I feel obliged to state for the record that I would never comment on a politician’s private life unless it betrays the statements, policies and conduct he espouses in his public life.
This is why I commented on the travails of anti-gay crusader Senator Larry Craig – after he was arrested for soliciting gay sex in a public toilet. And it is why I’m commenting on the mess model husband John Edwards has gotten himself into – after he was busted in Beverly Hills on Monday having a rendezvous with his mistress (and their secret, six-month-old love child).
Perhaps you recall the shocking scandal that rocked former Senator Edwards’ insurgent presidential campaign last year when the National Enquirer reported that he was having an extramarital affair with one of his campaign staffers – who often accompanied him along the campaign trail.
Of course, the reason this was so shocking is that Edwards had endeared himself to millions of voters by presenting himself as a faithful and loving husband who was supporting his wife Elizabeth (pictured with him here in this beautiful family portrait) in her heroic battle against cancer.
Never mind that he cravenly used his wife’s illness as a campaign tool to win sympathy and shield himself from any further media scrutiny into his private life. (This SOB even had her all over TV attacking his opponents, knowing full well that none of them would fight back against a woman stricken with cancer.)
Therefore, I suppose it’s understandable that he vehemently denied that report as follows:
I’ve been in love with the same woman for 30-plus years and as anybody who’s been around us knows, she’s an extraordinary human being, warm, loving, beautiful, sexy and as good a person as I have ever known. So the story’s just false…. It’s completely untrue, ridiculous….made-up.
Unfortunately, this was rather like another presidential candidate, former Senator Gary Hart, publicly daring the press to prove he was having an extramarital affair that every reporter knew he was having. And the Enquirer rose to the challenge. Because here, in part, is what they’re reporting today:
Vice Presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards was caught visiting his mistress and secret love child at 2:40 this morning…. The married ex-senator from North Carolina – whose wife Elizabeth continues to battle cancer — met with his mistress, blonde divorcee Rielle Hunter [pictured right], at the Beverly Hilton on Monday night July 21 – and the National Enquirer was there! He didn’t leave until early the next morning….
After we confronted him about seeing Rielle, Edwards looked like a deer caught in headlights!
Shocked to see a reporter, and without saying anything, Edwards ran up the stairs leading from the hotel basement to the lobby. But, spotting a photographer, he doubled back into the basement. As he emerged from the stairwell, reporter Butterfield questioned him about his hookup with Reille.
Edwards did not answer and then ran into a nearby restroom. He stayed inside for about 15 minutes, refusing to answer questions from the National Enquirer about what he was doing in the hotel. A group of hotel security men eventually escorted him from the men’s room, while preventing the National Enquirer reporters from following him out of the hotel.
Incidentally, let me hasten to disabuse you of any notion that the accuracy of this story is suspect because it’s being reported by the National Enquirer. After all, the distinction between this tabloid and the New York Times, when it comes to the reliability of their reporting, was eradicated long ago – as many headline reports about the Times quoting the Enquirer and even faking the news (remember Jason Blair?) can attest.
More to point, the fact the Edwards has not denied this report is testament to its accuracy. Therefore, I suspect his supporters will be even more disappointed in him than Bill Clinton’s supporters were after he was busted for having an extramarital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky: not least because Clinton never presented himself as a model husband.
But I’ve chronicled so much hypocrisy in Edwards’ public life that I’m not at all surprised that he turns out to be a hypocrite in his private life as well. In fact, here’s what I wrote about him in this respect on the day he launched his ill-fated campaign for the presidency in December 2006:
Even the most cynical political commentators could not ignore the hypocrisy of Edwards showing up [in New Orleans] for a day to decry the fact that – more than a year after Katrina – these long-suffering people are still struggling to rebuild their lives of quiet desperation.
Because during this time, instead of traveling to lend a helping hand – like so many people who are genuinely concerned about the gap between the two Americas did – Edwards was busy watching contractors build a mansion on his plantation in North Carolina that is so, well, presidential, it would turn both George Ws (i.e., Washington and Bush) green with envy.
Frankly, this guy should be a used car salesmanbecause he gives politicians (and lawyers) a bad name! And, trust me folks, no matter what Drudge and others have reported, Edwards was never in contention to be Obama’s VP running mate.
NOTE: Instead of issuing inherently suspicious, finger-wagging denials, I wish one of these cheating bastards would have the balls to simply say to the press that “when it comes to questions about my marriage, I answer only to my wife and God … next question!”
Related Articles:
Edwards launches presidential campaign in New Orleans
Senator Larry Craig caught in gay sex sting
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