So. Edwards did have the affair. And did hire her for a job she wasn't qualified for.

[Occam Bandage]

Thank God that jackass wasn't nominated. That's the kind of shit that can kill a campaign--and he kept fighting to win himself that nomination, despite knowing full well that he was hiding a time bomb waiting to blow--and waiting to hand the pukes the White House when it blew.

And no, it isn't just a personal matter. He gave her a job and paid her six figures, despite the fact that her only qualification was her tongue. That's corruption of the worst sort--it's as bad as the Bush cronyism we've been decrying, and honestly, if he had been the nominee, that would hand the "change" mantle over to McSame, and there'd be no looking back.

I always thought he was a selfish, oily bastard, and took a great deal of shit on DU for saying it. Didn't think he was oily enough to cheat on his faithful, loving wife with terminal cancer--and didn't think he was selfish enough to gamble the country on his affair staying secret. Ah, well. At least he had the balls to own up to it, even if it was because the media was forcing him to.

[LisaM]

1. I don't think he's a jackass or a selfish, oily bastard.

Unfortunately, but true, this is just the kind of thing that's common on the campaign trail. It doesn't mean he didn't have good, progressive ideas. It's very unfortunate, and yes, it was a real betrayal of a truly wonderful woman. But it's not unique.

I just thank God I don't travel for work very often, because the few times I have, I get really lonely and need to find ways to fill up my time so I'm not sitting alone in a hotel room every night. Even for a famous person, travelling with staffers, you can get lonely for your family. I have never, ever gone out of town and cheated on my partner, but a couple of years ago I was stuck in Redwood City, California, for a week, and it was dismal. It hit home to me that time how easy it must be for people who are away from their family often to cheat. I was able to fill up my evenings by having a dinner with a vendor, taking a train to a hockey game, and visiting a couple of other people, but it took ingenuity to fill up all my spare time (a different activity each night) and I was still achingly lonely for my partner and my dogs. I'm not excusing it, but it's difficult emotionally to be apart from your family. You need something to fill up that time. I'm sure that with their two young children, Elizabeth wasn't there much of the time. I would bet that this is also far more common that you might imagine. You hear about it a lot with reporters, baseball players, anyone who's on the road a lot.

[Fleshdancer]

4. Um, no. Having an affair isn't an acceptable way to cure travel boredom

Why stick up for this crap?

[LisaM]

19. I'm not sticking up for it. I'm just empathzing.

It's not boredom, it's LONELINESS. I am trying to point out that when I was stuck in a boring town with no car - and this was just for one work week - it was difficult for me. We're all human. I wasn't on vacation - I was working, and I really missed being at home and being with my family. There are many reasons why I would not make a good candidate, and this is one of them. Being on the campaign trail away from home would be very hard. Maybe you haven't travelled for work - I haven't much, thankfully - but it's not really very much fun. The work part is okay. It's going back to that empty hotel room in a strange town that's the hardest part for me.

[DevonRex]

6. I'm pretty pissed off about it. But I'm sure I'll settle down soon.

You seem to have a pretty cool head about it. I should probably take my cue from you.

[Occam Bandage]

8. Oh, so it's okay to cheat on your cancer-stricken wife, give the mistress a six-figure salary

from your campaign coffers for a job she isn't qualified for, and then lie about it repeatedly...just because you get bored on the road? Bullshit.

[bunnies]

13. seconded. nt

[pengillian101]

17. thirded. n/t

[City Lights]

18. Fourthed.

:rofl: Too slow for third.

[JerseygirlCT]

27. Exactly. nt

[JerseygirlCT]

26. What kind of flimsy character do you have to have to decide to

cheat on your wife- especially your sick wife - because you're lonely? Can an adult not deal with loneliness in more healthy, acceptable ways?

He made promises to his wife. I think it's probably safe to assume they didn't include: unless I feel sort of lonely; then I can do whatever I want.

Sure it's tough to be apart from your family. But he took that job, knowing full well what it encompassed.

He's not getting any excuses or sympathy from me right now.

[Withywindle]

29. Oh for fuck's sake, bring a good book!

Several, if you're a fast reader.

So you're lonely for your spouse, so to ease the pain you....totally fuck up your relationship with your spouse. Yeah, that makes sense.

[LisaM]

35. Of course it doesn't make SENSE. I think you misunderstand me.

Jesus effing Christ. No one is reading what I'm saying. I'm saying that a couple of years ago, I was on a business trip and I was hit by a feeling of overwhelming loneliness and homesickness. Of course I had books - lots of them. I also planned activities for every night. It didn't change the fact that when I was left alone at the end of the day in an anonymous hotel room in a horrible town, I was lonely. Of course I'm disappointed in Edwards. He was my candidate, for God's sake. But according to this article from "Psychology Today", 40% of married men cheat at some point. I'm not condoning it, and of course, with a wife who'd had breast cancer, it adds an additional layer of betrayal, but it's not the end of the world, either.


http://psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20040726-000013.html

[Alter Ego]

2. I have lost respect for John Edwards almost completely for this.

He had to have known that if he became the nominee it would be found and he would be political cat food. Why did he run again?

[DevonRex]

3. I didn't know that he hired her for something she wasn't qualified

for. Damn. That looks really, really bad. Like it wasn't some sort of temporary thing but something he planned to continue.

I haven't read the details anywhere yet. I wish Elizabeth would come out with a statement to let us know how she wants democrats to respond to this news.

[Occam Bandage]

5. And paid her a six-figure salary, with donations from the people he suckered into thinking

that John Edwards was something better than the average slimeball running for office.

[DevonRex]

9. OMG. A 6-figure salary? Why would he do that if the baby isn't

his?

Now I'm wondering if that's a lie, too.

[Occam Bandage]

11. I don't know if the kid is his. If it isn't, that's some strange office politics goin' on...

[snooper2]

7. Entitled

That's what if fucking is...

And they have the nerve to say that about Obama

[Faygo Kid]

10. Repukes have to be careful - John McSame dumped his sick wife for Cindy, remember.

They had better be careful about the finger pointing they do.

John and Elizabeth are still together. McLame dumped his sick wife for a "hot" 24-year-old multimillionaire.

[DevonRex]

12. Oh hell. Just in this one thread, I've gone from being totally pissed

off, to maybe a bit more understanding, to totally pissed off again.

I should probably shut up now. *SIGH*

[Barack_America]

14. Exactly. The corruption is worse than the affair...

Though Elizabeth deserves much better than that.

[Renew Deal]

15. You get adultery and corruption in one convenient package.

What a disaster.

[ecstatic]

16. The salary part is troubling to me as well... as is

almost everything else when it comes to his track record.

[bigwillq]

20. Poor judgment.

It happens...even to the best of them. Things worked out the way they were supposed to. Thankfully. Let's give the Edwards family some respect and privacy. It's a personal manner. No need for us to keep casting stones. John Edwards doesn't owe us anything. He owes his wife and children but not us.

[Occam Bandage]

21. No, it is not a personal matter. He hired her for a job she was unqualified for,

and paid her a six figure salary, using the donations that his supporters sent in. He willingly accepted money, votes, and volunteer hours, all while knowing that he was risking his entire campaign (and, if he won the nomination, the entire Democratic party's 2008 chances) for some sex.

It's a personal matter too, yes. But corruption in candidates is definitely a public matter.

[bigwillq]

24. He should repay the money.

But, again, people make bad decisions and he needs to be man enough to work on solutions to solving some of the problems he made by this mess, first with his family. Hopefully he will do that.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Occam Bandage]

23. Shame on me? I'm not the one who spent donor cash on a mistress so I could

cheat on my cancer-stricken wife and lie about it, all while running for office.

[JerseygirlCT]

25. Nothing else to say but yup, yup, yup. nt

[Freddie Stubbs]

28. I think that if he were still in the campaign he would not have gone to visit that woman, and

the story would have stayed under the media radar as it did during the primary.

[nsd]

31. Elements of the story first came out last fall.

The story then died down for a while. But if Edwards had won Iowa and he was closing in on the nomination, you can bet somebody (media, wingnuts) would have started digging again.

[Freddie Stubbs]

34. Yes, but I do not recall it getting any attention in the MSM

There was absolutely no proof at that time. The MSM only stared picking up on it when the NE claimed to have witnesses who could verify the hotel incident.

[tritsofme]

30. After the hate fest I received yesterday, this is just too funny.

I just about spit out my coffee laughing when I saw this headline.

[Occam Bandage]

33. Same here. I strongly resisted the urge to just copy-paste all the bullshit I got for saying

"y'know, this might be real, and if it is he's gotta own up to it."

[TexasObserver]

32. he used $114,000 of contributors' money to give his squeeze

This guy is worth tens of millions, and he's putting his contract call girl on the campaign payroll, so John and Jane Public can cover her living expenses.

Fuck him.