Originally Posted By vbdad55 Gee, I am surprised no one has started this thread yet - ;-) So it appears one does not have to be one of those darn GOP types to preach morals and ethics all the while behaving like a scumbag. It's a crazy world when theNational Enquirer is right and our elected officials are lying...very scary. <a href="http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20080808/D92EBOC00.html" target="_blank">http://apnews1.iwon.com//artic...C00.html</a> John Edwards says he made a serious error in judgment when he had an affair and is ashamed of his conduct. In a statement, the former Democratic presidential candidate also said he informed his wife about his affair with 42-year-old Rielle Hunter in 2006 and has asked her forgiveness. Edwards said he is not the father of the woman's daughter and is willing to take a test to determine the 5-month-old baby's paternity. He said the affair lasted for a short time in 2006. Until Friday, Edwards had denied reports in the National Enquirer that he had an affair while his wife, Elizabeth, was battling cancer. He admitted to the affair in an interview with ABC News, then released a statement.
Originally Posted By dshyates Lawyer, politician....philanderer. I'm shocked. Still not my business. Just like who I sleep with isn't YOUR business. But people don't think like that. Its all their business.
Originally Posted By barboy ///all the while behaving like a scumbag/// You don't always know what's behind closed doors so it's best not to call people that for hooking up with another. Some circumstances justify affairs and some circumstances do not.
Originally Posted By dshyates "Some circumstances justify affairs and some circumstances do not." Nothing justifies an affair. there are reasons, but not justification. There is a right way and a wrong way. The right way is called swinging. The wrong way in an affair.
Originally Posted By mele <<How is this anyone's business?>> It's not my business but now that I know it, I don't know if I'd ever be able to vote for him. Yuck.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>So it appears one does not have to be one of those darn GOP types to preach morals and ethics all the while behaving like a scumbag.<< Yes, it's the same thing. Openly campaigning against gay rights only to be participating in gay sex yourself is definitely the same as to be preaching against poverty and having an extra-marital affair. I don't think anybody excuses Edwards' behavior. But like it or not, there's a difference between conservatives who run on "family values" (Larry Craig) or who rail on criminals while secretly being drug addicts themselves (Rush) and liberals who get caught. Now, if you'd like to compare to liberals like the lady who ran a racist campaign against her Jewish opponent in Tennessee, or Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana, then you might have a case of real hypocrisy.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>How is this anyone's business?<< I'm not sure it is, but one could make the argument that it certainly calls his judgment into question. How these high profile politicians do this sort of thing and think they won't get caught shows at least some disconnect from reality. So Elizabeth Edwards, at least so far, appears to have done the Christian thing and forgiven her husband. Let's hope she gets the same deep and abiding respect that Hillary Clinton earned from the right for her decision.
Originally Posted By DAR He had the affair when she was diagnosed with cancer? That's pretty despicable.
Originally Posted By dshyates "He had the affair when she was diagnosed with cancer?" I'm not making excuses, but lets get the facts straight. She was diagnosed in 2004, treated and gone into remission by 2005. In 2006, when he had the affiar, she was considered cancer free. In March of 2007, she announced that the cancer had returned. I think you may be confussing Edwards with Newt Gingrich, who had an affair while his wife was having surgery for cancer. Filed for divorce while she was in the hospital recovering. And then refused to pay the court ordered alimony and child support. The local First Baptist Church took collections to support her and Newt's children.
Originally Posted By ecdc <a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/08/elizabeth-edwar.html" target="_blank">http://blogs.abcnews.com/polit...war.html</a> Hell of a statement by Elizabeth Edwards.
Originally Posted By Tinkerbell819 If the affair ended in 2006, did he say why he was in her hotel room at 2:30am last week? (or whenever he was caught there by the reporters?)
Originally Posted By barboy I'm not surprised in the slightest over this episode. Years before, Wife and I talked about his chances for getting something on the side. We looked at him and his power, money and appearance as a political figure..... then we looked at his wife and we both agreed something was amiss. When something is that out of balance things usually tip.
Originally Posted By JohnS1 "Openly campaigning against gay rights only to be participating in gay sex yourself is definitely the same as to be preaching against poverty and having an extra-marital affair." I agree - not apples and apples. But what always baffled me is how his many followers did not see any conflict in his proclaiming he was an everyday Joe, concerned with the poor and working families, yet was a multi-millionaire himself. I have never understood how people with gazillions of money can assume the roles of kindly benefactors to the poor unless they are in the habit of giving their vast volumes of money away. Before I ever believe what a politician says, I have to see that politician living their words, not just spouting out what they "believe in." As a consequence, there are very few politicians I believe in anymore.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <You don't always know what's behind closed doors so it's best not to call people that for hooking up with another. Some circumstances justify affairs and some circumstances do not. < sorry, when one is married NOTHING 'justifies' hooking up as you call it. What his wife was sick with cancer so maybe he wasn't getting enough - is that your angle ? Nice. Unbelievable
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <How is this anyone's business?< again it shows extremely poor judgement from someone who people want to handthe country over to.
Originally Posted By Mr X Lots of things can show poor judgment. Cheating on your wife is just one of them.
Originally Posted By Mr X And I suppose my point is I wouldn't use that as an exclusive criteria. But some would insist you should.
