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Edwards....

Started 3 years ago by beachdrivegirl
Latest reply from villagegreen

beachdrivegirl
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Did anyone else see this??

http://www.komonews.com/news/26424614.html

It makes me really sad.

Posted 3 years ago #
andrea
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maybe I\'m naive, but my mouth hit the floor when I heard it this morning...i honestly thought he was one of the good guy family guys out there in politics...i had hoped all of the National Enquirer stories, were just that, stories, but it seems that the small town family man from NC is more than meets the eye....and his poor sick wife too...man, thats the kicker for me...

Posted 3 years ago #
Zenguy
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He is a human being with failings just like everyone else...except his make national headlines.

Posted 3 years ago #
JenV
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so sad when someone you admire so much turns out to be a no-good (rhymes with smooshbag) His wife has cancer, fer crissakes. what a sorry excuse for a human being.

I would like to point out, the National Enquirer broke this story. You know, the people who claim Elvis is alive and pumping gas in Bumblecrumb, Alabama. And the mainstream media ignored it for months. Hats off to the NE for some fine investigative journalism! Who\'da thunk it?

Posted 3 years ago #
charlabob
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David Bonier, Edwards\' campaign manager, used the word \"betrayal\". He is not wrong. This was happening at the same time he was announcing and campaigning. Had he done better, the way we all hoped, we Dems would be SO screwed. I wish I were sad, but I\'m just angry.

I\'m glad I like Obama, but don\'t love him.

It\'s pretty clear that the videos his campaign \"bought\" from this novice filmaker were hush money.

NB, if we were keeping score, the record of the \"family values\" party in this regard is still quite bleaker. And definitely more hypocritical.

Posted 3 years ago #
andrea
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yes, he is human, and to err is truly human I believe, but I am not the politician...he chose to be a very public politician who has been in the forefront of the political arena the last few years attempting to become our nations VP and pres most recently...he had to know when he ran for president that this could come out, and he still pursued the highest office in the land, knowing that his platform as the small town, devout, mill workers family man of the people could be called into question...to me, its almost like a slpa in the face....and yes, it makes me even more bitter to know that his wife is battling metastatic breast cancer during the same time as he was cheating on her and potentially fathering another child...

Posted 3 years ago #
beachdrivegirl
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I guess I am mad to. When I get mad i get sad...that is how come you\'ll see me cry when i am pissed. It really is heart breaking to me b/c I have watched so many interview of Edwards and his wife and admired them both so much. It also makes me so angry that this was going on while his wife was fighting breast cancer.

Posted 3 years ago #
Zenguy
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I think it takes a little arrogance to run for President and this was definitely arrogant. Did they learn nothing from Gary Hart???

The article on MSNBC said he was having the affair when Elizabeth\'s cancer was in remission however.

Posted 3 years ago #
WSMom
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I\'m with you BDG, I get sad when I get mad and this news makes me feel both. When I told my daughter about the National Enquirer breaking the story, she said \"are they gonna go on Maury for the paternity test?\" That\'s about the level of decency Edwards is showing! Oh, so it\'s not so bad since Elizabeth was in remission?? He has young children who now have to live with a selfish cheat for a father once their mom is gone. Make me puke!!!

Posted 3 years ago #
Zenguy
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Nope, did not say that at all. I just wanted to correct the misinformation above.

Posted 3 years ago #
WSMom
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Zenguy, oops, didn\'t mean to imply that you were saying that...

Posted 3 years ago #
Zenguy
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No worries Mom.

Posted 3 years ago #
MissK
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Is it wrong? Yes
Is it against his vows as a husband? Yes

However he is human. We have not walked any time in his shoes. I don\'t know why everyone is shocked anymore? FDR, JFK, Bill Clinton to name a few. It\'s a sad but true fact that today\'s notables are not sin free. Maybe they never were? With the internet, all the mass communications, and the greedy people looking for a payout we know ALOT more about peoples personal lives than sometimes we need to. Just my thoughts.

Posted 3 years ago #
Zenguy
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It is an impossible standard we are holding our elected officials to, possibly better people would run if we did not care about their personal lives so much.

It is sad though that he probably won\'t have any role in an Obama administration. I wanted him to be Attorney General.

Posted 3 years ago #
flowerpetal
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Doesn\'t make it right; but it goes back farther than \"today\'s notables\" to include Warren Harding, Grover Cleveland, and Thomas Jeffereson. It will be a memorable day when we elect a woman as first prez. and even more memorable when we discover a woman president who has had an extra-marital affair of her own.

Posted 3 years ago #
MissK
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Its almost inevitable flowerpetal. Sad to say. I wish people could walk the walk as they talk the talk. However, we are human beings and we are wired to make mistakes and to give in to our own selfish needs.

Posted 3 years ago #
flowerpetal
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Perhaps one day marriage will be viewed differently; vows will be written differently and people will care less about what couples do.

Posted 3 years ago #
WSB
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To a side point in this - Nobody ever believed me when I said it multiple times in past years, but the Enquirer really does do actual journalism. The tabloids NOT to believe are the obvious outlandish ones like the old Weekly World News. The Enquirer certainly focuses on sensational topics, and goes to questionable lengths to get the information (what in the world was the \"spy camera\" in the hotel room where Edwards was photographed holding the baby?), but it\'s actual reporting, not made up.

Otherwise my only comment on this is, the longer you deny something that is true, the worse it\'s going to bite you when you finally have to fess up to it. In 30ish years of media work, I have seen that again and again and again and again and again.

-TR

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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\"Otherwise my only comment on this is, the longer you deny something that is true, the worse it\'s going to bite you when you finally have to fess up to it. In 30ish years of media work, I have seen that again and again and again and again and again.\"

TR - You have no idea how much I appreciate you stating that. To know that you have seen this time and again in your experience, means the world to me.

(P.S. This comment has absolutely nothing to do with the thread topic, just a personal thank you to TR for sharing that in my life right now)

Posted 3 years ago #
Trick
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TR,
You\'re telling me the couple attacked by gold fish is not true?

*Gasps*

Posted 3 years ago #
HP
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What makes me angry is Elizabeth was so supportive of her husband while he was on his campaign trail while she was sick and to know he had been cheating on his sick and so supportive wife makes me so sick what a jerk.

Posted 3 years ago #
MrJT
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Apparently this had become a therapy session.

Posted 3 years ago #
charlabob
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HP, I\'m sorry but read the timeline; Elizabeth knew and was party to the decision to run. What went on in the house is and should remain private. They somehow thought they could get by with it. THEY not he.

There are definitely women and cancer survivors who are victims -- I am sure she is not one.

Posted 3 years ago #
Magpie
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This is interesting. The Huffington post had a lot of stuff on this quite early and I really got the feeling the folks blogging there really believed that he was having an affair. Plus, the right leaning media was all over this early on, especially since he didn\'t come out and offer a paternity test. Other left leaning media seemed to ignore it. If this baby isn\'t his, then he probably could have gotten away with the lie by taking a paternity test, makes you wonder....I really feel for his kids. They are still pretty young and this kind of attention is brutal

I just hope we don\'t have to see some media report with Elizabeth by his side like we did with Eliot Spitzer.. I might just throw up a little.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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I didn\'t think i would be the one to stand up for John Edwards.. but i guess i am.

I have lived through a death sentence diagnosis more than once and have been married through most of them. I can tell you that this is one of the worst stresses you can put on any marriage... and that the period of time after you are told you won\'t die right now after all is the worst for both patient and caretaker.

People do really stupid things under stress... including committing adultery. Some marriages survive that.. some don\'t.

It\'s hard to tell what is really happening inside the Edwards marriage... they are a political couple... she is as invested in politics as he...

and she has a huge vested interest in making certain her children have a functioning full time father.

but it\'s not up to us to decide what is happening in their marriage.. it is a private decision they have to make together.

some very ordinary marriages not only survive but thrive after adultery.

he would have been better to admit his mistake... and either accept or deny the child that he says is not his.

but this is.. after all.. his private life. something we seem to have forgotten politicians have since the republicans made such a three ring circus out of a BJ.

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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JoB - We forgot about \"private lives\" probably because we\'ve had a Republican president who HASN\'T made his private life a three ring circus!!!!

Posted 3 years ago #
Jeffro
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I disagree that this is strictly a private matter. Not only was this irresponsible to his wife, it was irresponsible to the voters for holding back what everyone knows can kill a candidacy. I personally don\'t care that he fooled around, but others might. He should have been considerate enough to let us know his baggage before he ran for office.

Also, he gets extra sleazeball points for smearing the Enquirer for weeks and then bearing his soul on a Friday night during the Olympics. He should have nipped it in the bud like Spitzer did. Now come the \"who\'s the father?\" stories and the speculations of who else the Edwards campaign impregnated while they were on tour.

Posted 3 years ago #
charlabob
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NR, be very careful -- the post bush books have yet to come out and some very interesting revelations are expected.

Posted 3 years ago #
acemotel
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Maybe we\'d be better off if that Republican president had made his private life a three-ring circus; as it is he made the world a three-ring circus and the US the laughing stock of the very public performance. Marital fidelity is great for a happy and nurturing family life, but it does not correlate with an ability to govern. Or intelligence, unfortunately. The sins of GWB are far worse than infidelity, a million times worse.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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NewResident,

the press didn\'t make Bush Jr\'s life a three ring circus... that doens\'t mean it wasn\'t one.

during his campaign we didn\'t hear allegations of drug abuse either.. but since i partied with the man and some of his cronies in colorado in the 80s.. i can tell you that there was plenty of evidence that was overlooked...

And those daughters of his... they made Chelsey look like a nun... but not much of that was reported either.

i wouldn\'t be so smug if i were you... because history will one day reveal the truth.. and it isn\'t likely to be a truth you appreciate much.

heck.. they haven\'t even unsealed Bush Srs white house records yet... ever wonder why the son felt it was so important to keep a lid on those?

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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Jeffro..

you make a good point about his irresponsibility.

Posted 3 years ago #
charlabob
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JoB, I\'m disappointed -- I thought you had better taste than that -- I\'d rather party with Nixon. At least his psychoses are interesting.

Repugs don\'t care about history -- it\'s one of those fact-based sciency things, which can just be ignored at will.

I agree with Jeffro -- he had to know what this would have done to a successful candidacy and his could have been a successful candidacy. If I were a trial lawyer, I\'m afraid I\'d file a class action against him for fraud. :-)

Elizabeth Edwards has now been banished from the convention too. I don\'t understand why (she was reportedly going to make the health care keynote.) I mean, I know Obama is a very cautious (cowardly!) pol, but this is a great disappointment.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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charlabob..

it was a party. i was there. my date knew one of his friends. I didn\'t much care who he was.. he was a bore. out of control frat boys are only amusing when they are still boys... and... we left early. but not before i had seen plenty.

banishing Elizabeth from the convention for her husband\'s infidelity is cruel.

Posted 3 years ago #
acemotel
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We can\'t assume she was banished. She\'s a classy lady. I wouldn\'t be surprised if she removed herself.

Posted 3 years ago #
charlabob
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Obama announced it -- and she didn\'t mention it in her long and eloquent blog post. Much as I\'d like to give the benefit of some doubt to the campaign....I just can\'t. :-)

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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I just can\'t help but think that all of Edward\'s supporters who helped him and gave him their money must feel completely misled.

How arrogant can a person be to run for the most important job in America with this in his backyard?

I know that several members of this forum were big Edward\'s supporters and I imagine this is so disappointing.

Posted 3 years ago #
Caduceus
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when I first heard about Edwards I was ecstatic. And I was giving serious consideration to voting.

I\'m only dismayed to hear he lied about it, and in that lie professed his un-dying love for his wife.

I am not surprised that he cheated or lied for that matter, it was how he lied about the fact that he cheated.

Those of you getting up in arms about the adultery and the lying in general are a little silly. To think that politicians are immune to worldly desires and tell nothing but the honest truth is rather outlandish.

Edwards has been the best possible presidential candidate since the beginning. It\'s intensely unfortunate that he dropped out.

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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From Clinton to Edwards and everyone in between, I am always amazed that lies (even to a grand jury) don\'t seem a big deal to Democrats.

I know, I know.... now everyone will tell me that Bush has lied and lives have been lost. That\'s a whole other argument.

When a politician\'s wife, who was sworn to in front of family, friends and God that he would honor, love and be faithful to, can\'t even trust her own husband, why should a nation?

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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\"I am always amazed that lies (even to a grand jury) don\'t seem a big deal to Democrats\" This is a petty, flaming statement.

If you want to go there, let\'s review a few Republican sexcapades and see how many you\'ve been upset about.

http://www.armchairsubversive.org/

For the record, lying bothers me a lot and this story is extremely disappointing.

Posted 3 years ago #
Caduceus
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NR She may still very well trust him, Mr. and Mrs Edwards may very well be working through tis situation with great success. As JoB pointed out.

Edwards only has himself to handle sexual urges at any point in time, as sexual urges are impulsive.

While leading a nation, he has an entire people to consult.

The difference between his personal life and his hypothetical spot in leading the nation is just that...

Individual as opposed to leading the greater whole.

Adultery is a common mistake, as natural instinct isn\'t as easy to avoid as perhaps a war?

Not to be a jerk but I can\'t justify comparing his personal life to his political one beyond the basic character defining aspect.

I guess to summarize, I recognize a bold difference between mistakes in one\'s personal life and in one\'s political life. And there are too many variables in-between, and too many reasons and people involved to successfully connect the two.

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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JT - You\'re right, any kind of lying by any kind of person (especially someone selected by the people to run our government, our nation) is disappointing. And hurtful.

Cadudeus - That\'s exactly the point, the character of a person. There are actually people (and politicians) who are able to suppress this \"natural instinct\" that you seem to feel is beyond control.

Posted 3 years ago #
Jeffro
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NewRes, if you want a full-on three-ring circus, you should review the activities of your party\'s candidate starting in the fifties and going on up to the point he became senile a few years ago. I\'m not one to say infidelity should disqualify a person from being president, but if it did you\'d certainly have to disqualify McCain.

Personally, I prefer the stories about high-priced callgirls and office romances to the ones about wide-stance bathroom stall foot-tapping and underage Senate page-boys that the Republicans seem to excel at.

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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Jeffro - That was pretty funny, I must admit.

Posted 3 years ago #
Caduceus
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As I\'m aware my dear NR. :]

And Edwards is at the moment, not one of them. Does that mean all his progress and everything phenomenal about his political stances is all for not?

If anything, it shows the gap between his personal and political life is smaller than most other politicians. Is that not one of the larger problems people have with politicians, is that they\'re too distant and seem to ignore \"average\" problems \"average\" American\'s seem to go through?

If anything it makes him more relatable, and brings him closer to home.

Being un-faithful isn\'t acceptable and I\'m not trying to make it seem like its not a big deal. But it isn\'t an isolated event and like everyone else in his shoes (personal life) he will carry it with him \'till the end of his days. But I still don\'t see it\'s any reason to disown him, regardless of your political stance. (mine being undecided)

And I didn\'t over-exaggerate your argument to make mine look better, I would appreciate if you would return the courtesy. :]

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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My dear Caduceus - I\'m not sure where I allegedly \"over-exaggerated\" your argument. I pointed out agreement with your comment on basic character.

Just like anything, certain violations (personal, professional, moral, etc.) affect everyone differently. Some don\'t think Edward\'s mistake is a big deal, some do.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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NewResident..

I am so glad to hear that you think infidelity speaks to character.

I am so sorry that you will be forced to end your support of John McCain. Not only was he unfaithful to one wife in the past to acquire a newer, healthier, richer model.. there is a fidelity skeleton in his current campaign closet as well.

I know how disappointed you must be:)

Posted 3 years ago #
angelescrest
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Very rich, JoB.

Posted 3 years ago #
flipjack
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I really have a hard time with humans that think they are more \"moral\" than other humans. The fact of the matter is: None of us know the real truth of the situation no matter what any media outlet has reported.
Sitting and judging other people\'s actions is at best a superfluous way to entertain and bloat one\'s supposedly superior moral ego in the name of nothing-better-to-do.
Politicians do it all the time whether we know it or not (JFK for example). It has nothing to do with how they lead a country (unless you are a right wing christian maybe). I don\'t need a \"morally superior\" automaton zombie to run things.
Someone that actually makes a human mistake that only proves that he has real human feelings and desires is way better than the psychopaths in the whitehouse now.
So since \"W\" hasn\'t been caught cheating that makes him a better president than say Clinton?!?!
Man, no wonder the Europeans think we\'re such prudes.

Posted 3 years ago #
Erik
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:X

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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flipjack..

right now the europeans think we are worse than prudes. they think we are fools...

and i so wish that was a joke.

Posted 3 years ago #

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