Watching Tweety and his segment on John Edwards... ugh...

[LakeSamish706]

I can't believe that this shit has happened and he did these things. We, his supporters were certainly duped by this guy and it pales in comparison to what his poor wife must be going through....

[cali]

1. I feel for Elizabeth

and I'm sorry so many people here were suckered by someone who I saw as a blatant con man.

[Hepburn]

7. Same here....

...my heart is breaking for her.

She is terminally ill, has three children ~~ two of whom are quite young ~~ and she has a cheating SOB for a husband.

Jeeeeeeeez...what a load of shit he dumbed on her.

[jillan]

18. Me too - she doesn't deserve this.

And I agree with your assessment of him.
I liked him alot in 2004, but saw right thru him in 2008.

[Windy]

27. He was friends with Geoff Fieger. (kevorkian's lawyer) As a result, I knew he was flawed.

I used to work for Fieger and therefore, I speak from personal knowledge.

[Beaverhausen]

24. why bother.

[Drunken Irishman]

2. I just don't understand why he ran for president...

Knowing it would come to light and shame his family. I get that Clinton was able to dog the accusations, but it nearly cost him in 1992 and surely hurt him in 1998. Edwards seems like a smart and capable man, did he not think this would come back and bite him in the ass? Seriously, what was running through his mind when he decided to run?

I just don't get it.

[LakeSamish706]

3. Makes one wonder now, (and I certainly never saw it coming) was he drunk for ...

power? This to me is even worse than what Bill Clinton did, cause Edwards wife was there for him completely and he did this to her. I just don't have words for the guy at this time to describe his misdeeds here.

[cali]

11. yes, he was power drunk

his record does not indicate that he was ever a principled person.

[juajen]

40. Are you really saying that Hillary wasn't there for Bill?

My God, what more could she have done for him?

[Cha]

10. Oh yeah..it's not as if

John Edwards didn't have Bill Clinton's experience with Impeachment to give him pause.

[Drunken Irishman]

16. Exactly. All the crap Clinton and his family went through...

You'd think Edwards would just concede it wasn't worth it.

Very selfish.

[Dappleganger]

46. Hubris

He seems like the kind of guy who could delude himself into just about anything, and the kind of person who could also delude just about anyone else around him.

[mckara]

4. Makes Me Happy that I Switched to Obama Before Sending Money to the John!

n/t

[LakeSamish706]

5. Certainly wish I had done that in hind sight... Very disappointed. n/t

[Cha]

22. I was originally looking at Edwards..

but right before Iowa I noticed in my old emails that I sent money to Obama. And, was really glad he won Iowa although I still had the best to learn about him.

[masuki bance]

6. He expected everyone to just believe what he said, forget his actions.

The whole "studying poverty while raking in the big bucks at an offshore hedge fund" was classic.

[TorchTheWitch]

41. and a whole lot of people here did just that

they liked his new message and made excuses about none of his actions measuring up to that message.

[AtomicKitten]

8. This whole mess is cringe-worthy.

My first thought was and remains with Elizabeth.

[LakeSamish706]

14. Thats where the OP came from in the first place, watching Elizabeth on Opra....

made "The I don't believe this guy could be so vile".

[AtomicKitten]

37. The timing of the book, this appearance on Oprah, and the federal investigation

is one big clusterf*ck that I don't think bodes well for anyone concerned.

[CakeGrrl]

9. I wonder if he 'fessed up to the Obama vetting team

assuming they ever considered him for VP. Maybe that explains why he went so far off the radar he was never even mentioned for any cabinet position in the Obama Administration.

[LakeSamish706]

12. I remember wondering why Obama wasn't taking him seriously as a VP....

Yep, makes one wonder if he came clear to Obama way back then.

[karynnj]

29. I assume that he wasn't on the list because many key people on the Obama team knew

him from 2004. Many Kerry strategists and campaign people went to Obama when Kerry opted not to run. (Jon Favreau went to him as a speech writer as soon as he became Senator. What was interesting that of the Kerry fund raisers and campaign people with Kerry in 2006 - NONE of them went to the Edwards campaign.

Though Kerry, very admirably never said anything negative about Edwards, he pointedly said nothing positive - as he praised Obama, Clinton, Dodd, and Biden. My guess is that not all these ex-Kerry people were as reticent. He was an AWFUL VP in that he refused to do much of what he was asked - vainly worrying about his own image instead.

[liberalmuse]

13. And to think I picked him over Obama.

Oh my god. I knew he was slick, but I liked his stance on poverty and many other issues. Jesus, the least he could have done was stray with a hottie. He cheated on the wonderful Elizabeth for that? That's just insulting. Even if it had been someone spectacular, with a wife like Elizabeth, he'd still look the fool. It's just...sad. :(

[rufus dog]

15. Rufus Dog uses criteria to judge people

One is, never trust a guy who has nicer hair than your wife.

Thus I was always extremely skeptical of Mr. Edwards.

[Drunken Irishman]

17. What about John Kennedy? :P

[LakeSamish706]

19. You have a very good point actually... He was sex addict for sure....

Amazing his wife never divorced him long before he was assassinated.

[Drunken Irishman]

23. True, but I still think he was a good man.

Not sure Edwards is.

[rufus dog]

20. perhaps I should rephrase the original.

JFK had nice hair, as do a great many Irishmen. The difference is how much time is spent making the hair look good.

An Irish Mop is O.K. with me, I see it daily.

[jenmito]

21. I ALWAYS saw him as a phony. And to hear his wife say the ONLY thing she wanted from

him was for him not to cheat on her. Kind of strange that she even felt the need to say that. Maybe he cheated on her before they got married!

[karynnj]

30. Now that you mention it - that is a weird request to make at the point you are getting married

You might be right - I think you would only think of it had he already cheated.

[jenmito]

32. That's what I'm sayin'...

why would THAT be the "only thing she wanted" at the very beginning of their marriage unless he had a history of cheating?

[Berry Cool]

34. There are other possible reasons.

I don't know about her, but I know that because my own father was unfaithful, fidelity would be a dealbreaker for my marriage. In both a spiritual and sexual way. In fact, I would be wounded beyond repair if my husband merely had sex with someone else and claimed it was meaningless. Once. I'd be gone so fast I'd leave skid marks. Nothing could possibly be a bigger dealbreaker for me.

[Clio the Leo]

25. That story is heartbreaking......

.... she's dying from cancer. She couldn't leave him if she wanted to.

[Pisces]

26. He used his family to sell himself. He knows that this is the age of gotcha journalism, however

he was so self involved that he risked the Presidency for his own ambition. He is a piece of shit. I don't blame Elizabeth for staying with the father of her children when she has cancer. She has to do what all women must do, and that is make decisions that are best for her children.

[Drunken Irishman]

28. Yup. He really could have killed the Democratic Party.

Let's not forget, when Edwards began his campaign, many thought he'd be the anti-Hillary. This was when many still didn't take Obama seriously and had Edwards actually caught fire after Iowa and won the nomination, he would have sank the Democratic Party in the general and most likely would have given us McCain and Palin.

Fuck me.

[grantcart]

38. You know the more you think about the more impressive Obama is

Did he know about the rumors?


If he was a normal guy he would have made half an attempt take the VP role and either be the Vice President or the Presidential nominee in 4 years without having to work 18 hours a day, day after day.


We came THAT close.

[beachmom]

31. Elizabeth and members of the Edwards campaign staff participated in the deceit.

And, when she got sick again, she could have used that time for them to drop out, with no questions asked as to why. However:

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=120B4AF4-18FE-70B2-A8A9D8AF8C18A461

Elizabeth Edwards’ cancer, though, was a very public struggle. In March, she announced it had recurred but did not take the opportunity to end her husband’s campaign, standing beside him to urge him ahead.


“John was much more reluctant to continue the campaign than she was,” said a former aide who was present as they made their decision.

John was willing to walk away at that moment. She wasn't, even knowing all the risks that his affair still could become public. Why is that?

[Medusa]

33. That's when Elizabeth lost me as a fan

I feel for her suffering and her struggles with a terminal illness but she was still willing to risk our losing the 2008 election and I can't quite figure out why. At any rate, it was a bad gamble and it could have been disastrous for us and for our party and more importantly, for this nation and the world. Stay with him, leave him, that's her business but when she went along with the deceit, that made it mine.

[Berry Cool]

35. That's the part I have the most difficulty with reconciling.

Did she lose sight at that point of what really mattered? Did she really think he just had a one-night stand and that no one would ever find out? You'd think she'd have known better. Maybe she was doing a certain amount of lying to herself about what was really going on.

All I know is, the whole party and possibly the country and the world dodged a bullet there.

[CTyankee]

56. It only makes sense if she really didn't know about the affair at that time.

She seemed pretty gung ho not to stop the campaign. It doesn't make any sense for her to do that if she knew in her heart that the affair would be exposed, JR would lose the candidacy/presidency, she would be humiliated publicly and the kids would suffer.

[Freddie Stubbs]

42. Perhaps she really, really wanted to live in the White House and be First Lady

[Beacool]

36. The one thing that I remember is that early in the campaign

Elizabeth said during an interview that the choices that she had made in her life had made her more happy than the choices Hillary had made in hers. At the time it angered me because I thought that it was extremely presumptuous of her to say something like that. And later on to find out that she KNEW about John's cheating and still said it is even more infuriating and hypocritical. Although my heart goes out to her for her ordeal and wish her the best.

Edwards Takes Heat Over Quotations About Hillary
The Washington Post
Sunday, October 22, 2006

Comments attributed last week to the wife of former North Carolina senator John Edwards (D) provided a faint foreshadowing of the intraparty battle that could arise when Democrats choose their presidential nominee in two years.

Elizabeth Edwards said last Thursday that her life has been a happier one than that of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), according to the magazine Ladies' Home Journal. Both Clinton and John Edwards, the Democrats' 2004 vice presidential nominee, are prospective 2008 candidates for the presidency.

Clinton "and I are from the same generation," Elizabeth Edwards said at a luncheon sponsored by the magazine. "We both went to law school and married other lawyers, but after that we made other choices. I think my choices have made me happier. I think I'm more joyful than she is." Ladies' Home Journal provided a transcript of the luncheon comments to the Associated Press.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/comments/display?contentID=AR2006102100657&start=21

[karynnj]

44. Those comments were atrocious

They also were misleading - she did not stay home when her older kids were young and she was not really "not working" when the two little ones were young. She was very actively campaigning for most of 2003, 2004 and 2006 at that point - she also was active in the Senate campaign. Is that really different than HRC as a lawyer and a First Lady of AR?

This was - if this story is true - before she knew of his infidelity. (Oct 2006 vs Dec 2006) If true, while she is looking down at HRC's marriage because Bill cheated- at the same time - her husband was cheating.

[Beacool]

51. I liked Elizabeth up to that point.

That comment was so pretentious. How can a person state that they are happier than someone else due to the choices they made in life? I couldn't say that even of my best friend. We are all different people with different needs. How could I presume that the choices I made are better than someone else's?

I also remember that for a while she was the attack dog of the Edwards campaign. By then she KNEW what John had done and still went on attack mode.

My heart aches for what she's going through with her health and marriage, but I don't have the same level of sympathy for her that I had years ago. Nonetheless, I do wish her the best on all fronts.

:(

[Flying Dream Blues]

48. Does every thread have to be a Hillary thread? I guess so. nt

[Beacool]

52. No, they don't

But it brought back memories of comments that could be deemed hypocritical considering what we now know.

:shrug:

[Captain Hilts]

58. If you can't see how this topic relates, I can't help you. nt

[Adelante]

49. And a year later - 10/17/07

I had to go looking for this to make sure I remembered accurately.

Elizabeth Edwards says she’s not surprised that she and husband John Edwards won a poll on happy marriages among presidential candidates.

She says jokingly that the competition wasn’t very tough.

http://www.witntv.com/home/headlines/10613152.html

Blech

[Beacool]

50. Oh my, I missed that one.

That was my point, I hate the hypocritical stance that they both took. Elizabeth toward Hillary and John when he berated Bill for his indiscretions.

I understand that we are all human and make mistakes, but I abhor people who act "holier than thou" while being far bigger sinners than the person who they wag their finger at. At least neither Clinton pretended to be a paragon of virtues and the bastion of family values.

:eyes:

[Adelante]

53. Not to mention such rock steady marriages as the Bidens and Obamas

It's pretty outrageous given a week earlier the NE had run its first mistress report, too.

[Cha]

55. Uuuoo..we're talking

hypocricy for votes here.

We all know who has the "happiest marriage". Fate was very good to us all.

[Captain Hilts]

59. Oh, my....nt

[rvablue]

62. Blech. Is right. I always really liked this lady and I'm sad to find out

some of these things that she said. Never remembered hearing any of this stuff before.

[Captain Hilts]

57. I thought those were really, really weird comments. VERY judgemental.

[Beacool]

65. Yes, they were.

It was almost as if she resented Hillary for some reason. The Clintons and Edwards were never close, but her comments were so inappropriate. Who knows why she said them........

:(

[JI7]

39. he is still hiding things by not acknowledging the child

i'm not sure whether he admitted it to Elizabeth but based on that one Oprah clip it looks like she probably knows the baby is his but she is trying to convince herself that it's not.

[gauguin57]

43. I feel for Elizabeth. She was dealt a couple of bad hands (cancer and a skank husband). BUT ...

... she should have convinced John not to run for president the SECOND she knew of the affair. She endangered the Democratic Party ... and our country. If John had, somehow, become the nominee and then all this had come out, we'd be looking at President John McCain and Vice President Sarah Palin on the TV right now. Think about that.

Right now, I feel for her kids more than anyone. I hope they're not sitting at home tomorrow, watching Oprah and seeing their mom air her and John's dirty laundry on national TV.

When I heard Elizabeth say, "I jammed my finger, so I can't wear my wedding ring right now," I cringed. A few months ago, it was, "My finger is swollen from my cancer treatment, so I can't wear my wedding ring right now." I don't really care about Elizabeth's wedding ring, frankly, but it sounds like another layer of B.S., on top of a bunch of other B.S. to me.

I do have sympathy for what this poor woman has gone through, but I've lost so much respect for her.

[Adelante]

45. I think what EE is doing is just awful

I don't understand her putting her family through this trauma all over again. I don't understand her soft-soap of her husband's betrayal the way she has done, from what's been published so far. I don't understand her claim to have asked him not to run just after he announced and two months later insisting he continue when her cancer recurred. That was the time to bring it all to a screeching halt. Her own ambition for her husband's presidency was at all times perfectly evident. She stood with him deceiving the public. But she doesn't seem to think she should take any responsibility for the fraud. Yes, she's had a painful life in many ways, just as millions of people do, and is a sympathetic figure, but she seems pretty manipulative in what she is doing now and irresponsible.

[Dappleganger]

47. Swollen fingers

Prednisone and chemo WILL do that--I couldn't wear mine for a long time and my face looked like a moonpie.

j/s

[gauguin57]

60. My point is ... her story keeps changing about why she "can't" wear her ring.

If she doesn't wanna wear the ring, she might as well just tell us. She's telling us every other damned thing.

... and I hope your health is good, Dappleganger.

[Skidmore]

63. You know, I don't judge Elizabeth for coping the best she can.

My Lord, the woman has had more on her plate that many, aside from a philandering husband with a love child. She lost a son, is dealing with a terminal illness, and then add this to her load. Until you've tried to arrange your life around a chronic or terminal health issue, then you don't have room to talk. A cancer survivor myself, I fully am aware of how your life gets lost among the details of the health care. How people treat you as if you are already dead and how quickly the world rushes at you when you are just trying to make it from day to day. John Edwards is a callow and self-absorbed man to put his family through the wringer of a personal calamity at a time when his wife was ill. John Edwards made these choices and I don't blame Elizabeth one bit for trying to preserve order in her life at a time when it must have felt like everything was spinning out of control The woman has done wonderful advocacy work in spite of all of this.


I have a feeling that there is going to be some major doodoo hitting the fan regarding these investigations, and for all you know, this may be a way for her to protect her children and herself. Get what she knows out there. John is going to have to stew in his own mess. Elizabeth Edwards has my full support and well wishes. She certainly did not deserve what this man has done to her and her children.

BTW, you don't sound as if you have much sympathy for anyone.

[truebrit71]

54. I backed that schmuck twice...

..and I am STILL pissed off at him...can't imagine the level of anger felt by Elizabeth...

[gauguin57]

61. "Pissed" doesn't even begin to cover it for me.

Schmuck is right.

[Adelante]

64. Source says: Rielle may sue for DNA test (National Enquirer)

The longtime secret lover of the disgraced 2-time presidential candidate wants definitive proof that Edwards is the father of her 14-month-old love child Frances and is working with a lawyer to take legal action, say sources…

“Rielle - probably naively - now realizes she had held onto a false promise that if she continued to take part in the cover-up John had engineered, they’d be together in the future,” a close source told The ENQUIRER.

“She was willing to protect John for the sake of the child. She agreed to allow a crony of his to claim he was the baby’s father, and she even kept the name of the father blank on the birth certificate.

“But now she can see there’s never going to be a future with John - and she feels he’s lied about his promise to keep Elizabeth from trashing her in the book,” the insider divulged.

“Rielle is so infuriated by his and Elizabeth’s actions that she’s throwing her loyalty to him out of the window!”

The source added: “Rielle wants the paternity of her daughter Frances finally established. It could ruin John for good because even after admitting the affair, he vehemently denied being the father!”

http://www.nationalenquirer.com/john_edwards_mistress_rielle_hunter_dna_test_love_child/celebrity/66637