I have been obsessed with the John Edwards mistress/campaign finance misuse story since it broke. Maybe it is because I was always an Edwards supporter and I still believe there are “two Americas.” Maybe it is because I still can not fathom that any human being can be dumb enough to believe they will get away with hiding their mistress and child. Maybe I’m just a glutton for juicy political gossip. I could not wait for his criminal corruption trial scheduled to begin later this month.
Edwards is charged with six felony and misdemeanor counts related to donations to and payments from his failed 2008 presidential campaign. He is accused of conspiracy, issuing false statements and violating campaign contribution laws. He denies any wrongdoing. I’m not sure he denies hiding his mistress, he just denies he used campaign funds or something convoluted like that.
I will be waiting a little bit longer to hear Edwards’ argument. It just got delayed. It seems that John Edwards is suffering from a “life-threatening heart condition” and, because of this, the trial has been delayed until at least March 26th. It is unknown exactly what the condition is, although the judge has spoken to Edwards’ cardiologist and will be getting written updates from the doctor.
The very, very, very cynical part of me thinks he paid off a doctor. What? No one else thought this? The man allegedly hid his very pregnant mistress and unborn child from the world by sending her away with his campaign staffer. You think paying off a doctor is above his moral code?
The not so cynical part of me feels terrible for his children. His oldest child, Cate, buried her brother, learned what a snake her father was, watched her parents’ marriage publicly disintegrate, buried her mother, may now bury her father, and will have to raise her young brother and sister. Oh, and she is a newlywed. Congratulations!
Not to mention his two young children who will be left without a mother and a father. And his young daughter with Rielle Hunter, who will never know her father.
No one wins in this story, at all.
Jodi blogs at Jodifur about life, motherhood, working, and shoes. Mostly shoes.
John Edwards is the first political figure to ever truly let me down. I was a supporter of his and voted for him in the 2008 primaries, so learning he was a low-life was extra disappointing to me. Now that we know more about him, I have to think that he’s using a health issue to avoid or delay court time. Because isn’t everyone suffering from a life-threatening heart condition? Aren’t all of our hearts going to give out on us at some point in our lives?
Come on, John. You can do better than using a non-specific “health issue” to avoid facing what’s coming.
I liked Edwards. Really would have preferred him to Kerry in ’04 and I wish I could say that he let me down but Clinton did that first back in the 90′s. I have no illusions that politicians are anything other than just ppl who network better than the rest of us.
He could easily have heart issues. Stress is thought to combine with cholesterol to cause blockages and the boy has been under a bit of stress in the past four years. It’s too bad for his family and for him.
As far as the charges against him, am I the only one who thinks that he is being made an example b/c he came close to causing a major scandal that could have sucked the air out of the Dems storming the WH in 2008? I am probably just too cynical or jaded or both, but Edwards is hardly the only politician who creatively employs the fruits of his fundraising.