Crossposted at My Left Wing
I've been looking into the John Edwards affair scandal for a couple of weeks now since I wrote my initial piece about it - Say It Ain't So, John. The well known blog Daily Kos brilliantly answered charges that there's liberal bias on the Edwards affair by banning me for discussing it.
I've tried to weigh evidence on this subject. There isn't much thats one hundred percent certain in this case. I tried to restrict myself to ONLY what we know for sure, I've come to one clear and inarguable conclusion.
John Edwards needs to stop being victimized by his former employees Andrew Young and Rielle Hunter.
Let's take the Edwards camp at their word on this scandal and see where that takes us.
One of the few things beyond dispute is that Hunter and Young both claim that they are the parents of young Francis Quinn Hunter, born this past February. Young is a former assistant to Edwards and Hunter was hired by the Edwards campaign to produce some short films about John Edwards. Andrew Young is married and has children. Along the way -- and during the campaign - it seems that they began having an affair that resulted in Ms. Hunter's pregnancy. Around the same time, a horrible rumor surfaced that it was Senator Edwards who was having the affair.
Obviously, it was the affair between Young and Hunter that caused this entire mess. If this is all true, then their affair set off a chain reaction that ended with an innocent man being accused falsely.
Yes, they are private citizens. Please note I'm not judging their affair or wanting to peer into their private lives. My concern is practical -- the unintended consequence of their romance was to cause a kerfluffle that smeared their boss, John Edwards. Their affair created the rumors of the scandal and it's their responsibility to clear up the mess they made.
John Edwards has taken the fall for these two for far too long. It speaks volumes about Senator Edwards' character that he has suffered the slings and arrows of suspicion while Young and Hunter frolic safely behind the walls of a gated community in North Carolina or flaunt their illicit relationship in front of the good people of Santa Barbara. Now John Edwards is forced to flee press events and duck reporters. Beyond all that, there are reports (now with photos) that Senator Edwards took the time out of his busy schedule to meet with Ms. Hunter recently -- only to be thanked with MORE rumors. They say no good deed goes unpunished and once again Rielle Hunter did nothing to help clear up the confusion.
I say, "Enough, John! Hunter and Young don't deserve a friend like you and your family and supporters deserve better! So there!"
It's obvious they have no sympathy for the much-admired Elizabeth Edwards. How does they sleep at night knowing the pain that he must be subjecting the Edwards family to? Andrew Young could have been man enough to put his name on the birth certificate and they could certainly end this embarrassment by simply taking a DNA test to end all the silly speculation. Yet, they make cryptic statements through their lawyers while the brave Senator Edwards must face the press and public.
Do Hunter and Young not care about Edward's agenda, either? These selfish people seem to feel no qualms about creating a diversion from Senator Edward's important work.
When asked, Edwards dismissed this story as 'tabloid trash.' Wrong answer. The poor reporters at the National Enquirer were another of Hunter and Young's victims.
What I suggest Senator Edwards SHOULD have done is state, "You're confused. It wasn't me who had the affair with Ms. Hunter; it was Andrew Young. Both of them have already admitted it publicly. As the son of a mill worker, I tell you that if I had known that Mr. Young and Ms. Hunter would leave me hanging out to dry, I would have cut off our relationship with a eight and half inch compound miter saw. Instead, I have tried to shield them even at the expense of my own reputation. I have allowed these rumors about me to continue even though I knew the truth out of a misguided sense of loyalty to these people. So, with deep regret I must both renounce and reject my former friends and employees."
I await such statement from John Edwards. After all, he has nothing to hide.