comment #1

Nate West says ...

Two things interest me about the Edwards scandal:

(1) Why is Edwards wearing surgical scrubs in an LA hotel? To blend in at the ob-gyn convention?

And...

(2) What accounts for the depth of Mickey Kaus's Edwards obsession? Does a balding man envy that hair?

comment #2

Mgmax says ...

I think he smelled a poltroon from the get-go.

A Vice President John Edwards engaged in a hotel-hopping, money-exchanging, aide-blaming paternity coverup would truly be Democratic presidential history repeating itself as farce.

comment #3

corey3rd says ...

I've always seen Edwards as a major hypocrite. The man charges $50,000 plus expense to lecture you on poverty. He built a bowling alley inside his house while preaching about the America of the have and have nots. I don't trust people with private bowling alleys - look what happened at the end of "There Will Be Blood."

It is pathetic how the press refuses to press this story. It's like they just don't have the heart to see how Edwards could have not merely fooled around with, but knocked up that woman. Couldn't he have used a few bucks from his speaking fees to buy a pack of rubbers? Was this woman's health insurance refusing to pay for birth control pills, but sent her free Viagra?

What's extra slimey is that he pressured a buddy to claim fatherhood, but then the guy refuses to have his name put on the birth certificate. Fear of being busted for lying on a document?

comment #4

redmond says ...

Huffington finally posted a link to the most recent Enquirer article. It looks like they're sticking their toe in the water and thinking about talking about it. I've been literally shocked by the MSM's lack of coverage. Do they not want to admit to being scooped by the Enquirer?

I'm with Kaus on his point about Edwards' irresponsibility. How could he run for president knowing this ticking bomb was waiting to go off? That's just, for a lack of a better term, fucking retarded. McCain's camp would sniff this out immediately, and there goes the election. Good game, John Edwards.

comment #5

Edward says ...

I'm not saying it's not true, but the Enquirer is such a great example of journalistic integrity.

comment #6

LYT says ...

"I don't trust people with private bowling alleys - look what happened at the end of "There Will Be Blood." "

If that's your standard, I presume you don't trust oilmen either. Or preachers. Or guys who talk funny.

comment #7

Bilge says ...

If there's any legitimacy to this story (and there may well be), then the MSM should obviously cover it to some degree, but I find Kaus singularly unpersuasive. His obsession seems to be not with the story, but with bringing Edwards down. Like half the items on his list of reasons boil down to: "Because Edwards might somehow still get a job somewhere, and he must therefore be stopped." His presidential campaign is over. He was never a significant contender for VP in 08. Cover the story if you must, but some perspective, please.

Of course, there IS a current Presidential candidate who, in his mid-40s, also cheated on his ailing and devoted wife with another hot blonde. I'll give you a hint: The hot blonde also happened to be the heir to a huge beer fortune.

comment #8

a1 says ...

"If that's your standard, I presume you don't trust oilmen either. Or preachers. Or guys who talk funny."

That sounds like pretty good advice, actually.

comment #9

mutinyco says ...

Maybe MSM isn't covering the story because...you know...the guy's wife has incurable cancer?... Maybe there's something called courtesy. Don't you think she has it bad enough?

comment #10

Joe Leydon says ...

If MSM should pick up on every National Enquirer story: How about all the Enquirer stories about Bush getting drunk in the White House, Bush and his wife prepraing to divorce, etc.?

comment #11

Todd says ...

Bilge you hit the nail on the head. Mccain did cheat on his wife and left her for the rich blonde but this standard is OK. As long as you're white and republican it's ok to get away with this behaviour. As for John Edwards his political career has been over for a while. HELLO people.

comment #12

Terry McCarty says ...

Here's a link to an article on NEW YORK magazine's website about how Rielle Hunter has appeared in fictional guise as a character in novels by Jay McInerney (who dated Hunter) and Brett Easton Ellis:
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/08/allow_bret_easton_ellis_to_int.html

comment #13

Ogami Itto says ...

It's not John Edwards's fault that chicks go crazy over his hair.

comment #14

C-PhreekII says ...

"Photos and mounting evidence are included in this week's National Enquirer.

August 6th, 2008 - The day Hollywood Elsewhere pretty much died, along with any hope of a return to its glory days. This is pathetic. But I guess I can look on the bright side: when Bill-O wipes the floor with site's owner it won't sting as much. How appropriate that it's the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

But I guess some folks just can't help themselves and there are always enablers who will toast them as they drive off the cliff...

comment #15

reggieandTFE says ...

Kaus has hated John Edwards for a long, long time. He abhors any whiff of wealth redistribution or any other policy that even whiffs of the "free" market not working. And he has a particular abhorrence for labor unions, of which Edwards has been a strong supporter of. I don't care either way if the mainstream media (and I still don't understand how the National Enquirer which sells a billion copies doesn't count) covers this, but Kaus is an idiot with a grudge.

comment #16

reggieandTFE says ...

I just read Kaus's piece again. He's fucking quoting Ann Coulter! Please Wells, reconsider the source.

comment #17

TL says ...

What Joe Leydon said. The traditional media isn't picking up the story because (a) the source is unreliable, and (b) nobody cares.

comment #18

Mgmax says ...

Edwards' career is over? Is that why they're talking about whether or not he gets a slot to speak at the convention?

comment #19

Mgmax says ...

Actually, that whole Coulter column is pretty good.

She;s an irresponible bomb-thrower, but she CAN write. I've never understood people who think simply dropping her name is enough to discredit any point she'd ever make. Or any point I've ever made....

comment #20

corey3rd says ...

But why would the Enquirer go after John Edwards? It's not like he's Brangelina territory. they are onto something dirty and it's their right to get their hands muddy. With the constant layoffs at the Post, NY Times and LA Times, it is easy why "reporters" no longer want to dig into such mud because in the near future they will be working for politicians since they're the only ones with cash to burn on writers.

Edwards had locked up the Attorney General slot with Obama. He wasn't dead meat when this story broke.

comment #21

Walter Sobchak says ...

Why are we discussing this? What does John Edwards' alleged affairs have to do with Brett Favre?

Focus, people!

comment #22

Michael says ...

@ Nate West:

Kaus has been destroying the LA Times about their general lameness in its coverage of the 'local' news, i.e. they get scooped left and right about shit that's almost literally in their backyard. This is a continuation of this.

This along with the note Blog Editor Pierce wrote to his people, and it looks terrible that LAT is sitting on their hands while Enquirer is owning the story. I mean...how can the LAT NOT have a source in the FUCKING BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL??????

comment #23

Michael says ...

@corey3rd:

If that's true about the AG slot, then the Enquirer just did us all a huge favor.

comment #24

Dave Polands Gut says ...

edwards is a phony??? i barely believe a word of it.

that he covered up a love child with a former party girl?? no way

that he forced his friend who is married with children to take credit for the kid? i cannot believe my ears

the millionaire who claims there is 2 america's???
the guy who pays 4 bills for a haircut when he preaches about poverty??

shocked

comment #25

dinther says ...

Funny how some who profess umbrage at the idea of the press not covering Edwards having an private affair are the same who wax indignant at any mention of McCain's open affair with the lobbyist who apparently received a quid pro quo for her services.

I also find hilarious the rants of angry little moralists (that's you, corey3rd and dave poland's gut) whose vitriole appears to emerge from their latent hostility towards anyone who CAN get laid.

Keep 'em coming guys.

comment #26

T. S. Idiot says ...

What I don't understand is how somebody so unattractive had affairs with at least three famous dudes. Does she do something special in bed? Does she explain the appeal of Proust to them? Are her pancakes terrific?

comment #27

corey3rd says ...

When have I been indignant about McCain horndogging it with the lobbyist? It's a a known fact that McCain screwed himself into power when he dumped his wife and kids for Ms. Bud. Think he's be in the senate if he was still married to his navy wife? He plotted his rise to power while working the senate for the navy. he was screwing lot of ladies around DC, but when he hooked up with Ms Bud, he knew she'd be his key to the future since she had cash and connections to fast track him into DC as a player and not support. He got a marriage certificate before his divorce finalized cause he couldn't afford to lose Ms Bud.

If you notice, Cindy has a tight leash on McCain to make sure he doesn't stray on the road. And he's really not liking it as seen by his offering to have her strip down to win Miss Buffalo Chip. Did any first lady have to perform oral sex on a banana?

And I get laid. Thanks for caring.

comment #28

Krillian says ...

Kaus isn't the only one talking about this. You know if the same level of evidence was out there that Mitt Romney might have fathered a child outside of wedlock with his MS-suffering wife, there'd be a blood-dripping, mouth-foaming, back-slapping, high-fiving field day at Daily Kos, Huff Post, HE, MSNBC, etc, and the next day it would get its run on NBC, ABC, CBS, Drudgereport, Fox, CNN, etc., etc., etc.

comment #29

SaveFarris says ...

Need I remind our left-leaning friends that this same "unreliable" Enquirer were the ones that broke the "Rush Limbaugh caught with a suitcase full of Viagra" story. I don't remember howls of "insufficient sourcing!!". I don't recall the media shying away from reporting the story. And unlike Edwards, Limbaugh had never held (or even ran for) elective office.

comment #30

SpinDozer says ...

I think this story should be covered. It has been. My paper has had two articles addressing the story. Not much to write about yet. Nat Enq is a crap publication that occassionally gets a story right, Limbaugh (& possibly this one fer instance), but the ratio of data to allegation is lacking at this point and the upshot of the affirmation of the allegations would be that an unsucessful former candidate's career is probably over if the allegations are found to be false, the results probably the same.

Here's the deal, the REAL crimes commited by representatives by either party in office are MUCH more important to me than personal indiscretions commited by men (or women, Helen Chenowith, RIP) of either party.

comment #31

corey3rd says ...

I remember Rush and his boner pill bust when he was returning from a country that's notorious for Chickenhawk Tourism.