I really like Senator John Edwards. I had a lot of hope for him as a Presidential candidate in 2004 and I was rooting for him to secure the nomination instead of Kerry. He has a very warm personality and seems like a great guy. When Edwards gave Obama his endorsement I had visions of him as Vice President. What a disappointment it is to hear that Edwards thinks with his dick and has been screwing around on his cancer-stricken wife.
The National Enquirer has been breaking this story since late last year. They’ve had reporters on Edwards and they caught him at a hotel visiting his mistress and her five month-old baby in July. They even had a blurry photo in their latest issue of Edwards holding the infant, a girl named Francis Quinn Hunter.
Edwards, 55, gave an interview to Nightline which will be broadcast tonight in which he admits to an affair with Rielle Hunter, a 44 year-old filmmaker he hired to do work for his campaign. He claims her baby is not his, though, due to “timing,” but has not taken a paternity test.
The Enquirer has Edwards funneling money to his mistress through other people in an elaborate scheme. Edwards’ former campaign aid, Andrew Young, claims to be the father of Hunter’s baby. Young is married and is now set up in a $5.6 million mansion in Santa Barbara with his current wife and family along with Hunter, who don’t get along. The home where they’re all living together is said to belong to a rich retiree who is a friend and supporter of Edwards.
Another Edwards supporter sends $15,000 a month to Hunter according to the Enquirer. They say that Andrew Young may be paid as much as $20,000 additional a month “to carry out the coverup.”
Both Young and Hunter claim that Young is the father of her baby, but neither will take a paternity test or polygraph, nor will they sign an affidavit. There is no father listed on the baby’s birth certificate.
In his Nightline interview, Edwards will say that he didn’t give Hunter any money but that “it was possible some of his friends or supporters may have made payments without telling him.”
He also claims that the affair occurred when his wife’s cancer was in remission, and says that he told family about his infidelity in 2006. His wife was not aware that he was visiting Hunter secretly at a hotel in July to see that baby that he says isn’t his.
Edwards repeatedly lied about the affair when he was running for President late last year, saying that the Enquirer’s reports at the time were “completely untrue.”
It seems suspicious to me that Edwards is saying the baby isn’t his but hasn’t taken a paternity test and was seen holding the infant. He’s also not doing his shattered credibility any favors by not owing up to sending this woman money.
Edwards has three surviving children out of four with his wife Elizabeth, who has an incurable form of stage IV breast cancer. They have daughters Cate, 26, and Emma Claire, 10, and son Jack, 8. Their oldest son Wade died in a car accident in 1996 when he was just 17.
This really upsets me because Edwards gives the impression that he’s a family man. He lied and seems to be continuing to lie when he could just as easily admit to fathering a child as well as having an affair. He wouldn’t be the first politician to cheat on a wife suffering from medical problems. John McCain left his first wife, the mother of his three oldest sons, after she was disfigured in a car accident. He married his current wife, Cindy, just a month later.
A lot of people rip on the Enquirer and dismiss them as a “tabloid,” but they’re like a wise alcoholic aunt. It’s easy to dismiss what she’s saying because of the way she looks and how raspy her voice sounds, but she knows the neighborhood gossip before everyone else and she’s usually right. And her drug-addicted sister, Star Magazine, makes her look bad just by association.
John Edwards is shown at “the AARP Foundation Symposium on Poverty and Aging” in Washington, DC on 7/30/08. Credit: Carrie Devorah / WENN
Details and quotes from ABCNews.com and The National Enquirer, print edition, August 18, 2008.
I bet a MILLION dollars that the baby Ms. Hunter had back in February is Mr. John Edwards’ baby!
Sounds like a Jerry Springer show, what a clusterfuck.
This is not the first time I have heard of the mistress/child. DNA should clear this up real quick, I’m sure John can afford the test, too worried about his image I guess.
On a sad note, I feel sorry for his wife Elizabeth. Dying from cancer is hard enough without having to bear the brunt of John’s selfish cheating.
Grow a pair John and act like a man.
Thanks CB
You used the “f” word which is why your comment went to moderation Daisy. I do not mind it used in conversation but too many weirdos make comments about the things they want to do with various celebrities, usually underage females.
Funny, he never struck me as being a “great guy” Always seemed like a phony sleazbag. Looks like I was right.
Finally. This has be a huge story for about 3 weeks, so I’m glad he’s finally speaking up.
Bet the kid is his, though.
Pfft… that kid is so his! He just convinced the mom (i.e., bribed) to not ever demand a paternity test. Then he got a lackey to take the fall for it… a married one at that. How many lives has he now f**ked up because he couldn’t keep it in his pants?
Take care of your dying wife, dirtbag. Oh, and I love how he throws in the “my wife’s cancer was in remission” thing so we won’t think he’s such an ass. Even if it was in remission, why weren’t you rejoicing with your family instead of banging this chick?!
There goes his VP spot. Man, if Barack had chosen him before this came out, it would have really hurt the whole campaign. Edwards sucks!
There have also been John Edwards missing “Webisodes” released that were produced by Rielle Hunter. They give great insight into Edwards. Here they are in case you are interested:
http://www.yidio.com/playlist/John+Edwards+Rielle+Hunter+Produced+Videos
What is it with ugly, sorta rich, American man in political positions?
Why do they seem to ALWAYS cheat on their wives instead of being them forever grateful for always stand by their side??? I am seriously not a conservative person and everybody should live up to his own life modell, whatever, but seriously, PLS owe your wives a bit more dignity when necessary. If you sleep around, if you father babies with random twenty-somethings (I know, not here the case, but generally, it is!), PLS why not at least being straight about it when caught or even better, TELL your wives before it goes public!
No, they are all so much of a coward that they don’t dare and/or care to come clean with it because it is so frakking easy to just hurt your wives in the worst possible way instead of being honest just ONCE in your oh so important live.
Sorry for this rant, but this is really eating me up! What is wrong with those frakking arseholes? I am just so sick of that sort of men… ARGH!
I LIKED John Edwards. Now I have to admit that my Republican friend was right about him. Thanks a lot, John-thinin’-with-the-wrong-head jerkwad.
I liked him, too. Now I am pissed off at him. F*cking jerk.
This sucks and it probably will hurt Obama’s campaign by association, the conservative tards that do the talk shows will have a field day. WTF is wrong with a guy to do that to his wife and children. Ahole
No wonder his wife wanted to go on the campaign trail with him. She KNEW!
I liked him too, got to see him speak back when he was running for VP with Kerry, he was gorgeous.
Apparently gorgeous and shallow. End of a promising political career as far as I’m concerned. Screwing around? Bad. Screwing around on a dying wife? Horrible. Denying your child? Inexcusable.
The National Enquirer has an article and photo of this woman that would only make you wonder ‘what the f**k was he thinking’
She’s absolutely ghastly. Looks like a younger version of Camilla
@Princess
That’s a great comparison! I honestly don’t think it matters what they look like — it’s just who is available within their inner circle. I mean, Bill Clinton could pull a knockout if he wanted, but he only had direct access to Monica Lewinsky.
The pic of Edwards holding the baby is hilarious. Why is he visiting her secretly and bouncing the baby on his knees if it’s not his? Gimme a break!
Not in this picture but I;ve seen others where this chick looks JUST LIKE White Oprah!!!!!
I’ve never liked him. He always struck me as a smarmy douchebag.
Harsh, Phaedrus!
I’d rather have a Bill Clinton unzipping for Monica every day than the cretin that is killing the United States.
I’ve met Edwards a few times (briefly, at speeches), I was a true believer in his candidacy. Ehh…We all make mistakes, but he should own up to the ones he’s made. If he owned up to everything, I’d have a higher opinion of him than I do now.
That said, his ideas on alleviating poverty, among others, are still good. It’s just too bad the speaker is tarnished.
W’s not a great speaker and unfortunately too many people judge leaders by their fancy words instead of their actions. But W has kept our country safe from all those who wish to do us harm. He’s also been kind and gracious to his political opponents. We could do a lot worse in a president and I am grateful to him.
What kind of woman would have an affair with a married man whose wife is dying of cancer. Shame on Rielle Hunter. And shame on John Edwards.
Damn! Aaaah, we humans are all too animal….Not that I’m excusing him in any way – I too, would have a lot more respect for him if he just came clean at this point, instead of more hypocricy.
Very nicely written, CB. So disappointing. But if it had to come out, thank god it’s out now, not after Obama chose him as VP. What a mess, and how awful to have done this to his family, especially Elizabeth. (Nice point, Cindy K.) This just confirms the cliche’ of the power-hungry politician/rock star/celebrity who can’t resist the attending temptations. I really thought he was better than this. 😐
John Edwards is irrelevant. I doubt Obama was going to choose John Edwards as VP anyway. It’s a small blip in the radar today. I feel for the wife, who probably got her cancer from the IVF treatment she underwent to give this man a child and this is how he pays her. 😡
Tess, I hope you are being tongue-in-cheek, because otherwise, you are a blithering idiot.
Actually I’m sort of hoping the media will talk about this a lot, because McCain left his first wife for Cindy and was having affairs with other women before he left his first wife. She was a model when he married her, but she was in a car accident while he was in Vietnam and it was disfiguring and she couldn’t walk well and he left her.
His official comment today was “no comment.” Yeah, I bet.
Oh I forgot about Edwards: I’m not his wife or in his family and he’s not running for president, thank goodness, so I really don’t find myself caring too much.
Meh.
shut up tess, you fool.
god i wish we could be more like france. this has ne relevance to how people make policy or if they are effective political leaders. this sucks for his wife and for their family, but to me, this has nothing to do with politics, or at least it shouldnt. politicians are human and have sex lives. its nothing new. expecting our politicians to be little more than eunuchs is an impossible standard to live up to, and then we wonder why we are so disapoointed when they dont meet them. its a problem with US culture.
Tess, wake up.
Tess drank the kool-aid.
I had to go see what tess said. OMG, what a rare creature we’ve found: someone who still defends Bush. I live in Texas and can hardly find anyone who will even discuss him. If his name is brought up, people either scowl or just look really uncomfortable.
Anastasia — I think it’s called the “Bushie Squirm” lol
Tess is clearly an MF-ing moron, don’t waste your time.
Like CB, I REALLY dug John Edwards & am beyond disappointed in him. I have no clue why I thought a politician would be any different than any other.
Damn, what a bloody disappointment.
As for that Assclown McCain… I don’t even know where to f-ing start…
I wanted to say what Anastasia did about McCain, but I didn’t want to seem too biased about it. It was 28 years ago, etc., but McCain was a major cheater and left his wife after she was disfigured in a car accident.
But W has kept our country safe from all those who wish to do us harm. And opened the gateway for his oil business buddies to continue to plunder this country’s rare few virgin wilderness areas, and empty our wallets into their vaults.
What a shmuck, but at least this does not come into play with the current race for the white house. But really, what a shmuck, wife w/ the cancer, cover up probably. Yeesh. And Tess, wake up for real. Double yeesh.
“expecting our politicians to be little more than eunuchs is an impossible standard to live up to”
I don’t think anyone expects them to not have sex. But we do expect that when they do, it’s with THEIR WIFE.
I am so tired of hearing about how ‘backwards’ we are in this country for expecting our politicians to be morally accountable. How many of you apologizing for Edwards were making that argument when Craig was busted?
Frankly, if a guy is willing to screw around on his wife while she’s dying of cancer – that’s not a person I want as my elected representative. A man who will lie to his entire family, will most likely not have a problem lying to millions of complete strangers.
Tess: Please go to your puffy-clouded-blue-skies-abound place where you think all is right with the US. It’s blatantly obvious you’re a Bush freak. Turn the lights off when you leave the barren room, would you?
🙄 🙄
Oh, and John Edwards is a big pile of sh*t for having cheated on his wife at that particular time of her life. And then to say they “weren’t in love”??? Well that excuses everything, now, doesn’t it? DOUCHE m-fing BAG.
Scott, what do you think about what McCain did? This account is true – he screwed around on his wife in much the same way as Edwards did. McCain’s first wife was suffering from the long term disability of a car accident when he hooked up with Cindy his current wife. He is also said to have cheated with multiple other women:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html
Yes it was over 25 years ago, but he wasn’t “morally accountable” at all. And this is Edwards we’re talking about, not the Democratic nominee, who has been married to the same woman, his first wife, for 15 years. But since McCain is a war hero, and he definitely is, we can forget he was a philanderer and focus on some other guy who is just a senator. Edwards probably wouldn’t have even scored a VP nomination even without this scandal. I agree this should be covered in the press, and it’s really smarmy of Edwards to lie repeatedly like this. This story is current and it matters. It also represents a gross misappropriation of contributor funding. But McCain does need to be held to the same moral standard for the way he treated his first wife.
Well Scott, fortunately for you Edwards isn’t running for president and isn’t a senator anymore. So I guess you don’t have to worry about him!
CB ya beat me to it. One of my first thoughts when I heard about this was how the press seems to cover for McCain about all sorts of things, not the least of which his philandering with an heiress 18 years younger than him after his wife, who stuck with him through his MIA status, was messed up in that car wreck. AND he lied about the timing of his divorce and remarriage in his biography! AND this is the freakin’ NOMINEE! A Dem would NEVER get away with that nor would they get away with jokingly offering their wife up for some topless contest at Sturgis for that matter….
(just google it people)
Why is it that when you rip on one politician, someone has to bring up another guy from the opposite party? Does McCain leaving his wife mean Edwards is less of a douche?
I guess since I don’t like Edwards I MUST be a Republican? Trust me, Republicans aren’t the only people that think Edwards is a joke. For the record, I’m a registered Libertarian, and since we have closed primaries in Indiana I haven’t even had the opportunity to vote for McCain yet.
Again though, what bearing does someone else’s actions have on Edwards? That’s like saying, “well, we should really let this rapist go – after all, the guy down the street eats people.”
Like I said though; I’m a Libertarian, and I think they’re all pricks. I just think McCain is the lesser of two pricks.
yeah, of COURSE it’s not his. I’m with comment no. 9 and the others saying, if he can do that to his wife and family, lie that spectacularly, then imagine the lies he’s gonna tell the public. Him a 4ucking Clinton. PIGS is the only word for them.
Even 9-year-olds know when they’re busted it’s time to come clean already. What a lily-livered pussy. 😡
You didn’t answer my question Scott, you dodged it.
John Edwards is SCUM.
I met John and Elizabeth Edwards while he was in NH campaigning for the 2004 election. I didn’t like him very much – he seemed way too glib and artificial– but I was completely impressed by Elizabeth. What a warm, intelligent, classy lady. She has pretty much raised their children single handedly while he was a lawyer and then a politician- and even when battling her fatal disease she was out hitting the campaign trail for him. This news made me sick. I am feeling for her tonight. I really hope she doesn’t come out in defense of what her husband has done, a la Hillary. It won’t help his case and will make her look like just another Stepford political wife- which would be a sad thing.
>>god i wish we could be more like france. this has ne relevance to how people make policy or if they are effective political leaders. >>
Not that you might ever read a newspaper, Bros, but Sarkozky’s sex life has just about ruined his presidency. In France.
Oh, and I’d like to back up Tess in her comments about Bush.
It drives me crazy when people on the left talk about “tolerance” and “diversity” – until someone disagrees with them.
Anyone who doesn’t buy into the conventional wisdom (anti-Bush at the moment) is a “freak”, a “fool,” a “MF-ing moron” (based solely on the comments on this board.) So uncool.
Bush has flaws and I certainly disagree with some aspects of his policy, Guantanamo Bay being just one of them. He’s also done some things well, like his massive effort against AIDS in Africa. We can hardly move the country forward by screaming at each other.
Elisa? That said, his ideas on alleviating poverty, among others, are still good.
Yes, alleviating poverty as he builds a 28,000 square foot mansion for himself. Maybe that’s perfect for him so he can hide his women.
I feel so badly for his wife and children. Jerk.
Gawd, I hate politicians. Any party, any country – it’s all the same.
Ditto to that CandyKay.
Regardless of one’s political orientation, this just shows that most politicians are part of our native criminal class, to paraphrase 2 of Twain’s comments.
No respect here for McCain although I am an (R), and his past just adds to my dislike. This whole cheating thing just speaks volume about character, which IMO vital in a politician. Why doesn’t “France” get this? (As if I give a rat’s @$$ about the opinion of the elite in France….)
Excellent point Candy Kay. In a side note, Brangelina offers to arbitrate this situation by adopting the kid!!
“It drives me crazy when people on the left talk about “tolerance” and “diversity” – until someone disagrees with them”.
My thoughts EXACTLY, CandyKay-
Definitely some hypocritical behavior there.
It’s despicable behavior, and it’s rampant among politicians of every stripe. He did just lose his shot at veep, though, and it’s too bad. I talked to a documentary producer (male) who’d interviewed him at length and said he’s highly intelligent and passionate about making a difference. Recently, though, I guess he’s been passionate about making filmmakers.
Sorry, Sarkosy’s sex life isn’t what’s ruined his presidency, it’s Sarkosy’s ineptitude as a politican.
Can’t get too worked up over the affair etc, it’s more the attempt to cover it up and have someone else take the blame for it that’s disturbing. That suggests someone with a very questionable approach to problem solving. Big integrity issue.
Equally, McCain’s marital indescretions shouldn’t have any relevance either. He should be judged on his abilities as a politican and there’s enough there to dislike without ever delving into his private life.
Shame, more distractions that just take the focus away from where it should be.
McCain did the same thing, so let it go
Edwards is a liar who got caught having an affair on his dying wife, and still continued to lie until yesterday. He is still denying the child is his. It is a window into his character. I agree with Scott and Geronimo.
I am surprised at the rancor my fellow commenters, people I normally agree with. Kool-aid, indeed.
Why aren’t people intitled to their opinion about the candidate they like?
Why can’t we be more like France? You’re kidding right?
The press is anything but protecting McCain.
IF Edwards had been a republican, this would have made the front page of the NY Times & Washington Post.
This is going to be one hell of a election night come November.
Edwards was and is a sanctimonious douchebag – if that family ever had any sense, Elizabeth would have been the one to run for office.
And just to correct some posters – Edwards was not in line for Obama’s veep. Obama is too smart to pick the guy that John Kerry was stupid enough to pick. Edwards didn’t even make it to the preliminary Veep short list leaked to journos. Edwards brought nothing in the Kerry ticket, was pathetic in the veep debate with Cheney, and should have stayed home this presidential primary season. Give Obama some credit, haters.
And Scott, we bring up Republican sex scandals because of the despicable hypocrisy of being “family values” and “Moral Majority” while at the same time getting blown in airport bathrooms (Craig), leaving crippled wives (who waited for him while he was a POW) for young, hot beer heiresses (McCain), having affairs with sexy staffers while married to their hospitalized wives (Gingrich), being diapered by hookers from DC to New Orleans (Vitter), and fulfilling pedophilic urges with teenage pages (Foley).
I could list more, btw. The road to Republican hell is littered with the nubile bodies of moral and ethical hypocrisy.
@Daisy – I believe this did make the front page of WaPo & NYT – and CNN & MSNBC did breaking news coverage all last night.
And the money and the lies (on the record) is what makes this worse than a regular sex scandal, Edwards defenders. First rule in politics: Follow the money. That goes for you too, Daisy. Take a good look at McCain and FOLLOW THE MONEY. 🙂
If his wife can’t trust him…why should we????
OH! Can’t believe I forgot my favorite Republican, Former Rep. Don “I strangle my mistresses” Sherwood…
http://wonkette.com/tag/don-sherwood
I know, I know people are going to be like “But…but Eliot “I get blown by 3-Diamond Hookers” Spitzer and Kwame “I Wanna Sex Up My Co-workers” Kilpatrick…
But there is a difference. One party wants to legislate your bedroom, one doesn’t. Think about it.
9/11 happened on whose watch?
Bush.
Under his administration, we have lost over 4,000 US soldiers, and over 300,000 Iraqis, including civilian women and children.
Under his administration, after hurricane Katrina, people in New Orleans went for DAYS without aid.
Under this administration, we are seeing people lose their homes under massive foreclosures and the oil companies have been turning their biggest profits yet..
You want to tell me that this man has kept the country safe????!
What are you smoking, Tess, because I want some too. How do you not see this, and how can you say he’s kept the country safe??!
Ok….there are plenty of scandals in all political parties.
But can we all at least agree that is seems that politicians seem to be having more sex than the average American?
What makes you think I am for McCain Kaiser? Because I am not defending Edwards? I don’t like either of the candidates. They both make me sick. I am not affiliated with any Party.
It made those papers after it was already news. The mainstream media had largely ignored or dismissed it.
FDR,LBJ,JFK & Clinton are not Republicans but should be in your list.
Speaking of hypocrisy; Edwards touted family values in his campaign that’s one of the reasons he is being attacked.
Follow the money? Look at Obama also.
AP;Clinton was repeatedly warned about Bin Laden and ignored intel, he was preoccupied getting his knob polished by Monica to care.
But I guess it’s easier to blame everything on Bush.
And furthermore, I hope Edwards comes completely clean about this– this is between him and his wife.
BUT, if it turns out to be something else, something HUGe, then John McCain can lay NO claim to character or to honor as he did the exact SAME to his wife– straying HER in her most vulnerable moment.
People make me so sick.
You Senator are filth. How could you? Please Mrs. Edwards dump his sorry butt!
You and your children certainly did not
deserve this. Senator resign do the right
thing for once. How sad. 😥
If there is any chance that baby is yours
man-up and stop the lies. You sicken me 👿
Another frat boy politician gets caught with his pants down and his DNA strands tied up in a baby (you KNOW it’s his).
However, I find McCain’s behaviour toward is first wife as– if not more– appalling. I’m no moralist and I don’t expect our leaders to be perfect, but Jeez, Louise, has NOBODY and loyalty or sensitivity for their spouses?!?
I personally don’t care where some jerkoff sticks his ****, whether it be his wife or someone else. And the “hypocrisy” angle on this story is total bulls***. It 2008 for christ sakes. Politicians lie, old news.
“9/11 happened on whose watch?
Bush. ”
He’d been in office less than a year. Why not acknowledge the fact that Clinton let Bin Laden go TWICE before 9/11. Who was President when the first Trade Center bombing happened? Clinton. The U.S.S. Cole? Clinton.
And what exactly was his solution? “Hey guys, lets lob a few cruise missiles to impress the CNN camera crews, then bring me a fresh intern!”
The Iraq War? Blame Bush all you want buddy, but feel free to look up what the Democrats were saying about Iraq during the last few years building up to it. They were pretty much of the universal opinion that we had to take Saddam out too – until a Republican President actually did it. There’s a really funny video that’s been circling the net for a couple years now, about 30 minutes worth of clips of anti-war Democrats giving speeches before the war… calling for military action against Saddam.
“You want to tell me that this man has kept the country safe????!”
Well actually… yeah. I mean, I don’t really like the guy that much, but you can’t argue that we haven’t had a successful terrorist attack against the Continental US since 9/11.
It’s not like they just gave up either – just look at all the attacks that have succeeded in Europe – the Madrid Train attacks, those psychos in the UK that tried to run burning cars into airport terminals, the attacks in Bali, the attacks in the Philippines.
Yet, their greatest enemy, the ‘Great Satan’ remains untouched after 7 years. But we wouldn’t want to give Bush credit for that, now would we?
nice job as usual kaiser. thats the key point there.
and yah, i meant what I said about wishing we had an electorate less concerned with people’s sex lives and who they are cheating on outside of their marriages. edwards is morally f#cked up for doing this to his wife and paying people to keep it quiet (which might be illegal) as anyone would be, the plumber included. but I definitely do not see marital indescretions having a one on one correspondence with inability to make smart policy decisions and lead. in my opinion they just dont match up. these kinds of things have been going on for so long in politics all over the world because politics, power, and sex go together. we just didnt have an insatiable media covering every aspect of people’s lives.
edwards is a shit to be sure, but would I rather have a man who didnt cheat on his dying wife doing what Bush has done to this country in office, or a guy in office that did but who kept his immorality and lies and cheating and abuse confined to his marriage/bedroom instead of the entire country and entire world?
I take the latter.
oh and scott, i didnt give a rat’s ass about graig getting blown in the bathroom. its between him and his wife and his pastor. what I did care about was the fact that that A%%hole screeched about family values, anti-gay stuff, no gay marriage, no abortion, and legislated people sex lives and private reproductive issues his entire career. so since he made his entire career to care about what everyone did in their private time and private sex lives, I thought it was pretty freaking ironic.
@Daisy – Sorry. I thought you were for McCain – because of the Fox News stuff, and a couple of comments you’ve made about Obama. Just a few points:
I know Edwards is a f–king hypocritical douchebag. I’ve never liked him. When I voted Kerry/Edwards in 2004, I did it holding my nose.
I wasn’t compiling a “past presidents who had affairs” list – because I would also include Eisenhower, George HW Bush, and on and on. The guys I listed were all Republicans who recently (in the last decade) pushed legislation that was/is anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-privacy, or anti-human rights, all in the name of “family values.”
Follow the money extends to everybody. Yes, look at Obama’s money – campaign and personal finances – student loans, mortgage that the Obamas paid off in 2006, I believe. Bestselling books, campaign money from unions, Hollywood, and about 70% campaign financing from small donors, last I heard.
And we get it. Clinton was getting blown pre-9/11. What was Dubya’s excuse?
And thanks bros! 🙂 I’m thinking about doing another post about how f–ked the McCains are. Whaddya think?
And a brief overview of McCain’s personal and campaign finances:
Cindy McCain: A pill-popping beer heiress ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1577475/Cindy-McCain-pills,-beer-and-the-White-House.html ), who would be in jail serving out multiple felonies if not for white skin, money and political connection ( http://www.commondreams.org/views/021400-102.htm ). By the way, McCain is also a hawk on The War on Drugs ( http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-09-03-mccain-border_N.htm ), but I guess that‘s only for people with dark skin.
A horrible lack of transparency by the McCain campaign, who didn‘t want to release Cindy’s financial statements – even when Cindy’s beer money got him out of campaign debt, even when McCain used her private plane for his presidential campaign, and even when Cindy has made statements about her own wealth – like that she thinks that her private jet is “the only way to get around Arizona” ( http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/07/dnc-sees-cindy.html )
And then the Faustian bargain that was Keating Five ( http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1989-11-29/news/mccain-the-most-reprehensible-of-the-keating-five/1 ). Where the esteemed senator was (and is) up to his neck in one of the biggest financial scandals in American history, a scandal that cost American taxpayers billions (by some estimates, $120 billion in today‘s dollars). And a scandal that McCain still has his hands in ( http://phoenixnewtimes.com/2008-08-07/news/postmodern-mccain-the-john-mccain-some-arizonans-know-and-loathe/ ).
He used money that supporters gave him to pay off his love child and have an aide claim to be a father.
Ther is a HUGE difference between cheating on your wife- and cheating while she was having cancer- and even fathering a child, using campaign finances and worst of all:
not taking the responsibility of fatherhood to a child that has done nothing wrong.
Had the NE kept quiet about it- there would be a child that was lied to about who her father is, and prevented from having the basic right of a public bond with her father.
I was a supporter of Spitzer but this story is not even close.
While the Spitzer story was very dissappointing and has that hypocritical touch to it- it’s still more of a private matter.
This thing involves a child and money that was misused.
I also think his wife has helped him with the lying and coverup and something is wrong with her for defending him and making excuses for him.
As for McCain- he was a POW- and many of them have gone through divorce.
He came back a different man and sepereating from your spouse is not exactly fathering a child while your wife is fighting cancer (while running for president).
I know of people who have been through less than being POW and those experiences have broken their marriage and had shaken their world and had taken a toll on their marriage.
Just the tension and the emotional burden can break a storng bond, so I really can’t see why would any decent person drag McCain’s name into this shameful story.
Because I watch Fox, doesn’t mean that I lean right. That is sterotyping.
I made a comment about Obama back in July;
“CB, I am surprised that you leaked your vote on-line. I see exactly what you mean. I hear about the ‘change’ he touts, but I want firm answers about where he stands on specific issues. He has charisma, but is vague.
I think that we all want who is ‘best’ for our country. Every American voting has different priorities and concerns. That is what will steer you toward the candidate that is right for you.”
One of my biggest priorities is national security.
CB, why do you allow these other posters to jump on Tess for just talking about George W. She wasn’t even addressing them. I thought I’d ask since you are moderating today. Since you joined in against Scott. It seems you are very biased against conservatives. 😉
Yeah, yeah, so Saint John made a mistake in 2006, that does not explain why he’s still hanging around the “mistake” two years later, especially when the “mistake” now has a child. Yeah, all is well in the Edwards camp. I pity Elizabeth. She’s putting up a brave front. What is it with women that continue to stay with husbands that stick their prick in any hole? Icky, icky. 😯
DLR,
she probably thinks its not worth going through something as painful and horrendous as a divorce and breaking up the family in the precious time she has left, if only to put on a brave face for her kids and not futher traumatize them before the trauma of losing a mother at a young age. I get it in this case. there is a special place in heaven for people like elizabeth.
spitzers wife? hell, no i cant understand her.
Rielle Hunter looks like a skinny rat.
perez has elizabeth’s response to the scandal. she knew about it all the way back in 2006. her response is pretty eloquent and touching.
He is a disgusting pig, cheating on your dying wife is the lowest you can get.
What was he doing in the womans hotel room at 2 a.m. He is another lying sack of ego, incapable of thinking of anyone but himself and his desires. Enough of the lies, admit the kid is yours and accept responsibility.
if only the enquirer could come up with the goods on obama and mccain we could have hillary for president.
In general terms I strongly disagree with those who suggest that what a politician does in his bedroom should not have anything to do with how he is perceived as a politician.
I do not think you can create some artificial dividing line between a person’s “personal” actions and their “professional” actions, particularly when that person is granted a great deal of power over others (such as a Mayor, Senator, President, etc.)
If a man will lie and cheat to his own family–supposedly those he loves and cares for most–why would he have more ethics or consideration for the nameless masses of people he represents?
If he will misuse funds to funnel money to his mistress or pad his expenses, why would he not take kickbacks, bribes and misuse tax money?
If he will publicly denounce the sex trade and vow to fight organized crime, while at the same time giving big money to a prostitute who is pimped by organzied crime (thereby financing both of those things), what political promises can you expect him to keep?
Who a person is IS what he does.
A liar and a cheat and a fraud does not become an ethical, moral person when sitting behind the desk of his office.
I think it says a great deal (unfortunately) about our society today that so many people are willing to consider men who cheat on their wives and wreak their families, father children with their mistresses and lie about it as long as they can get away with it still perfectly reasonable choices for important political offices.
Soon, all of American will (politically) turn into Detroit!!
Can Yall Imagine the tense feelings in the Edwards household today? Elizabeth, you are wihin your rights to go upside his head.And has anyone noticed that the mistress looks a little crazy, like Glenn Close kiling the bunny crazy.
Agreed, Kaiser – Edwards was not going to get a shot at the VP slot this time anyway, son of the South or no. If memory serves, Edwards didn’t even carry his own state. This revelation just made Obama’s job getting elected a little harder, though. Not exactly what his party needs right now. 😐
Googled it. Reille Hunter seems like the Glenn Close character in “Fatal Attraction”.
czarina, if elliot spitzer had been having sex with a prostitute in las vegas, where it was legal, I wouldnt give a shit if he did that. it wouldnt change the fact that he was an extremely effective law maker and AG and was good at routing out corruption etc. where he messed up was breaking the law. he was involved in something illegal, which I care about. I dont care about immoral acts of cheating on his wife because until we found out about it, he was doing a fine job legislating. so no, I don’t want to hold politicians up to absurd ideals about their sexual lives that they can’t live up to. I want them to make good policy decisions, and there is no proof that any of these indescretions and horrible offenses to their wives have anything to do with ability to lead. clinton is a good example of this.
Now that Rielle is refusing to have the paternity of her baby determined, do we just assume it’s Edwards’ and she’s been paid to keep quiet? this is SO Jerry Springer.
What gives it away to me (besides the pictures, the money trail, the admission of the affair, etc.) is this: the man who claims to be the father of this baby, Mr. Young, is on friendly terms with and has been living near Rielle and the baby WITH his wife and three kids. Apparently his wife “knows” that Mr. Young fathered this child, yet she’s okay with the woman living next door and eating dinner with them? I think not. She’s just in on the cover-up too. She knows it’s Edwards’ baby so she doesn’t have to be jealous of/hate Rielle. Does that make sense?
And this has nothing to do with political parties. It’s about parties in bed that shouldn’t be taking place.
Yeah ALEXIS, I agree with you. Elizabeth, has said, she wanted to travel with John ” so bad “, but the children needed her also, and sometimes her health required her to rest more at home. How terrible of John, while she was resting that he was playing. I always liked John Edwards, but it takes two. Reilly Hunter knew what she was doing also, and it seems to me she set her sight on him, and sunk her claws in when it was the right time. This is such a sad thing to happen. I hope John and Elizabeth can find some peace and understanding through all of this.
You know, as disturbing as Edwards infidelity during his wife’s illness is, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, comes close to Jim McGreevey screwing his gay lover while his wife was in labor! If something like that isn’t an indicator of someone’s lack of character, then christ,…
Earlier I posted a comment about how a politico/candidates sex life isn’t a measure of their effectiveness, but what i love is how Johnny DoGood touted himself as the “compassionate candidate”;
Screwing around on your dying wife: how compassionate 🙂
Maybe they can both start a support group for a***holes. 🙂
This is so sad. Edwards should own up. Not taking paternity tests and refusing to sign affidavits as to that childs paternity is such a clear sign that that child is his and he won’t acknowledge him or her as others have said. I liked the clusterf**k description. That’s what it is allright and that child will have to grow up with it…and his wife has to live with it for the rest of the time she has left.
Very very sad.
I do think the way a political figure handles their personal affairs reflects on their ability to lead (pun intended). I would think that at some point – before, during, or after the affair – Edwards might have considered the very good possibility that it might become public. Considering that I would think that he might have put some thought into how he would handle such a situation. I wonder if his plan was to just deny it? Or was he unprepared for such a situation and so his spotaneous reaction under the pressure was to lie? Either way, he has shown he is lacking in the area of damage control. Either he hadn’t conceived of the idea that this might come out and he should have a plan ready, or else lying was his planned way of handling it. Both scenarios show poor judgement and a flawed ability to manage a difficult situation. Not to mention the situation overall shows his lack of discipline, the inability to follow through with his commitments, and above all poor character. I think our political leaders should have good values and strong character, and it should be reflected in their personal lives.
Bros: I was going to answer you, but L did a very eloquent job of doing it for me!
Why do you presume being faithful to your spouse is “an absurd idea(l)” that “can’t be lived up to”. People have been living up to it for years.
If you can’t control your sex drive you are either an animal or you have a psychological problem.
Otherwise, assuming you are a human being, not a psychopath and not suffering some sort of mental disorder, if you are attracted to someone other than your spouse, you just SUCK IT UP.(or if you really can’t live without someone else you get a divorce). You–and I know this is crazy!–do NOT indulge your every want and desire like a spoiled two year old!!
Is this too much to expect from a politician? That they have enough self-control and maturity to recognize that they can’t have eveything they want? That they not be led around by their dicks?
I have been faithful to my husband since the first time we dated. I haven’t found my marriage vows “too hard to live up to”.
Also, Bros, I found your statement somewhat nieve–you are basing your opinion of these men’s political accomplishments on what you read in the paper; what has been publicly trumpeted to “the masses”. However, if a politician can keep his extended relationship to a mistress or prostitute secret for so many years, how much has been going on in his political life that you–one of the masses–know nothing about?
A liar is a liar. Unethical is unethical. Corrupt is corrupt.
For heavens sake ya’ll…. All this Edwards bashing and all. Mostly women screaming. Half of you probably would have jumped in the sack with him if you’d had the chance.
Now this girl….. Burned out crack whore. Looks in the mirror one day and realizes the looks are about gone. Does her level best to look good for just a few months, puts her eye on the prize, and rolls the dice. He’s got money, power, looks and may yet be king someday. Lays off the BC pills, gets him on the hook, and BIN
oops… sorry. Gets him in the sack and …. bingo…. she scores. Why, I bet as soon as he let that load loose she was thinking of her wallet!!
Yep. She is set for life now. Way to go girl !!
@Daisy – Yes, it was a stereotype. I apologize. Please please please consider switching from O’Reilly to Olberman, though. 🙂
And please consider voting for Obama. If you care about foreign policy & national security, please don’t vote for McCain. McCain will be bombing Iran in the first year of his presidency – he is even more of a warmongering neocon psychopath than Bush/Cheney.
Kasier, I have been sick to my stomach thinking about this disagreement. I don’t want to offend you. I enjoy our daily AJ posts. 😉
Normally I would not have gone through the trouble of researching the links that you provided in your prior post, if it was another poster.
I have watched Olberman and did for a long time. Keith, who bad mouthed O’Reilly so much, was the reason I tuned in to Fox to see why he hated him so much. What’s funny is, I started watching O’Reilly instead. 🙄 I find it less one sided, and believe it or not, he sticks up for Obama more than I care to hear. No I don’t agree with everything Bill says, but I do find him credible. Have you ever watched the Factor?
I do not like or respect Rev. Wright, Jesse Jackson or Father Phleger. Don’t forget, I am from Chicago and grew up listening to the hate that Jackson and Phleger spread. Phleger is a priest at the church I attended on the South Side, I am surprised the Archdiocese of Chicago doesn’t muzzle him. Using the pupit to spread their political agendas is wrong and they should lose their tax exempt status. All three of them are tied in some way to Obama.
Not all Chicagoan’s like Obama. There is no way Obama will get my vote, ever. He is a charming speaker with no substance. He has skeletons in his closet also, all politicians do, hell most people do. I don’t like his wife either, and the only reason I brought her up is because of what you wrote about Cindy McCain. I might not vote at all this election.
As far as bombing Iran, what a can of worms you opened with that one.
I could go on and on, if you would like to discuss this further, CB can give you my email address.
Cheating is something between a man and his wife.
We all have flaws.
However, fathering a child and NOT taking the responsibility is a public matter since NO one is protecting the interest of the child and as a society we should protect the child.
If the father is still lying, doesn’t take the paternity test and is willing to maintain a relationship with the child only in the middle of the night in hotel rooms- this is a new level of indecency that we as a society should not allow.
Misusing funds and having an aide be bought to admit to a child he did not father, while buying him a 4 million dollars home- is a disgrace that is not just between a man and his wife.
And whatever Spitzer’s wife chooses is her business, but I can not understand what is wrong with Elizabeth who keeps making excuses for her husband and helped him and continue to help him with the cover-up- while an innocent child is involved and Elizabeth support has aided in funneling funds to the coverup.
Some woman are so greedy in their desire to maintain a status and economic comfort, that they would be as worse as their fraudulent husbands.
I think the line has crossed once a child is involved and funds were misused.
Spitzer’s case is completely different than this one.
He has to take the paternity test for the child’s sake and answer all the questions about the money.
This story s so morraly corrupt that can’t understand how people keep talking about the cheating part.
The cheating part was also an indicator of his sociopath nature- since he has continued to meet with the mistress long after 2006, and him and his wife Elizabeth, continuing to lie so blatantly about something that we all know already- is deeply troubling.
FIRST!
CB, thanks for alerting me about McCain. I had no idea.
@Daisy – 🙂 It’s cool, I think we can agree to disagree on this one. The Wright thing bothered me too, but there is so much (correction: ZOMG SO MUCH) more that bothers me about McCain.
Father Phleger just seemed like a sideshow to me, and Jesse Jackson – well, I don’t really think ol’ Jesse wants Obama to be elected, do you? If Obama was elected, Jesse *might* have to stop whining and using race as a wedge issue. Jesse *might* have to grow up. Why would he want Obama to win?
As far as where we grew up – I grew up (and still live close to) the buckle of the Bible Belt. The churches of Robertson, Falwell (RIP douchebag), etc should get their tax-exempt status taken away too.
Why don’t you like Michelle Obama?
Makes you wonder what other skeletons Mister John, “who looka like a televangelist,” has in his closet. Keep following him and keep digging National Enquirer, me thinks you’ll find out lots more. Edwards has it all wrong, it’s not the National Enquirer who is sleazy–It’s him! It’s his arrogance and continued lying which are really bugging people.
So disappointed!! I really liked Edwards.
What a shame – as if Elizabeth doesn’t have enough to contend with trying to beat cancer — and this slimeball is running around trying to find someone to screw!!!! — As far as I’m concerned heis nothing but a spoiled kid — and we think he’s Presidential material?? — I think theyought to lock him up until he can keep his business in his pants — I sure wouldn’t want him representing as president — didn’t we have enough of that with Clinton – remember 4 and maybe 5 years of Monica’s smililing love sick face??? — No thanks — I’ll take Mickey Mouse – thank you very much!!!!!!!!!
I knew Edwards was a sleaze ball from the get-go! His two Americas’ banter and his arrogant, self-aggrandizing and cocky, good ol’ southern boy charmer tactics have parlayed him right where he belongs. He always displayed such an air of elitism, while claiming that he was the candidate for the “common” man. Re: $400 hair cuts, for example.
Now people see him for the superficial and lying politician he proved to be!
“I saw it coming.”
I believe Rielle Hunter and Bob McGovern, Rielle’s “Spiritual Healer” were attempting to blackmail John Edwards.
I also believe that the baby’s father is Bob McGovern(whom Rielle Hunter has know for about 15 years) That is the reason Rielle Hunter will not be having a paternity test, “now, or in the future.”
Keep it up the good job 🙂