich ran neck and neck with Romney in a bunch of states. There’s a small chance he might even be offered the VP slot.
So I guess we are all premature in assuming Edwards can never make a political come back. He may have to wait 12 years like Gingrich did. But, I guess it’s possible.
We can never under estimate the public’s gullibility and short term memory. Given enough time almost anything in a politicians past can be brushed aside.
Yeah, except I can’t think of any Democrat who has bounced back from a scandal, besides Clinton.
The Republicans are a much more forgiving bunch.
Tell that to Senator Lugar.
Gingrich resigned as Speaker of the House in Nov, 1998.
If it takes Edwards that long then it’ll be 2026 before we have to worry about him. By then some of us probably won’t be around to worry about it. 
I can’t even imagine being alive in 2026. Only 14 years away, but seems like an eternity. Just typing a date like 2021 or 2025 seems bizarre after spending 2/3 of my life in the 20th century.
Just a thought, not sure if it holds water. Does anyone else think that the Feds knew going in that they didn’t have a good case but they just wanted to screw with Edwards? Could the lead prosecutor have been so arrogant that he thought he could just ram through a conviction? Anyone?
I’d be more likely to believe it was a political stunt, to get people to no longer fuss at them for not pursuing legal action.
Seeing the words “John Edwards” and “hung” in the same sentence gives me images that make me feel a bit nauseous.
I just remember at the Nevada Democratic Caucus back in the day, I was with the large Obama crowd and there was the almost equally big Hillary crowd and then a very small Edwards crowd in the room. The John Edwards group looked like a touring company of Up With People - all kind of smiling/happy in a “we drank the same Kool Aid” kind of way and somehow, even then, I wasn’t buying into the squeaky-clean image of Mr. Edwards.
I wonder what that small group of people think of him now? They didn’t seem like the type of crowd who would now forgive and forget and climb back onto any bandwagon. Thus, I don’t think there is any big political career future for Mr. Edwards in my lifetime.