Sunday Roundup

This week brought us the latest twists in the John Edwards infidelity story -- a story with many inconsistencies, which HuffPost began to explore last September. Edwards told ABC that he will have no more to say on the matter, but so many loose ends remain -- the incomplete birth certificate, the money paid to Edwards' mistress by his campaign's finance chairman, that blurry pic of Edwards and the baby he claims isn't his -- that more revelations seem inevitable. I've long pushed for a giant border fence separating public life and private lives. But the issue here wasn't Edwards' infidelity, it was his lying directly to the American people. The last thing we need is a sexual purity test for our politicians, but we desperately need political leaders whose word we can trust.

Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff

Comments

[Kodo777]

Arianna. I challenge you and one of your bloggers to investigate why Mccain left his first wife. This woman cried for five years when Mccain was in Vietnam jail waiting for her dear husband to come home. When he got home and found out that his wife had been in an automobile which disfigured her looks, John Mccain bailed out with Cindy leaving his wife to fend for herself with their little kids. Somebody need to do an expose on this by getting an interview with this woman who has sufferred in the hands of John Mccain. I wait to read the expose on Huffpo or view in one of the networks soon.

[crystalclear2828]

Well there you go, I guess that leaves John McCain out, because he has pretty much done the same thing to his first wife. That's why he didn't have a comment about Edwards. Can't say that I blame y ou, I would have walked away in shame also. But if you where man enough to do it, be man enough to own up to it! We simply need a President we can trust!

!!!!!Obama '08!!!!!

[eagleye]

PSRinNJ2,

Nice try, but we ain't buying it. McCain cheated on his wife and married a wealthy beer heiress. How much mainstream media coverage have you seen on that story? And how about McCain's participation last week in a biker sex extravaganza last week? Here's a link for you-

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/6/11039/27504

The number of Republicans who have been shamed out of office by ethical and/or sex scandals in recent years is shocking, and I have yet to see the major media remind us of that fact, either.

[artsandminds]

It is sad that Edward's infidelity gets so much coverage and Alaskan Sen. Stevens is charged and it gets a whisper from the media. America is doomed; it was so evident at the Beijing opening ceremonies.

[RedSt8r]

You mean because of Zhang Yimou's over-powering choreography, or Ralph Lauren's less-than-overwhelming fashion creation?

Yeah, so evident.

[OldKnute]

Alaska??? Senator Stevens???

OK,,,, let me try to explain.

It is the SEX,, part..

They can rob us blind,,, but they walk,, if they didn’t do the Nasty.

It is all about the Spin! And the what spins the fastest? Sex!

Edwards fessed up, told his wife, apologized to his supporters, the Press, America, the American people and see his actions as wrong and a HUGE mistake that has damaged his reputation and his family.

When Stevens does this,,, he will get a FREE PASS,,, straight to JAIL and the Repugnants loose gain another seat.

All the best

Knute Neo-LIB

[Kahill]

"But the issue here wasn't Edwards' infidelity, it was his lying directly to the American people"
Looks like Arriana is reverting to her old hypocritical self again (remember her incessant 'but he lied'' ranting about Clinton?). Its about infidelity and the only person who should be concerned is the spouse. I don't care that he was lying about being unfaithful to the public, is none their business. That said, I do feel deeply for Elizabeth, and my personal opinion of John Edwards has sunk like a rock

[jsinclair]

I think Arianna hit all the right points. It ISN'T about infidelity, because that is no one's business except the actual people involved.

And it's not even that he lied during the campaign about it. It's that, in his arrogance (just like Clinton), he gave an INTERVIEW about it, in which he went on to lie some more.

Lied about money. Lied about the timeline. PSaid he was being completely honest but wouldn't answer basic questions (the birth certificate, the money, if he asked Andrew Young & family to cover for him, if the affair is still ongoing).

In the interview, he lied to America. And it's insulting that he thinks we're THAT STUPID and that gullible. To me, the interview showed even more contempt and arrogance toward the people who supported him, because he seems to take it for granted he can KEEP FOOLING US.

That's how he made it personal, at least to me. And, like Arianna said, I'm sick of all the lying. .

[PSRinNJ2]

The press was giving Edwards a pass. It was the alternative media that kept the attention on it. Because Edwards is a Democrat, the mainstream press wouldn't touch the story until they had no choice. But rumors and innuendo involving John McCain makes page one of the New York Times...

The big story is not about Edwards' lying and cheating, it is how the mainstream media needs to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to a story that makes a Democrat look bad...

[OldKnute]

Ohh,,, and this is going to happen???

LOOK,, there is only two things Washington has more of than Hot Air,,, that is Testosterone and Estrogen.

Guys,, lemmie be the one to break the news to you. Money, Sex and Power,,, will take down even the heartiest of us all. Do any of you think Monica was an isolated case? The Town is Lousy with little Wana-Bes like Lewinski.

You think Hollywood is bad? The busses bring them into Washington like cordwood. Each and every Monica, all with sparkles in their eyes too.

How many had Kissinger had? Near 1000 women????

Look, Washington is like BUNNIES overdosing on fertility drugs,,,

OH,,,, and now these old coots have Viagra!!!!!

Right!

Look,,,, this is NOT the last,, NOT by a long shot.

JMO

All the best

Knute Neo-LIB

[jsinclair]

The National Enquirer is not "alternative media". There's no reason to have taken it seriously.

If you think the media is about protecting Democrats (LOL), why isn't anyone mentioning how McCain and his wife are adulterers?

Why did they hush up the Vicki Iseman story? (And where did she disappear to, anyway?)

[cheforacle]

No if the MSM was really doing their job, they would report on the allegations in Suskind's new book that the administation forged documents to jusify the war in Iraq. This is hundreds of times more justified as a reason for imprachment than Lewinsky yet there is no coverage trying to verify its accuracy.

[MoeSart]

It's relevant. Edwards was being considered as a vice-presidential candidate.

It it were Mike Gravel, it wouldn't be relevant.

[RedSt8r]

If it were Mike Gravel, it would be a pharmaceutical miracle.

[whatfreshhellisthis]

Henry Kissinger once said, "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac."

Apparently a majority of politicians in the US are intent upon proving the truth of Kissinger's observation.

Kissinger also once said, "If it's going to come out eventually, better have it come out immediately."

I'm not a Kissinger fan, but the man is not stupid.

[choclover]

A politican who cynically exploits his marriage and family to create a positve image that he hopes will endear himself to voters, has no right to privacy when that manufactured image is exposed as a fraud. The NE and various bloggers did Obama a huge favor by exposing Edwards for being the hypocrite he is before it was too late. The MSM was AWOL. Our "private" sexual conduct, en mass, has enormous public policy consequences. Will marriage survive in the 21st century? Should it? How do we address the problems of absent fathers and unwed pregnancy particularly among the young and poor, the spread of AIDS and STDs, abortion, the availability of birth control, and the need for low cost, quality child care? It would be helpful to have a political leadership that could lead by example, not just by rhetoric, when it comes to addressing the social problems that result from our indulgent, self-centered, private conduct. Yes, we are human. We fail, seek forgiveness, and hopefully, learn from our mistakes. But let's not pretend that "private" conduct doesn't have public consequences. BS.

[sharonmacc]

Edwards lied. But if he'd told the truth would our moralistic society have given him a pass? Would the press have down-played the issue? Seems like a lose-lose situation. Maybe we should only allow philosophers and monks to run for office.

[zerotimes10]

I love ya Arianna and this is my number one place for news and blogging but what do you suggest ...some kind of fascist lie detector test for public office? And what about the "educated" HA! voting public. How do we know that they don't have something to hide. Are YOU under suspicion just because you haven't done anything yet. Innocent until proven gulity? Ring any bells?

Do we expect imperfect voters to elect perfect leaders? The bottom line is, we take our chances and just becuase someone (probably half the world) is "steppin" out, does that preclude them from operating on my brain, piloting a plane, packaging food in China. Do you know propose that we trust no one ever? Then you just need to stay home forever and never step foot out of your house. Yep, mistakes we make can hurt other people. I guess the United States should just commit mass suicide to atone for every rotten thng we've ever done. We are what we are and hopefully there's a God that will have mercy on us. It ain't a perfect world and I "suspect" it never will be.

[Balloonman]

Missing the point sharonmacc? Society given the truth from the horse's mouth would then make up it's mind whether adultery, isolated thus from a lie, makes a difference reevaluating a candidate or not. Our choice. Obama's choice too perhaps for short list cabinet, AG. As it is, exposed, a confession after the fact of the primary reveals EDWARD'S thinking: Granted, rarely ever lying except when it counts the most. After all, campaign time, admitting adultery ruins any chance left to be President. Give him a pass? For what? To be human, ***k around? Be disloyal, lie? We are talking LEADERSHIP example here now. No, regardless his acclaimed populist posture or that cheating on his wife would ever emerge to reduce his sincerity and activism behind his genuine for-the-people platform, this stain of infidelity and lying about it casts a doubt about JOHN EDWARDS altogether integrity.

[booksnmore4you]

Adultery says a lot about a person, and everything a public figure does should be considered as being done in a glass house. Its part of the price of leadership.

Adultery says that the person is willing to scheme to take an action and sneak to do it, to hide and do things in the dark that they would not wish announced in the light. What is to tell us that a person who does this will not do this in areas where they govern?

Adultery says they are willing to betray their wife, the person with whom they have invested more than any other. It says that trust given can be broken for momentary pleasure or, shall we say, personal profit. What is to tell us that a person who does this will not do this in areas where they govern?

Adultery says that a person is willing to take big risks with disregard for the consequences. It says they are willing to be led by emotions in their decision-making, to make judgments about things on that basis. What is to tell us that a person who does this will not do this in areas where they govern?

So you who would minimize or whitewash adultery, or say that there should be a public/private wall for leaders, I'm having none of it. What one does in private cannot be separated from what they do in public.

[sharonmacc]

Arianna,
Edwards lied. But if he'd told the truth would our moralistic society have given him a pass? Would the press have down-played it? Seems like a lose-lose situation. Maybe we should only allow philosophers and monks to run for office.

[RedSt8r]

It was a lose-lose situation for the Edwards, thus the lie.

We don't need monks, and we don't want philosophers - we also don't want deceptive narcissists, thus the story.

[billotto]

I am tired, bored, and disgusted by the media's coverage of politicians' sex lives. Of course he lied about an affair. That's the right thing to do. Edwards' only mistake was to talk about it at all. Until we raise our discourse above sex, we will not be able to address the real issues that face our nation. How trivial. I am sad to see you wasting your time on this.

[lataet]

If we need a leader in the whitehouse who hasn't lied - there will be no one in the whitehouse...

[RedSt8r]

That's a start.

[sharonmacc]

Arianna,
Edwards lied. But if he'd told the truth would our moralistic society have given him a pass? Would the press have downplayed it? Seems like a lose-lose situation. Maybe we should only allow philosophers and monks to run for office.