I hate to see Edwards go out this way. It would have been better to disclose it all right away.

I caucused for that darn Edwards. And I voted for that darn Nixon, back in 1972, because he fooled me, just because he had gone to China.

Let us hope our President Obama stays out of the National Enquirer.

Of course our Justice department can find the time to convene a Grand Jury to pursue technical violations involving an affair. However, they are just too busy to prosecute our war criminals who ordered torture and renditions. I am saddened by what this says about our country.

to worry about Edwards in the mess we are in? How about ,oh ,I don't know, investigate the wall street thieves and then get back to Edwards!

Is this what's called a distraction?

what Human Power said! Let's prosecute the torturers and war criminals on the tax payer's dime instead of this nonsense.

I agree with the previous poster that it is amazing that Justice Department prosecutors are pursing some alleged silly regulatory filing violation that stems from an affair between somebody who was a candidate for public office in the past, but won't pursue all but admitted war criminals. This disgusting turn of events shows how far the rule of law has fallen in our society and how even our highest institutions have fallen prey to the cheap siren call of infotainment style titillation and celbritrash. Sad, sad, sad.

but the obsession Salon posters have with "torture" isn't?

torture is just fine-and-fucking-dandy??

The same week that a Boston Globe journalist won a Pulitzer prize for breaking the story about how Bush used signing statements to effectively veto legislation, the media totally ignored him and obsessed over Edwards's expensive haircut. This is the same media that was so busy making fun of Gore's supposed deranged lies, none of which he actually said, that they never bothered to check out the record of the guy running against him. We all know how that worked out. We also know how an obsession with the sex life of a public official totally monopolized the attention of our politicos and our media while Osama bin Laden was openly declaring war on this country and stating his determination to show us that his fatwa was no academic matter.

Do I approve of Edwards's behavior? Obviously not. I'm as disgusted with him as I was with Newt Gingrich for cheating on a wife who had cancer. The words "in sickness and in health" in the wedding vows do mean something. But I'm also absolutely sure that Maureen Dowd's next column will be a colossal exercise in snark about a former, unsuccessful Presidential candidate, and not about any of that boring trivia like Obama's impressive debut on the world stage at the economic summit, or about the brutal massacre of immigrants who were studying for their citizenship exams. If a country gets the media we deserve, we are in deep sh!t.

Dick Cheney, Haliburton, and the "F" word are the other obsessions of left wingers.

So, you think torture is a distraction. Hmmm. What does that say about you?

I haven't the time this morning to research this, but five'll getcha ten this investigation is headed up by one of those Rove political shill replacements from the Alberto Gonzalez era who are STILL ON THE JOB! Canyabelieveit?!!

Eric Holder, so far the Maytag Repairman of the Obama Administration, has polished his name tag and rearranged the pen set on his desk three times this week and took one official action: He dismissed the felony case against the Alaska Senator who will now, without any pending charges, try to get re-elected. Hellava job, Eric!

The subject of this thread is supposed to be John Edwards and, presumably, whether or not people's contributions to his campaign were directed towards hushing up his Baby Mama.

What do you consider to be torture? Panties on the head?

Do you realize the abject absurdity of wailing on and on about "torture" when you're dealing with those who routinely behead people? Who beat young girls for speaking to boys?

Do you think panties on the head are worse than no head?

What does this say about you?

Too bad, John Edwards has not become President. All of us would have had a free entertainment Sex and the Oval Office, Part II.

So you think we should focus on the sexual problems of individuals, that have no shame, is more important than torture ,the economy ,and what this massive deception by wall street and the people they back, on the people, than no one will honestly talk about is more important???

No, I don't think it's more important, except to the extent that anybody that does what Edwards did while his wife is dying of cancer shows himself to be so insensitive you have to doubt he has enough character to be the country's leader.

I know that when Newt Gingrich, Mark Foley and Larry Craig had similar lapses, I heard a lot of indignation coming from left wingers, but then they were Republicans, right?

Really.

Yes, it is quite curious that Edwards, who in the last Democratic primary represented the populist surge against the Wall Street/Washington axis, and who embarassed Obama with his refusal to take PAC money, is now getting prosecuted for the crime of being blackmailed. Edwards is getting his for bucking the Establishment.

I donated to Edwards, and I don't regret it. Of course I think he was a fool for trying to pay off his mistress, but if that's worst crime he's accused of, well. We all know the tune to that little ditty, by now. I think he should stand trial for any crimes he committed, but I would still have voted for him.

Unfortunately, I never got that chance--Obama was the only change many in the Democratic party could believe in. And now look where we are. John Edwards came to fame taking corrupt big business to court and winning, and then winning a strongly-contested Senate seat in one of the most Republican states in the Union. He backed his anti-establishment rhetoric by not taking contributions from AIG, Wall Street, etc., and the media marginalized him so quick his campaign was over before he even got a decent chance. Obama and Hillary took the contributions and they're sitting pretty spinning policies nearly indistinguishable from the Bush White House. I saw the writing on the wall when Daily Kos, supposedly a hotbed of progressivism, started being overwhelmed by fanatics of Obama acting like Edwards and his supporters were in the way of a victory for change. And how well Obama has repaid their trust, not that they'd know the difference. Edwards supporters said Obama would do this, because they were looking at what he did rather than what he said or how good he looked on camera. The party chose romance and glamour instead.

A sad end to what should have been a brilliant career. Now we're left with the counterfeit.