Are we still going to have a JRE support board in the future?

[MonteLukast]

In light of all that's come to light today.

I still don't believe it. "Sources say", "a book is in the works" do not confirmation make. The whole thing reminds me of vultures circling and salivating.

I just want to cry. I believe that the ex-mistress is a sociopath. And they often tend to win out over decent people, because they don't follow the rules and don't play the game the way decent ones do.
And as with JRE, they have a way of turning good people bad.

I loathe that woman with every fiber of my being. I loathe that she's succeeded. I loathe that JRE is getting all the blame, and he'll probably never recover from this.
She couldn't care less about how many lives she ruined, because JRE will get all his blame and hers too.

If the child is his, he'll be connected to this sociopath forever. He'll be forced to make a terrible decision. The only way to deal with sociopaths is absolutely no contact. Which means he will have to avoid the child, to save himself and his family.

I believe that was JRE's fatal mistake. He did take some steps to distance himself from her, at the end of 2006.
But he didn't realize what kind of person he was dealing with. He didn't take ALL the steps. And taking only half measures leaves an opening for a sociopath to gain another foothold, exploit another weakness, get another chance.

Those are the lessons we should be learning from this, but sadly we will never learn them. Because we're too busy condemning JRE. Because we still haven't learned to take each person as an individual.

[benny05]

1. He is not making a statement

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1186558.html

We'll see what happens.

[Catchawave]

2. He should.

Right now, dammit.

We've been strung along for a year now. He's a gifted attorney, what doesn't he get? Put it out there, right or wrong, just be freaking honest.

Is that so much to ask for? Honesty? It was his agenda from 2003-2008.

God Bless Elizabeth, but she hurt me too.

Honesty. There is no closure or forgiveness without it.

:toast:

[MissDeeds]

3. I couldn't agree more

Honesty is the cornerstone of integrity. Edwards has taken a bad situation and made it worse by not owning up to it from the get-go. Instead, this whole thing has dribbled out over a year, and each new revelation has led to another headline.

I am so disgusted by this mess, and perhaps even more so by the miserable way he has handled it.

[Catchawave]

14. ...it's getting worse :(

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6797781.ece

Young is claiming there's a sex tape? Friends like this, eh?

[Ninga]

4. I was OK, until I found photos of my trip to Charleston, SC., to campaign for him

in the last days before the SC primary.

I met some very cool and engaging folks of all ages, from many parts of the US, who got to Charleston on their own dime.

I wept at his impassioned speech the eve before the primary, and was proud of my work for this fine public servant.

I prayed and wished and hoped he would advance in the primary, because America deserved to have a fighter like Edwards.

Just days before the next primary, he gave that weird speech in New Orleans, and poof....was gone into the sunset.


I moved on and so did many others. But I still have a bitter lump in my throat, when I think how he played each and everyone of us.


What a waste of what might have been, could have been, should have been.

[Inspired]

5. I have a theory, Ninga. You might not agree with it though.

I have moved on but every now and then I find myself getting a bitter lump in my throat too. It wouldn't bother me so much but I have a room full of pictures, posters and memorabilia from the 4 years I spent working my butt off in Iowa for him. What am I supposed to do with these things? Throw out 4 years of my life? These are my memories and now they are embarrassing to show anyone who comes over. Thanks John. Fuck you, too.

Here's my theory.

John Edwards was never the man I thought he was to begin with. I heard the bashers call him phony and I didn't believe it. Now I do. I think he was phony from the get go and I can't believe my 'phony radar' didn't work. Usually it does and I was fooled from day one. And you know what? I don't like being made a fool of.

The John Edwards I thought I was supporting would never have denied a child of his. No matter what. He wouldn't have lied and acted so god-damned pathetic in that interview last August.

I can't even call this a waste of what might have been. I don't think his heart was ever in the right place to begin with. I think it was all about him and his words were nothing more than words.

[pengillian101]

6. Great post!

Your theory is like mine. He was a phony all along.

[waiting for hope]

9. You are not giving Elizabeth much credit for

being married to him for thirty years. That's sad, slamming him for being a phony puts into question Elizabeth's judgment.

[benny05]

10. I agree n/t

[Inspired]

11. This is about John's behavior, not Elizabeth's judgment.

There is no correlation and I'm not falling into this trap. You might equate the two but I don't.

[waiting for hope]

12. I beg to differ -

John Edwards was never the man I thought he was to begin with. I heard the bashers call him phony and I didn't believe it. Now I do. I think he was phony from the get go and I can't believe my 'phony radar' didn't work. Usually it does and I was fooled from day one. And you know what? I don't like being made a fool of.

I think you want your cake and eat it too - Elizabeth Edwards is a wonderful, smart and intuitive individual. After 30 years of marriage, I would wager that she knows he isn't a phony and after dozens of campaign rallies where she spoke of John's vision, she didn't feel his political platform was phony either. Being a bit more pragmatic here, having all politicians pass a "purity test" is a bit over the top - Look at Ted Kennedy - he just got a Presidential Medal of Freedom - did anyone ask the Kopechne family if they thought he deserved it? No - and also, his first marriage ended in part because of his womanizing. Saying you thought Edwards was a "great man" only says to me that you put him on a pedestal - and everyone falls off of those sooner or later. His vision and his platform for policy were exactly what this country needs and still do and I chose to still support that.

[Catchawave]

13. You know I love you WFH....

But Elizabeth covered for him, which is fine in that personal, keep in the family way....but I SENT THEM MONEY, AND ASKED OTHER PEOPLE TO SEND THEM MONEY....they stomped on my heart :cry:

A year ago, we could have had closure and moved on, but Eliz is coming out with yet ANOTHER book? Andrew and Druck-Hunter too?

If JRE came out with the truth, now, today, admitted to being human, made an oopsie, THEN went back into seclusion as he's done the past year....fine. But nobody would make any money. Right?

[waiting for hope]

15. I don't see it that way -

Resilience was a follow up to Saving Graces:

Elizabeth told King she agreed to write her book some time ago and did it because she believes she had something to say. Her issues with breast cancer was one of the motivating factors. The book, she says, is really not about her relationship with John Edwards but about other issues regarding resilience. The part about the extra-marital affair John had is only a small part of the book.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/272541

I have not seen anything about a new book from her.

The problem I see here and it is one that is probably done by design, is that people cannot separate the message from the man and for some reason, taking this all very personally. I do not regret a thing, the platform and policy proposals were the best in my estimation and helped drive the debate. This has always been between John and Elizabeth - the campaign ended on Jan 30, 2008 - before the affair was made public. How many people are screaming at supporting Richardson? Whom, by the way, is still under investigation for "pay to play" Blago style. His message has been shut down, and that is the saddest part, while living in a society that allows people like Ensign and Sanford to continue with their politics, while a widely populist message about ending poverty and leveling the playing field has been silenced - there couldn't have been a better script written to discredit the message.

[medeak]

17. have photo of him hugging me

ditto being played. Found out later his mistress' sister was standing right next to me. Bitter pill indeed.

[MonteLukast]

7. I'm not going to be very popular for saying this.

You will call me naive, a shill, and too blind to see the truth in front of me.

But I am not jumping on the "he was phony all along" bandwagon.

It's too facile to say this is the way he was all along. It's, granted, a lot easier than wrapping one's brain around the idea that someone can act just with the same level of lovingness towards their wife right in the middle of an affair. It's more comforting to do that than to live with the pain of his eloquence and everything else that was lost.

This is the most incongruous affair I've ever seen. Not a thing has been what it seems. Both his and Elizabeth's reactions have been unexpected. That is why I can't fit this affair into the framework of what we "know" about affairs. Nothing adds up.

Why isn't he giving us the confession we're hungering for? Because it would be fruitless. It wouldn't change anything. Certainly not how we see him. And it's quite possible he's under a gag order.

Why won't he acknowledge the child? Because he CAN'T. Not without real proof. And not without a sound plan that makes sure Elizabeth and his established kids are legally and financially protected.

What I saw yesterday was endless linking and speculation to ultimately ONE LINK. One, single, WRAL link... with no proof, only rumors.
The only other source I found was the McClatchy blurb about him not making a statement.

Why would he make any statement of any kind, unless he has some proof to work with? Why would he shoot himself in the foot anymore legally, just to assuage our concerns... especially when he just saw Sanford making an ass of himself?
He's thinking like a lawyer... and he knows that anything he says can and will be used against him.

He's got his work cut out for him legally. Proving he wasn't committing illegal fund diversion. Getting that DNA test, from an actually reputable source. Protecting his inheritance from Hunter, Young, and their friends. Getting his insurance money squared away. Quite possibly, investigating into whether there was, indeed, a blackmail operation or a political witch hunt.

All of this is best carried out behind the scenes, and must be VERY carefully handled before he's ready to make a confession or statement OF ANY KIND.

[Inspired]

8. You have your opinions and who am I to say they are wrong?

I don't think of him as this great man anymore. But I know that others still do.

[medeak]

16. can't believe there is Lieberman support thread n/t

[saracat]

18. well, right is left and up is down. There are no Democrats anymore.

[MissDeeds]

19. "There are no Democrats anymore"

At least not in Washington - at any level. We used to hold elected officials to account. Now there seems to be a double standard. Democrats are getting a pass for continuing Bush era tactics and policies. It is sickening.