The Real Tragedy of John Edwards

I didn't want to believe it.

The incident in late July at the Beverly Hilton. The sneaking into the hotel through a side door. The hiding in the bathroom at 2:30 in the morning while a team of reporters from The National Enquirer lurked outside. The Other Woman ensconced in a hotel room upstairs with the baby girl. The cancer-stricken wife, campaign icon and rising political star waiting back home with the children. The repeated denials when the story broke that it was a lie, "tabloid trash."

I didn't want to believe it because, frankly, the whole scenario struck me as too tawdry and unreal, like one of those bad Lifetime movies for television. But I also didn't want to believe it because it would require a radical shift in my thinking, in my perception of John Edwards and who I thought he was.

Funny how the worst clichés often turn out to be true.

But it turns out that John Edwards, former senator, onetime vice presidential candidate, who rose from being the son of a mill worker to become a populist champion and Democratic candidate for president, is just a man. And a pretty flawed one at that. A politician who thought he could cheat on his wife, run for president and then get away with it by lying about it.

Don't they ever learn? The cover-up is what gets you every time.

As much as the pundits and cable talk shows would like to make it out to be, John Edwards' affair in 2006 with Rielle Hunter, an amateur videographer who was paid $110,000 by his campaign to produce four short videos for his website, is not a national tragedy. Or even a political tragedy. That Edwards will not be speaking at the Democratic convention, or that he won't have a shot at a cabinet post, is the least of his problems right now.

No, what the Edwards' scandal is is a bitter disappointment to the voters who believed in him, to the working-class men and women who coughed up $10 and $15 out of their paychecks for his campaign, and to the friends and campaign staff who worked for him and trusted him. He broke their hearts and they are hurt. Furious.

"Thousands of friends and supporters of Sen. Edwards put their faith and confidence in him and he has let them down," said David Bonior, a former congressman from Michigan who ran Edwards' 2008 presidential bid, when asked for a comment. "Young supporters who put their time and energy into his campaign with a newfound energy and idealism for politics have been betrayed by his actions."

Those young people might be disenchanted for a bit, put off by mainstream politics, but probably not much longer than it takes to tap out an instant message. They'll survive. And the Democratic Party--talk about a flawed organism--will too.

The real tragedy in this awful affair is personal and the damage John Edwards' has done to Elizabeth Edwards and their three children, and in particular his 25-year-old daughter Cate, who now, like that other famous political daughter, Chelsea Clinton, has to wrestle with the idea of her charismatic famous father as a terribly imperfect, dishonest man.

I hope it's a story about the Edwards' family that I never have to read.

Comments

[EbonBear]

Handsome man has affair, confesses to wife, they patch up their marriage and move on. In any rational country, that would be the end of it because this happens every day.

That said, I do question his judgement in running, given that he had to know this would come out eventually and the USA is currently going through one of it's puritanical phases.

[Alessan]

First, who in the hell, decides to commit adultery and tell the world about it, when you are married. Who in the hell, would tell a tawdry rag whose aim it is to sell papers and in the process destroy peoples lives, that this affair happened. I really don't think anyone in public life would decide
to pay the consequences and tell something as personal as an affair to the world. Guilliani didn't
even tell his wife. Get real here women, yes the victims of this story are John Edwards' family.
And of course you must condemn the other women who babbered her personal business to
a person, who thought they would try to get rich at the expense of someones life. Don't forget
if that person had not sold the secret to the Enquirer, nothing would be different today, and John and
family would be moving on with their lives, without prying eyes of reporters from a rag, trying to
look into their bedroom. The media should take full blame for this fiaco including the reporter
Stein, who first blabbed about Edward's videos which were taken down by the campaign, because they were not campaign videos, they were done for PAC One America Committee.

[S1m0n]

"The cover-up is what gets you every time."

This scandal, uncovered, would have been enough to torpedo Edwards' presidential hopes.

[pfc1369]

Will America ever grow up to the point where "having an affair" as it is euphemistically called, is not considered a tragedy.

War, natural disasters, man's inhumanity to man: those are tragedies.

[SethBLiNK]

There are millions of people struggling with the economy. There are hundred of thousands of troops in Iraq who have done too many tours of duty.

John Edwards vowed to help those people. His narcisstic run for the Democratic Nomination knowing that he had a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off was selfish and destructive beyond belief. His wife is a victim of both cancer and infidelity and infidelity and it's hard not to be sympathetic. But she knew and let him run, lending the great affection that American voters have for her to his cause.

So pardon me if I don't have a lot of sympathy left for these two (though I admit, it's gotta be tough on the kids). But please, there are far more worthy recipients of our sympathy... namely the millions of people Edwards was running to help.

[teddyquin]

I have been thinking about this and I believe that John Edwards used his wife and pulled her in the gutter with him by way of telling the public that he already told her about the affair in 2006, and also blatently excusing himself of the guilt of hurting her by saying she was in remisssion at the time. These statements needn't be shared with the public and I believe that he used his wife and family to make himself look better---- or at least like it was not only his decision, but Elizabeths ---that he continue in the Primary. This private info about his wife should not have been shared,, because he knew that it would make her look bad, along with him. He just could not shoulder it by himself. I hope all the lies come out and that the media does not let up on this poor excuse for a Husband and Father.

[ladeyday]

The tragedy is that Cate's MOTHER (Elizabeth) was complicit in embarassing her. It's a shame when a woman chooses to support a biological stranger (her husband) over the interests of her own flesh and blood (her children).

[66rock]

Ladeyday-the thing is do we really know that she was complicit. We have no idea when she actually found out about this. I wouldn't believe 2006 just because the lying John Edwards said so. His interview really didn't come across all that honest. He still in the hiding mode.

[ladeyday]

You and teddyquin have a point. Goodness, I never thought of THAT possibility. If he didn't tell her until recently, that is a double tragedy. Afterall, he is a proven liar, not necessarily her. Once he announced he told her in 2006, she had to go along with it as she was probably so crushed over the whole thing that it was just too overwhelming for her to deny.
With that in mind, I think that the only other thing I would want to know about this mess is if she REALLY knew in 2006. It would restore my faith in her; not that she needs it.

[jfor]

And I thought the tragedy was the death of one of his childeren.

[Miande]

"Tragedy"? because you learn your father is a wealthy horndog? Seems much to big a word!

[Saxton]

This is not just another affair between a married man and just some woman. This man was running for President of the US, the highest political office in our country. Did Edwards misuse campaign money to cover the cost of having his mistress with him on the campaign trail, after all she did not have any real film credentials and the campaign never used the films but scraped them instead. Also, after reading Newsweek reporter Jonathan Darman"s article about Rielle Hunter he reveals a woman clearly not just a little loopy but completely WACKO! So yeah, it is America"s business because she was trying to influence Edwards and Edwards was entertaining her ideas, either legitimately or just to get her in bed. One can only imagine what influence or threat this woman would cause had Edwards actually made it to the White House.

The time-line he proposes just doesn"t add up and there are more gaps that force people to ask questions. And Edwards knew perfectly well that Hunter was not going to submit to DNA test because that would prove the fact the he is the father. Edwards should just cut his losses and come completely clean because the media will not stop till they picked this carcass clean.

[jfor]

Err you do know that he is not the nominee, therefore he will not be the President and in reality no matter what he did yesterday, today he is a private citizen of the USA.

Is there a conspiracy here? yawn. I don't think so.

You know I really do not have the time to imagine what influence this woman would have had since it did NOT happen and will NOT happen..

There are a lot of things in reality to worry about, maybe I will see you there.

[TeriMcCarthy]

It is a sad story, his wife didn't deserve this, not that any wife does. But it is tiring as it has nothing to do with this presidential election! So the end of this story is: John Edwards is a cad, he didn't think about his family, but isn't that typical when people have affairs. What a sad, sad story.

[Halsey]

This is a dog bites man story...Edwards is NOT the candidate...won't be attorney general (which is too bad)...his family will survive...let's just thank God he had an affair with a woman and not an underage page...gotta love those democrats.

Just put into perspective..Thomas Jefferson and Sally... get real America...and get over it...the French would shrug their shoulders saying c'est l'homme..

[fightorleave2]

Grow up. An affair is no way worse than perpetrating an illegal war.

[66rock]

Totally agree. I just posted on Gordon Marino's blog but will just sum that up here.

I am personally angry with the Edwards, especially John, because my son who is working daily to pay off his student loans, made his very first political donation of $100 to John Edwards a few months ago.

He was disappointed when Edwards finished third but now he is angry and hurt.

What can we tell these young people?

[fightorleave2]

How about the facts of life, and a little truth. The truth is that an affair is no big deal except between the husband and wife. How about the fact that politicians and Americans are not angels.

[JeanPaulSatire]

If he were just a private citizen who did not seek the Democratic Party's nomination to be its candidate for the presidency, I would agree with you.

But he made the decision to run AFTER he had the affair.

As a plaintiff's lawyer, he HAD to know this toxic secret would come out at some point, whether by his own admission or through someone else. Further, he HAD to know that if it came out when he was the nominee, he'd be handing victory to his opponent. But perhaps more chilling (and a third term for W is already pretty damned chilling!), is the thought of a sitting president of the United States who remains vulnerable to blackmail and how that might be used.

No, John (and Elizabeth) Edwards put personal ambition above love of party and worst of all, above love of country.

[JeanPaulSatire]

What happened to the Edwards family due to John Edwards's adulterous affair is tragedy at the personal level.

However, what John and Elizabeth Edwards were willing to risk inflicting on the country is simply unforgivable. They made the decision to pursue the White House knowing full well that he was vulnerable because of his affair. Imagine if he were the Democratic nominee and the story broke. It'd be a cake-walk for the Rethuglican nominee.

But think, too, what would happen if Edwards had been successful in his bid for the White House and successful at keeping the skeleton in the closet. He would be vulnerable to blackmail -- the very sort of thing that makes a person a grave security risk. Yet they put personal gain above the potential harm they could bring to the country. That is nothing short of despicable.

While I still agree with many of their positions on issues, I will never again trust them in their judgment, honesty, or fitness to hold any public office.

[Riven]

I think that wondering what would have happened if Edwards had won the Democratic nomination is missing the point. Edwards dropped out of the race before Super Tuesday--to the dismay of many voters who believed he was the most electable candidate. In retrospect, this seems the act of a responsible politician--one who had not only realistically evaluated his performance in the first contests but also foreseen the ugly repercussions if he managed to win. Edwards is no fool. He knew that the truth was already starting to leak out and that the Democrats' chances in the general election would be ruined when the full-blown scandal emerged. His subsequent reluctance to be considered for the vice presidency bespeaks a similar realism. Many factors figured into Edwards's decision to run in the first place--some noble, some ignoble-- but it's likely that Edwards's graceful early exit was prompted in part by a sincere desire to do no harm to his party.

[ladeyday]

He, the "champion for poverty" TOOK money from the POOR.

HE TOOK MONEY FROM THE POOR.

POOR people who had faith in him, who donated to his campaign. IF he was so "noble", he would have stopped short at ever entering the presidential race at all.
Both he AND E lizabeth are guilty and need to apologize to their donors.

[JeanPaulSatire]

Edwards had no business *even getting into* the race unless he was planning on disclosing his secret very early in his campaign. But that never happened, did it? In fact, he stuck with the lie until quite recently when he had no choice but to come clean.

To say that he made a rash decision to get into the race but then made a well-reasoned and thoughtful one to get out doesn't excuse his original decision. Would you suggest that we give a pass to some senators who voted to authorize the invasion of Iraq because subsequently they voted more responsibly? It's all about judgment and one's willingness to put others at risk...

And, to be clear, I don't give a rat's patootie that he had an affair -- that's a private matter and is not what angers me. What angers me is that he had this politically toxic skeleton in his closet that he -- a plaintiff's trial lawyer! -- simply HAD to know would come out eventually and wreak havoc on him, his family, his party, and his country during an election cycle.

[WatermelonGrower]

Riven -- Well said. I have posted to other sites essentially the same interpretation.