Not about Governor Sarah Palin, Just The Edwards Scandal

What a political scandal feels like to a staffer--current, former or "it's complicated"--is an awful lot like grief.

There are stages. There is the initial chaos where the stories appear fast and furious like punches only Palin, Craig, Vitter, Foley, Spitzer, and Clinton, etc staffers can understand. Each story about John Edwards's affair and cover-up is a bruising and makes you hope that the truth is on the way so they stop and you can get back to work.

There is the stage of denial. John said it was all lies before he and the lawyers even released statements. Maybe he's being quiet because he's building a libel case like Carol Burnett won against the National Enquirer? If he's still calling to discuss the convention speech, that must mean something.

There is anger. Did he really pay her that much while so many worked longer hours for much less? Did they really put out those statements? Did I just watch "When Animals Attack 2 and 3" in order to avoid picking up the phone?

There is also a stage of dark humor. How can there not be with this cast of characters: a friend named Pigeon, the Sisters Druck, a father linked to insurance fraud by having a horse electrocuted, a spiritual advisor described as an "intuitive" (clearly, still working on his craft.), the website Being is Free (thank you Deceiver.com), a rumored vasectomy, a family moved across the country so they can all live in a house right out of a script from "Big Love," a presidential campaign based on a lie, and of course, the movie, "Overboard."

There is sorrow too--far more than I ever share with people. It comes during those quiet times when I'm walking the dog; shutting the office door, or printing a speech that will never be delivered. And my heart breaks for those kids, as politics helped destroy my own family, too.

There is doubt, especially about people. How could the same man who pulled me to the front of the plane near tears as he told me his wife had cancer string together all these lies? How could I have been so stupid to defend his character after Bob Shrum's book was published? And every career decision made since I left Senator Hillary Clinton's office in 2003 is in question. Those years and work now seem so wasted.

And so yeah, a little cynicism settles in. Politics isn't the art of what's possible; it's the art of the charade. Speeches sound like Karaoke Michael Bolton and it's unclear I'll want to write another political speech again. And then slowly, acceptance creeps in. My boss is deeply flawed like the rest of them. Whether it's Watergate or a woman, my grandfather's words sung by Billie Holiday say it best; it's "the same old story, but it's new to me."

Many have said their piece, including me. I forgive John because he's my friend. I suggested some things he could do to do a better job at making amends--yes, including the obvious. I still get mad, sad, and everything in between, but I choose to forgive. Some may view that as naïve. That's just how I live because I know I'll mess up soon enough, and hope someone's there to take my hand, too.

Many will never get beyond the anger and that's understandable. Every condemnation is deserved. God knows, I swore like Dick Cheney. Unfortunately, this scandal won't go away. It will continue to hang at the edges until the paternity of the child is established. I took John at his word then and I do my best now.

But here's the really tough part of a scandal. Not how it ends or when it ends. But getting to a place where you can ask, "Can any good come of this?" Because the work thousands of people got involved with in the Senate, 2004 and 2008 shouldn't be viewed as a waste. It matters--closing the economic divides in this country matters.

It's not easy when things are still such a mess. In our own lives, it's rarely in the middle of a success and clarity that we think, "Wow. How can things be better?" It's when we are surrounded by our mistakes, in that lonely place between uncertainty and insight, where we try to find that good and build back something better. Can't this be true for a political scandal? Isn't our country covered in the scars from where our leaders fell? Can't something good come from this even if doubts linger?

Yes. It starts with something basic: how we speak about the baby. Think about how she's begun her life. Her mother is in hiding. Her name calls up too many hits on Google. Journalists demean her when they call her "Love child," "illegitimate," or "you'll be able to tell the Daddy by the way she primps her hair."

Think about what her life is going to be like. The National Enquirer has said that they will be on this story "forever." That means every time her birthday rolls around, they will take her picture and run it alongside John's. It will be on record for her to check as she grows older, for the Edwards's children to check as they grow older.

Why can't this scandal bring out that other part of humanity, the empathy part where we know that you don't say those things about a baby? Condemn the adults--all of them--but leave the child alone.

With this empathy, we should be able to listen a little better and hear what isn't being talked about in between the detailed discussions about lipstick, animals, who's lying more, and who can send an email: a meaningful discussion about ending poverty.

Whether the pundits on TV or political writers or joke-tellers want to admit it, one of the leading voices for working people and economic justice has been silenced. For the first time in forty years, we had a national leader--agree or disagree with him--who was at least willing to spend every day fighting to strengthen our middle class by 36 million people. John can no longer do that and it's his fault. But it's still a loss.

So who will fill this void? While people can rejoice in the fallen messenger, the message still stands.

There are still 36 million Americans who wake up every day in poverty and millions and millions more who live on the edge and most work. There are veterans sleeping under bridges and getting food from dumpsters while we are at war and there's no outrage. Tent cities pop up because too many are losing their homes. We now own a piece of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG and the economy has stopped working for most Americans. The scandal didn't end any of these struggles or diminish the work at HalfinTen.org. It didn't alter a single truth about the inequities in this country. And yet, this void exists.

While the personal grief in all of this is real, the political loss may be the greatest of all if we have to wait another forty years to finish the work President Johnson and the great Sargent Shriver started all those years ago.

If another national leader could pick up the megaphone John had to put down, then that would be something good to come of this scandal, as well.

In the last speech John delivered to the AARP before the "Nightline" interview, he used a refrain, "Remember us." He had just finished giving a radio interview and we were talking in the green room and I was worried the phrase could be used in an unflattering way. He was quiet and said, "It's okay."

It's what a man in Uganda said to him. It's what a woman said to him under a bridge in New Orleans. It's what too many say in our country. What upsets me most is that this scandal can be used as an excuse to forget that woman, that man, and the work.

Everything has changed and nothing has changed since this scandal broke. There are still Two Americas and a country that longs for one. We can still cut the poverty rate in half in ten years and end it in thirty years if we as a nation choose to do so. This, too, is something good that can come of this,especially in the middle of this economic crisis. And since everyone's talking about Sarah Palin and moose these days, here's why, "Because grief unites us/like the locked antlers of moose/who die on their knees in pairs."

"Remember us." Who will now?

Comments

[Cherubim]

In our hearts, we, already, know John Edwards can and will lead the new concerted effort
to end poverty in the U.S. and in the world's poorest countries.

"I am as bad as the worst, but, thank God, I am as good as the best."
Walt Whitman
US poet (1819 - 1892)

[Boadicea]

Many good Democrats have been fighting to eradicate poverty for generations, and a lot of progress has been made. Many good Democrats like Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton have been fighting for a higher minimum wage and better opportunities for less fortunate Americans. Of course there is more work to do, but do not negate or ignore the work of other good Democrats presently serving.

John Edwards did not say anything that Dennis Kucinich has not been shouting loudly for a decade. But John's superior good looks and conventional family situation got him more media attention. Do not confuse the fact that John got more attention and love with the idea that he was the "first" or the "only." He admitted himself that he made that mistake. You should not.

John did not have a unique message. He was reckless with it, that's all.

[neworleanslady68]

I'm sorry. I imagine having been very dedicated to a politician and his / her campaign only to be let down like that is very painful. I've had a husband do it, but never a politician / boss before...s­omeday, before I die, I want to actually understand why people do such stupid, selfish things...s­igh..

[Pulemerci]

I didn't think the Edwards thing was a scandal because it was discovered by the National Enquirer. Now, if that news got out a little sooner, say the early part of the Democratic Primaries, Hillary would be the nominee now.

[gba]

This has several times been proven to be not true. Statistics shows that most Edwards supporters went for Obama and had him as their second choice.

[jojojo]

Clinton, JFK, Vitter, Craig, Henry Hyde & Gingrich & Dan Burton ( 3 of Clinton's big accusers--LOL), and (many are convinced, with his long-time assistant) Bush Sr.

Now Edwards.

So What? Who Cares?

[LovelyVelocity]

It is a shame that John Edwards gambled his political career. But he did, and he lost. We are clearly losers, too. It pained me that no one, at least in none of the speeches I watched, spoke about poverty at the Democratic National Convention. The issue was as absent as the man. But consider the man. He lied, in private and in public. Tabloid trash proved true! He brought his mistress on staff. That is some nerve. It suggests a seriously self-destructive bent. Am I supposed to overlook his using campaign contributions to benefit his love life, an extramarital affair at that? He left a viral trail. We can all watch his pathetic flirtations with his mistress on YouTube. The whole thing makes me sick. I have a friend, a former Edwards supporter, who literally vomited when she heard that the rumors about John Edwards' affair were true.

We deserve better. Let's find someone more honorable, more dependable, than John Edwards to advance the issue. The issue is not his. It is ours.

[gba]

Or do not do absolutely private matters to public matters, or else you will always fail

[BiggJay]

John Edwards is to blame for this mess. The fault is his and his alone. I am a supporter of the message that John Edwards spoke about. John Edwards was pretty much the only outspoken voice for the working poor, the only person that was taken seriously when he talked about poverty in this country. Unfortunately now John Edwards is no longer taken seriously and neither is the subject of the working poor in America. John Edwards hasn't just ruined his political career but he has silenced a voice for the poor and doused the flame that cast light on this growing problem. I hope that one day John Edwards is able to return to politics and continue on with his message about poverty in this country, but until that time who will step forward and defend those in this country that have been forgotten?

[Egghead]

As far as I'm concerned:

1) He had a good message. It's still a good message.

2) What goes on with him and his family is up to him and his family. It's different, maybe, if you worked for him or are a personal friend, but voters, eh, not so much.

3) Absolutely. Let the kid alone! What did the kid ever do?

I don't think his work's necessarily done. The best thing he can do is work at the causes that he's championed. What he does to level things with his family, that's up to them. I don't need to know. I *never* need to know.

Sorry it has been so rough on you.

[nidaros]

FYI; it's a libel suit not a liable suit......­.......

[374662]

I'm not sure what the intended point of this piece was but from both the piece and the comments, one thing is clear: it will not stop until the two main questions are resolved - paternity and the so called payoffs. John Edwards, and to some extent Elizabeth Edwards, won't have a chance of any public voice until an independent paternity test establishes if he is the father of that child. Likewise, why money was and perhaps still is being paid remains a significant question for many.

It may not be right but there will be people who will always question publicly the details of this matter and engage in wild speculation. Worst of all, the most innocent victims in the Edwards children will continue to suffer.

(Ms. Hunter made her choices for herself and her child, is responsible for her actions and must live with the consequences. Unfortunately, she was probably the paid source, directly or indirectly, of the National Enquirer info and will continue to do whatever she needs to in order to profit in the future. She earns no sympathy since she was talking to everyone - including a Newsweek reporter. She set Edwards up!)

[gba]

Elizabeth Edwards actually seems to have a very public voice.

[CyberCitizen]

1. High testosterone levels are a gift and a curse. It's associated with confidence, courage, leadership, and optimism, but also risk taking, arrogance, and infidelity. Ask Clinton, Spitzer, RFK, JFK, FDR, MLK, Gandhi, etc. One coin, two sides. Who else during the primary dared speak out on poverty?
2. Wish this society/Enquirer had invested as much time/expense tracking a body armor scandal as this. I'd rather be in the dark about this, but I'm starving for news on the body armor scandal. Many people died or became seriously injured because of faulty or delayed body armor!
3. A beautiful baby, yes, but with too-sparse hair to be convincing.
4. While others sowed their wild oats in college, Edwards unloaded UPS trailers at midnight.
5. Keep speaking out on health care and writing, Elizabeth. Life ain't perfect but your voice is pitch perfect.

[rubinoff]

Bigger men than John have lost their home over a piece of 'tail.'...­.sad, but true....'s­ex is a hella drug.'

[gba]

Who?

[FearlessFreep]

Considering that this scandal that supposed to become a "tsunami" (the term used in THE HUFFINGTON POST), it's interesting that nobody's been talking about it in recent weeks. Could it be that it WILL go away? Could it be that things like hurricanes and crashing stock markets and even Sarah Palin's record are more important to most Americans? (Perish the thought!)

Of course, the Edwards scandal won't go away because THE HUFFINGTON POST keeps talking about it. (Just as Reagan was the Teflon President because the press treated him as a teflon president.­)

[pattyrenee]

To GBA;;;;;;
John McCain left his crippled wife and three children for the other woman, Cindy, right after he was released from being a POW. The wife who waited for him, had a car wreck, was crippled, and waited, and waited for dear John.
Bill had affairs but never left his wife and child. We elected Bill, knowing he was a womanizer too. Bill was brilliant, a Rhodes Scholar, a Harvard Law School graduate. (gasp), not a bottom of his class, loser, like McCain. Bill left us in the black. W, is leaving beyond, broke, in debt to China, in 2 or 3 (if they have there way, wars, and in massive WS meltdown. McCain has been in the Senate longer than anyone too.
No comparison. OBAMA '08

[Eduardodelazul411]

In light of this I don't see why McCain doesn't get attacked more often for leaving his first wife behind 30 years ago.

[gba]

Because it is not relevant. The attacks on John Edwards is, at least to a certain extent, also an attack on his platform