News opinion 2008-08-13 Andanh.com

Let Edwards’ mistakes be a lesson to all Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:13:53 -0500
Words cannot describe the disgust and outrage millions of Americans must feel about former presidential contender John Edwards. On Friday, the candidate who campaigned for those whose voices he felt weren’t being heard in Washington, D.C., admitted that in 2006 he had a extramarital affair. This admission comes only a month after he had dismissed reports of the affair as “tabloid trash.” He revealed to ABC News that he lied repeatedly about the affair with 42-year-old Rielle Hunter, who now has given birth to a child that Edwards says is not his. Edwards claims that he told his wife and family about the affair in 2006. The truth of that may never be known since he has zero credibility, but the biggest tragedy in this mess is not that Edwards’ political dreams are over, but that he campaigned side by side with his wife, Elizabeth, who has terminal cancer, and that he betrayed her trust in her time of deepest need. The tragedy also involves his three children. It says a lot about the man, that he could stand at campaign events beside his wife knowing that he had committed adultery and was lying to those who supported him. Even worse was the fact that Edwards said that he felt that he believed he was special and egocentric and that is why he committed the acts. We feel very sorry for Elizabeth Edwards, who has endured so much and is fighting for her life. She is the real victim in this, not Edwards. He deserves no pity from anyone. Hunter deserves no pity either. She is just as guilty as Edwards. As a woman, she should’ve known the agony and pain she would cause Elizabeth Edwards. Shame on her as well. John Edwards was close to the pinnacle of power. He was a top trial lawyer, a U.S. senator, sought his party’s nomination for president and was considered a possible vice president nominee. His endorsement may have given Barack Obama the edge in a tight race with Hillary Clinton. Before this revelation, he likely would have had a primetime speaker’s role at the Democratic National Convention. Edwards asked for the trust of the American people. He violated that trust in a most personal way, and now his political career is likely over. Let him fade into history as a footnote and serve as a lesson to all those who seek the pinnacles of power.

Edwards the adulterer Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:13:36 -0500
There is something familiar about the storyline: woman has more than one sex partner; woman becomes pregnant; no father’s name on the birth certificate; paternity questioned. It’s the plot for “Mamma Mia,” but this time without the ABBA music. Let me stipulate, as the trial lawyer John Edwards would say, that all have sinned (as Paul, the Apostle wrote) and it is un-Christian to judge one better than another simply because he may not have committed a sin that someone else has committed. This is not about that as much as it is the aftermath. Something like: “it isn’t the crime, but the cover-up that gets you.” We stopped repenting some time ago. Our preferred response after being caught in a transgression in the modern era is to explain. Our “confessional” is television and our audience is not God, but the public. After repeatedly lying about it, Edwards finally admitted to sharing another woman’s bed, but he wants us to know it was while his wife was in remission for her cancer, though he told Bob Woodward on “Nightline” that is no excuse. So then why mention it? Edwards said he told Elizabeth about the affair in 2006. If true, that means she was campaigning for and with him, testifying to his character and concern for “women’s issues” even while she was a co-conspirator in the cover-up. Isn’t it a major “issue” for a married woman when her husband cheats on her? A female acquaintance told me, “It doesn’t matter.” I responded, “How would you feel if your husband cheated on you?” Oh,” she said, “that would matter to me.” So much for sisterhood. If someone else’s husband has “traveling pants” it’s of no concern, but if her husband’s pants wander, it’s a big deal. In his carefully crafted admission, Edwards said he had not lived up to the standards he set for himself. If they were his standards he violated, few would care. But fidelity is not a standard set by Man; rather “forsaking all others” is the standard established by God, not because He wants to deprive us of pleasure, but because adultery is an affront to Him (He gets to make the rules) and causes severe damage to others. In our narcissistic (Edwards got that self-diagnosis right), pleasure-oriented culture, politicians think they can live like Hollywood celebrities. No one expects sexual probity from an actor, which is why promiscuity no longer disqualifies one for a movie role. As more politicians - Republicans and Democrats - are exposed for their sexual misconduct, it is less likely such low behavior will disqualify one for high office. There is speculation that because Bill Clinton has “rehabilitated” himself following the Monica Lewinsky affair, Edwards might be able to run for president again. The big media were enablers in the Edwards mess, though the Charlotte Observer, McClatchy and Raleigh News & Observer broke the news of the Edwards affair before his ABC confessional. After the National Enquirer scooped major papers on Bill Clinton’s “relationship” with Gennifer Flowers in 1992, one might have expected them to be more aware this time. The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times knew about the Enquirer stories on Edwards, but refused to assign reporters to look into them. When California Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was said to have sexually harassed several women, the L.A. Times assigned up to half a dozen reporters to investigate. Remember “Troopergate”? The L.A. Times had the story about Arkansas state troopers allegedly procuring women for Bill Clinton while he was governor, but didn’t publish it until after the 1992 election. Funny how it isn’t important, or it couldn’t be corroborated when Democrats are the subject, but let a Republican stray (Larry Craig, Mark Foley and David Vitter are some recent examples) and it immediately becomes front-page news. Edwards said the affair was “brief” and ended in 2006. If so, what was he doing last month at the Beverly Hilton Hotel at 2 a.m. with his “former” lover and her baby? Why was someone in his employ paying the woman so much money and how does she afford a multimillion-dollar home? Cue the music: “I’ve been cheated by you since I don’t know when, so I made up my mind, it must come to an end ... Mamma Mia, here I go again My, my, how can I resist you?

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