I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: never trust a man with a bad dye job. Ronald Reagan, Wayne Newton, Jerry Lewis … there are demons within!
It takes a special kind of classy, though, doesn’t it, to cheat on a wife who’s dying of cancer? Sheesh.
July 22, 2008 at 5:58 pm
This sucks. But I do think it’s true.
July 22, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Wasn’t this the rumor about why he really decided to drop out of the election?
July 22, 2008 at 6:08 pm
This guy has always squicked me out.
His hair, his political positions and his persona all seem ultra groomed for public consumption — as though straight from central casting — and it has always bothered me.
July 22, 2008 at 6:10 pm
My best friend and gossip mag expert says never to believe anything until it is in People. So I call bullshit on this. Especially b/c John Edwards is my man! Also, Carolina Law should be represented in the Oval Office, b/c we is tha shizznit.
July 22, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Someone on Gawker, I am assuming a reporter, says the MSM has known all about it for months but haven’t wanted to touch it due to his wife’s illness. It’s an open secret. But the Enquirer went there.
July 22, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Sigh. This is the Enquirer, so… grain of salt for now. Hate to say, though, I believe it. I’ve never cared for him particularly, but my mom digs him so I’ve always wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.
At leats he was not busted trying to bonk an underage page.
July 22, 2008 at 6:16 pm
While I’m inclined to even believe the National Enquirer about this..why are there no pictures of the report’s encounter with him? There apparently were amused looky-loos watching from a staircase too.
July 22, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I’m with the believe-it-when-the-mainstream-media-reports-it crowd. I gotta stand by my NC man, at least until this is confirmed. If that happens, I’ll be helping Elizabeth kick his ass.
July 22, 2008 at 6:20 pm
@ trixiefromtoronto: It was also all over Wonkette a while back.
The Enquirer doesn’t have a lot to lose by reporting this. And in a whole lot of cases, they are correct. They were among the first to report Brad & Angelina together, Jodie Foster being gay, etc.
I don’t think the MSM will touch this, but in many other cases, what’s reported in the Enquirer will be seen in the MSM around 2-3 weeks later.
July 22, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Is this the lady that he met through a contractual service for video/photography for his campaign? Then she shows up pregnant and moves to a high-end neighborhood in Durham and one of his top lieutnants (married w/children) steps forward to claim the child is his to take the heat off Edwards.
Don’t know if that’s true, or related to this story, but that was REALLY making the rounds in parts of NC earlier this year.
July 22, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Wasn’t this the rumor about why he really decided to drop out of the election?
Yeah, him being in so far behind Obama and HRC wasn’t enough of a reason.
Whether it is true or not doesn’t matter in this day and age. Damage done. No VP/AG nod for you, Mr. Edwards!
July 22, 2008 at 6:36 pm
It honestly, truly, isn’t THAT hard to keep it in your pants, boys.*
*If this turns out to be untrue, I apologize in advance, and still haven’t washed my sweater from that time you touched it, John.
July 22, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Save it for the deposition, baden.
July 22, 2008 at 6:42 pm
If true, John Edwards:Gross and Stupid.
July 22, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I plead the 5th, begorrah!
Plus, he can’t handle the truth!
July 22, 2008 at 6:45 pm
fuck fuck fuck you for doing that to your wife if it’s true.
July 22, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I’m actually hoping they (Mr/Mrs Edwards) had some agreement for him to get his rocks off. Which barely makes it feel better.
July 22, 2008 at 6:48 pm
every time i hear or read elizabeth edwards, i wish she was the one who ran for prez. that woman is awesome. and if this old story hasnt been proven yet, it probably aint true.
July 22, 2008 at 6:58 pm
@ erggggg: I agree about Elizabeth. When she took on Ann Coulter, I was like, “Oh boy! A lady that shows up and puts up!”
July 22, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I can’t remember where I saw a breakdown of the facts re: Edwards’ affair, but somebody blogged about it when this first hit the news, and they made a pretty damn convincing argument for it being true.
It had something to do with the fact that she got pregnant and moved into the gated neighborhood where the staffer that took the fall lived with his wife and children–a neighborhood that was pretty close to the Edwards campaign office. As well, the unidentified source said that said staffer had had the mistress over for dinner with his wife and family before he took the fall. And there were a few comments about how she produced these videos that mysteriously disappeared from his website around the time that the rumors about them broke. There was lots of other stuff that just added up, so I guess I prone to believe it.
Besides…the Enquirer HAS broken some real news in its past. The “it’s the Enquirer” argument against this story is a bit disingenuous if you ask me.
I guess what really irritates me about this whole thing is that one of my favorite professors in college was good friends with Elizabeth and John, and I loved how he made them into real people for us when he was discussing them in class. So in a way, this feels more personal for me, even though it shouldn’t be.
If this is true…Elizabeth deserve way better.
July 22, 2008 at 7:00 pm
In NC a person has up to 1 year from the time of birth to file the birth certificate. It’s 1) not been filed, 2) has the name of his lieutenant as father of the child, or 3) listed father as unknown. I’m betting it’s not been filed, or whatever data given would be cited by the media. Interesting.
Here’s the link to the story on N.E.
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/john_edwards_love_child/celebrity/64426
July 22, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Yup, that’s class-y was a cap K
I know a guy - we’ll call him Fred - who cheated on his dying cancerous wife -Barb -with a woman -Sue - who’s husband - John -was also dying of cancer. Sweet huh? But it gets better.
Thirty years ago Sue was the bbsitter for John and his first wife. Sue busted up John’s family to marry him
When Fred’s wife Barb died, Sue and Fred tried to poach the home help away from Fred’s 90 mother to look after dying John so Fred and Sue could have special time.
But dying John had the last laugh. He hasn’t died and may not die now!
No kidding. Not sure if any of them dyed their hair.
July 22, 2008 at 8:40 pm
@giftedtypist: holy balls, what a fucking circus.
July 22, 2008 at 8:56 pm
@giftedtypist: That is convoluted. I can haz diagram?
July 22, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Bah. Every person in public life is a narcissist and has a huge ego - it is what makes them successful because they are prepared to do what it takes. These same people sold their conscience looong ago so no surprises that they cheat. It’s the hypocrisy that pisses me off. Don’t fuck around then espouse “christian” values. Don’t judge or deny women who need abortions when you have no respect for the women in your life. Hillary got canned because she was ambitious and did what it took to be the first female candidate. These guys are no different yet she is held to different standards. Aaargh! Ok, rant over.
July 22, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Sleazy politicians are good politicians. See, e.g., Clinton, Bill.
Boy scouts are miserable failures. See, e.g., Carter, Jimmy.
I hate him on a personal level if he did this bullshit, but I couldn’t care less about politicians’ personal lives when it comes to what they can accomplish in office. So, yeah, I still think he would’ve made a good prez.
July 22, 2008 at 10:06 pm
By the way, Balthazar Getty’s on line two and is available for Sat’s poker night.
July 22, 2008 at 10:10 pm
I hear you, wassupbishes.
July 22, 2008 at 10:27 pm
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!Say it ain’t motherfuckin’ so.
Why John? Maybe he’s trying to prove to Ann Coulter that he is not teh gay?
Hopefully Elizabeth will get better and run for Senate. I kid, I kid!
July 22, 2008 at 10:34 pm
@ Myrtlebeachbum: You’re right, the great/good ones have all been lecherous.
From Thomas Jefferson to William Jefferson Clinton, the good ones have always dabbled on the side.
July 22, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Amoureuse/MBB: I don’t know, though, to be fucking around on your dying wife? I am not judgmental about these things normally, and don’t think it has anything to do with the type of president he/she would be, but that does speak to a lack of character, judgment, smarts, compassion, soul, etc., does it not? Am I being too Church Lady?
If you cut away the morality issues, for purely mercenary reasons it’s like whoa, dude, chances are your wife might not be around in a year or so. COULD YOU KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS TIL THEN??? THEN YOU CAN HAVE YOUR POON PARTY!
July 22, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Damn it. We liked him. We actually really liked him. That cheater-whoring motherfucker, I’m not surprised. When will I learn? WHEN WILL I LEARN TO SPOT A CHEATER-WHORE ON SIGHT!
July 23, 2008 at 12:13 am
from the same publication that insists alligator-boy is real?? i need more concrete evidence.
July 23, 2008 at 2:09 am
I dunno, folks. Marriage is a complicated thing, more complicated as time goes by and serious illness makes it positively surreal. As someone said, maybe Elizabeth knows. I’ve known couples where the person who was ill pretty much told their partner to go find solace elsewhere, and not just sex. Some seriously ill people really can’t handle emotional demands either, and will bluntly say, “I love you, but find someone else for a while, it’s taking all my strength just to get by”. As for the pregnancy, that’s sloppy, but then they lost their first son in a car accident. That makes people do weird things…I agree, he’s a politician and should know that he’ll be under a microscope. And no woman politician would be forgiven this behavior. I just think that after the first knee-jerk reaction of “that slimeball!” I started thinking of what humans really do in this life…
For what it’s worth.
July 23, 2008 at 3:01 am
Whilst it’s cool to be non-judgmental Trixie, and SarahHB has a point about relationships being complicated, I still get mad that the people who are holding themselves up as an example of moral righteousness and who are JUDGING (spelling?)the way we all live and making motions to determine how we do it, still think that they are exempt from the very morals they put forth.
Love and comittment aren’t what they used to be.
Damn, I need to get laid.
July 23, 2008 at 4:48 am
@wassupbishes …”Love and commitment aren’t what they used to be…”
No, this IS what love and commitment have always been. Messy and imperfect. And that’s the point about when the <Iholier than thou fall. They discover what they should have always known (or admitted): that they’re just like all the rest of us. And stone me if you like, all of you, but physical fidelity is not the only thing important in a relationship, and for some people it isn’t even that important.
And yeah, it’s infuriating when the pillars of rectitude (and sanctimony)turn out to be sinners, but really: what politician in the US even in this day and age can be anything else but a public goody-goody and still get elected? Maybe the mayor of San Francisco and the appointed governor of New York State, who never expected to get elected and has nothing to lose.Look how much shit Hillary got years ago with her comments about “I’m not a cookie baking stay at home mom” or something like that. Most of these people wouldn’t have a career if they pretended to be anything else but vanilla these days.
July 23, 2008 at 8:14 am
I hear you, Sarah. I have cheated and been cheated on. I have forgiven and hoped to be forgiven. No one knows what goes on in the confines of a marriage other than the two people in it. I have never faulted Silda, for example, for standing by Spitzer. She might have had her own very private reasons for doing so.
But this guy loses me because his wife is ill and because he was too stupid to put on a condom. Even if he had her blessing to seek solace elsewhere, there’s no way she wanted to endure him fathering another child and putting their children through that ordeal. There’s also no way a man running for president wanted to have another child with his mistress due to some need to replace the lost child. It’s just not plausible. And he should have had enough respect for her and his children to, at the very least, put a goddamned condom on.
July 23, 2008 at 8:23 am
Cheating happens. But seriously? While she’s in chemo and shit? Come on, dude. It just can’t be that hard to keep it in the pants for a coupla years.
July 23, 2008 at 9:42 am
First Christian Bale, now this? My world is shattered.
I’m going to go hide under the covers before someone tells me the Easter Bunny is really an alcoholic puppy-kicker.
July 23, 2008 at 9:45 am
great, this puts Edwards on equal moral ground as “Mr. Family Values/Contract on America” Newt Gingrich who left his wife while she was in her hospital bed with cancer, along with having an affair with an intern while going after Bubba for that. As for Silda Spitzer, I have little respect as she was known to run her mouth about Hillary for staying with Bill
July 23, 2008 at 9:54 am
Really, Starbuck? That I did not know. So looks like someone got a karmagram!!!
July 23, 2008 at 10:02 am
well, I must admit I heard that second hand from my lovely wife.. so I should confirm I guess.
July 23, 2008 at 10:41 am
What I mean, Trixie, is that I can see how the twisted logic of “I’m Mr. Upstanding and I can fuck around” comes from. What I don’t get is how someone who is that ambitious didn’t have the self control and common sense or even plain old narcissistic to take precautions.
July 23, 2008 at 10:46 am
Exactly! The stupidity is puzzling.
July 23, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Wow. This just reinforces my belief that there is not a politician alive who is not a complete utter disgusting scumbag. You just can’t trust them!
July 23, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Hey, I don’t know if this is true. Enquirer is not a reliable source, it is sort of a yellow press. But let stop sneaking around other people private life.
Adultery is not a crime in the state of North Carolina.
July 23, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Hi Vel
The Enquirer has broken a hell of a lot of stories ahead of the MSM that have ended up being true, and it seems hard to imagine them going with such a huge political story without having the story. All sorts of stuff is emerging now about how this was common knowledge in NC, and also how Edwards was seen running around like a chicken with this head off in the hotel that night trying to avoid being photographed. It sounds pretty solid to me and like it was obtained the old-fashioned way — solid reporting that involved staking out the hotel and waiting to bust him. Also, they have lawyers — they weren’t going with the story unless they had it. Apparently videotape and photos are to come.
And while I normally agree with you about the private lives of politicians, this guy wants to be VP and he has a very sick wife. And there’s a love child conceived while his wife was battling cancer. Sorry, but that’s a story. A big, huge one.
July 23, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Trixie - The birth certificate still has me curious. I also realized, the “suspected” mistress may have gone out of state for her delivery…which would make the search more tedious, but not impossible. Birth certificates are a matter of public record.
July 23, 2008 at 8:17 pm
But she could have put the fake father’s name on it, no?
The only parent you can ever be sure of is the parent with the womb!
July 23, 2008 at 10:13 pm
I wonder if part of the reason all these politicians, even the “good” ones, sleep around, is b/c you have to have one hell of a high opinion of yourself to even think you can be elected to public office. So if you already think that highly of yourself, you’re probably more prone to sleep around than the average man who isn’t a narcisisst. Which I can’t spell.
July 23, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Trixie - Yes and the name of the “fall-guy father” is public knowledge. In NC if the father is not married to the mother, it’s a little more involved to get his name on the certificate but it can certainly be accomplished. It just depends on how amicable matters are between the involved parties. Most states have very similiar vital records laws and documentation process. I suspect she’ll use the fall-guy’s name or cite unknown.
Agreed, the mother’s claim is usually much easier to determine!