# Why John Edwards behavior is so repulsive **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 7, 2009, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642 "2009-05-07T09:18:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/101 "2009-05-11T06:22:23Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Yes, you can include me in this; I have always loathed him. Another person who never liked him. From the first, I thought he was a conniving opportunist. As sorry as I am over what his family has had to go through, I admit to a certain sneaking satisfaction that my instincts about him have been proven absolutely correct. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/102 "2009-05-11T14:33:10Z")
For what it’s worth, among my own personal close friends, the ones that grew up as only children are the ones who are least able to play well with others as adults. Among other things they tend to be less willing to share (things and feelings), are very thin-skinned and easily offended, and at the same time tend to be undiplomatic and abrupt when dealing with others. That’s not a statistically valid observation, but it has definitely colored my views. When I encounter a new person who has some specific odd boundary issues and personality quirks I often have a moment of realization “Oh, yeah, he/she is an only child; that’s why he/she is weird like that.” ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/103 "2009-05-11T16:11:00Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > And a great many of your fellow Americans are stupid enough to let that be important, as opposed to concentrating on intelligence, competence and vision. Why “opposed?” Is it too much to look for someone competent \*and \*with some modicum of integrity? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/104 "2009-05-11T16:21:07Z")
Given that politicians legislate on our sex lives / marriage possibilties / child rearing, I think we taxpayers (who pay their salaries) are entitled to know how they behave in these areas. I also think that letting astrology have any effect on government policy is slightly worse - and that using torture is despicable and should lead to prosecution. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/105 "2009-05-11T16:53:44Z")
I guess it all depends on how much character you think is revealed by somebody having an affair. I know some folks think it is no big deal. In my mind, it is cowardly and disgusting and reflects poorly on the man as a whole. Keep in mind, leading and making laws is not only a intellectual exercise, it requires judgement. You cannot convince me that these things are not in question when a man (or woman) has an affair. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/106 "2009-05-11T17:16:46Z")
Whenever I see a statistic on infidelity, it seems to be in the range of 30 to 60 percent. I think it’s spurious to assume that such a common behavior is a marker for poor judgment in a position of public responsibility. Add to that that anyone in a position of public prominence is probably even more likely to be unfaithful if for no other reason that they have increased opportunity. And add to that the fact that we already know that so many of history’s most admired public office holders were unfaithful. You’d have to be almost willfully self-deceptive to think that unfaithfulness is in any way correlated to poor judgment as a public official. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/107 "2009-05-11T17:52:00Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Your grandparents circumstances aside I’d still be willing to make a large bet that 99 percent of 56 year old successful, professional men men if approached by their 48-50 year old wives with a plan for making more babies that involved hormone shots etc etc. would ask if they were out of their minds. Just to pick a nit, John Edwards is 4 years younger than his wife. Which would have made him 44 when the first of the two ‘bonus babies’ was born. Not all that uncommon an age to be having kids - sometimes even for the first time, as people tend to wait a bit longer now than they used to. Losing a child is a life-changing, shattering event. It’s not at all unusual for people who have had something of that magnitude happen take their lives in a direction that they never would have anticipated prior to such an event. Priorities can change. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/108 "2009-05-11T18:21:48Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Why “opposed?” Is it too much to look for someone competent \*and \*with some modicum of integrity? Well, there may be times when you have to set priorities. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/109 "2009-05-11T18:30:53Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Why “opposed?” Is it too much to look for someone competent \*and \*with some modicum of integrity? Nothing wrong with having both, or looking for both, or even preferring to get both, but letting a libertine attitude toward sexuality be a deal-breaker in the _most_ competent candidate seems to be short-sighted. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/110 "2009-05-11T18:31:30Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Please forgive the hijack: > > John Edwards’s behavior is repulsive. > > The Edwardses are very wealthy. Oh gosh, I know we had something like this in our Logic class. Ummm… Therefore, all wealthy people are repulsive? Crap, I suck at math.:o ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/111 "2009-05-11T18:44:42Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Nothing wrong with having both, or looking for both, or even preferring to get both, but letting a libertine attitude toward sexuality be a deal-breaker in the _most_ competent candidate seems to be short-sighted. I’m sorry but when you get married you have rebuked a libertine lifestyle. It has nothing to do with having a libertine lifestyle and more to do with your life responsibilites that you have previously agreed to. If John Edwards wanted to go be with another woman, or a hundred other women, or a man, than he should have divorced his wife. I would have no problem with any of that. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/112 "2009-05-11T18:48:04Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Because the politicians present themselves as having such high morals, integrity and honor. > > I feel that a lack of integrity in one area does spill over into others. I tend to make the assumption that any given politician would fit right into Tammany Hall and am rarely disappointed when it turns out they are corrupt. It makes the discovery that they are actually honest [occasionally] a nice surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/113 "2009-05-11T19:03:22Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I’m sorry but when you get married you have rebuked a libertine lifestyle. It has nothing to do with having a libertine lifestyle and more to do with your life responsibilites that you have previously agreed to. If John Edwards wanted to go be with another woman, or a hundred other women, or a man, than he should have divorced his wife. I would have no problem with any of that. Of course, had he divorced his wife to be with a younger woman his political career would have been over right then. This being the same wife that asked one thing of him; not jewels, not flowers, not expensive gifts of any kind, just one thing - fidelity. He’s nothing but a snake oil salesman and always has been. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/114 "2009-05-11T19:32:12Z")
> [@Plynck](#): > > Oh gosh, I know we had something like this in our Logic class. > > Ummm… Therefore, all wealthy people are repulsive? > > Crap, I suck at math.:o Here is his original reply. I think he was making a point about using apostrophes and punctuation not morality, that’s why it was a “hijack”. > [@](#): > > Quote: > Originally Posted by MPB in Salt Lake > I understand the Edwards’ are very wealthy. > > Please forgive the hijack: > > John Edwards’s behavior is repulsive. > > The Edwardses are very wealthy. . ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/115 "2009-05-11T21:20:19Z")
> [@astro](#): > > … The really repulsive part of his behavior is his absolute silence on the [paternity of the child born to his mistress](http://www.nationalenquirer.com/john_edwards_mistress_rielle_hunter_dna_test_love_child/celebrity/66637). It’s like the child doesn’t exist. A man would step up and take responsibility for his actions. … From the very first post (the OP). Politicians like to lecture about a lot of ahem) stuff. Duty, responsibility, all that durrrrrr stuff. Politicians like to run for offices that usually entail some sort of responsibility (even though they often tapdance and sidestep right past it). Edwards should step up to the plate. **A man would step up and take responsibility for his actions.** ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/116 "2009-05-11T21:29:48Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > From the very first post (the OP). > > Politicians like to lecture about a lot of ahem) stuff. Duty, responsibility, all that durrrrrr stuff. Politicians like to run for offices that usually entail some sort of responsibility (even though they often tapdance and sidestep right past it). Edwards should step up to the plate. **A man would step up and take responsibility for his actions.** Just to be the devil’s advocate here: is this definitely his child? [Edwards said he’s willing to take a paternity test](http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/05/07/2009-05-07_edwards_exlover_is_testy.html), but up until now, Rielle Hunter hasn’t allowed it. She says she will now. That should clear it up, but until paternity is established, what exactly is he supposed to do? He claims it’s not his kid, and without evidence to the contrary, I’m not sure what “stepping up” would entail. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/117 "2009-05-11T21:33:13Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I’m sorry but when you get married you have rebuked a libertine lifestyle. It has nothing to do with having a libertine lifestyle and more to do with your life responsibilites that you have previously agreed to. If John Edwards wanted to go be with another woman, or a hundred other women, or a man, than he should have divorced his wife. I would have no problem with any of that. Well, I wasn’t exactly discussing John Edwards; and while I may have chosen my descriptors poorly, it doesn’t harm my salient point that refusing competence for the sole reason that it is not accompanied by chastity is an irrational act. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642/118 "2009-05-12T03:33:24Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > Just to be the devil’s advocate here: is this definitely his child? [Edwards said he’s willing to take a paternity test](http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/05/07/2009-05-07_edwards_exlover_is_testy.html), but up until now, Rielle Hunter hasn’t allowed it. She says she will now. That should clear it up, but until paternity is established, what exactly is he supposed to do? He claims it’s not his kid, and without evidence to the contrary, I’m not sure what “stepping up” would entail. [Here is one scenario](http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/05/12/edwards/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-john-edwards-behavior-is-so-repulsive/495642.md?page=5)