why don't we scold the people who facilitated her drinking. When you're drunk you are far less likely to take steps to protect yourself; and you are far less able to protect yourself should you get into a bad situation. Could she have done anything to protect herself had she not been drunk? Who knows, but the alcohol--which it was illegal to give her--took away any chance she might have had.

Is that blaming someone other than the perpetrators? Must it be an either/or thing? Are we really that simple minded?

As for the woman who wondered why a father of a 15 year old wasn't panicking when his daughter was 2 hours late, I have a 14 year old son. Once in a blue moon he has shown up a couple of hours late and been inaccessible by phone. Did I panic? You never know whether to panic. Teens are idiots. They think they are invincible. They think you are ridiculous for worrying when you don't know exactly where they are. At two hours, I'm just starting to get angry/really concerned. At the two hour mark I'm calling other parents and friends to find out where my child was last spotted and if he's with anyone who is reachable by cell phone. It's only happened 2-3 times, and its always turned out well. The longest was 5 hours or so. My son just felt like hanging out with his friends and didn't bother to call home. He was grounded for a month afterward, but its the kind of experience that makes you hesitant to call police when he's probably just being a teen.

It's not like she has to make sure her kids are looked after. John may be a scumbag but he's going to make sure his kids are provided for financially. Nor will divorce change who raises the kids when she's gone. They're John's kids.

She just needs to decide where she wants to be and be there. Forget lawyers and depositions and accountants. She's been in major denial for a very, very long time. She owes herself to give her kids some good memories and enjoy the world. Watch movies. Read. See stuff. Without any thought to anything else. Divorce will do nothing more than keep John in her life. Just walk away. I cannot imagine that John will object or deny her anything.

And as for Rielle, I so don't get people who blame her for squat. She had a scumbag for a father, a crappy childhood, and Edwards sold her a pretty dream. He's the one who committed adultry. Party girls are nothing more than people who know so little about being happy, they think you find happiness in self-induced public stupor.

As for why we discuss this, it is the height of human drama. It is tragedy. It is hubris. It is the fall. They have both fallen so very, very far. How could we possibly not watch. Drama is the National Enquirer's specialty. On this particularly occasion it happened to be correct and the story has a dodged bullet element that ads relevance and creates a cultural phenomenon which it turn makes it fodder for the present forum.

Those who don't care to watch can change the channel.

My daughter was rejected by her biological parents at age 12. Both signed away parental rights rather than give up destructive relationships and drug habits. She went in to foster care, group homes and failed adoptions. And finally, at age 15, to me. This allowed her to imagine that there were still people out there who, on some level, cared. Except that when she was 19 and went looking, they were no better off than before and still wanted little or nothing to do with her.

I guess the one thing she may have that you may not is to hope against hope that some day, they might just come around. Except, that they might not, and so far not so good.

There is no point is arguing over who hurts the most, or has the most right to be screwed up due to circumstances.

Please don't start sharing your pain haphazardly. One of my daughter's problems has been trying to get too close, too quickly. Again, and again, and again. There may not be group therapy for orphans. But you can sometimes find it for people with abandonment issues. Look into Dr. Linehan's model for dialetical behavior therapy.

Many people can find true homes in church, and there are many churches who have a pretty high tolerance for people who are just there for the company and can pass on some or all of the message. And there are others who have been damaged by church and are better off in Starbucks with a book.

Peace.

Kids these days are not isolated. You can't keep them off Google. Not in the long run. Without Jenny Sanford's statement out there, there would be very little reason to think anyone cares about the kids and keeping their family together.

And yes, as horrible a situation as it is, and as unlikely to succede, they both owe it to the kids to stay together and be pleasant. Of course, the pleasant part is key.

For the most part I'm sympathetic to Jenny. She's in a nightmarish situation. That said, I have a hard time believing that Jenny never suspected anything. Even before Romeo started straying. When you're in a relationship you can feel things change. So many people try to ignore those changes, or even imagine that having yet another kid will fix things. I can't help but wonder if that's what happened here.