Big Fucking Deal

[filkertom]

Apparently, John Edwards had an extramarital affair. And lied about it.

You can find it. It's all over the news.

I'm very sad for him and for his family. And I really wish he hadn't been a jerk about it and basically told his staff to lie for him. But, y'know something? He did so because the modern media is a feeding frenzy... but only for stuff like this, that leaves them shocked! shocked! that someone could be so... so... immoral.

Ultimately, this is the Edwards' business.

Him. His family. Not us.

Again. 'Cause, gee, it sure seems as if we've heard something like this before. And this doesn't even matter politically, really.

Meanwhile:

• We're still in two wars, one illegal and neither being fought very well.
• Our deficit is skyrocketing, although Iraq seems to be doing all right.
• Our public officials seem to think that "the law" is whatever is convenient for the Republican Party.
• We still have Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, extraordinary rendition, and no habeus corpus.
• Multinational corporations, especially the oil corps, have us by the short hairs at the base of the scrotum.
• We're polluting ourselves out of existence, and the only thing most people seem to care about is how much it'll cost them right now.
• Georgia and Russia seem ready to go to war with each other, at least as of this morning.
• One-sixth of the country still doesn't have health care.
• We're running out of living-wage jobs.

At least one or two of those situations, and how we got into 'em, seem a little more immoral, and a lot more important, than a years-ago affair by a no-longer politician.

As Jimmy Tingle put it years ago, "All of a sudden, everyone's from Bethlehem."

Comments

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

Wtf was my first thought, especially given that the first I read about it this morning was right after a note about Russian tanks moving into South Ossetia.

[emiofbrie.livejournal.com]

Also keep in mind we entered into a pact to aid Georgia a while back.

This could get VERY interesting, and not in a good way... -.-

[zibblsnrt.livejournal.com]

I'm just glad Russia decided they wanted a war before Georgia was admitted to NATO and not after.

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

I should point out that Georgia still has a fair sized stockpile of ex-soviet nuclear weapons... assuming they haven't been flogged on the black market and still actually work.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

First thing I thought of. We do not want this to become a "hot" war.

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

I believe the appropriate phrase rhymes with 'Clucking Bell' :
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/09/georgia.ossetia/index.html

Given the asymmetry between Russia's forces and Georgia's, and what Georgian forces have to loose [nothing short utter annihilation basically] it has all the potential to 'hot' very, very quickly...

Kinda explains though why Putin reactivated the nuclear bomber patrols and was so hard-line about the missile shield. He had plans for Georgia all along.

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

My bad. Georgia does not officially have nuclear weapons.
http://wwww.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Georgia/index_4756.html

However, they could make a 'dirty' bomb very quickly, and crude nuclear one in a very short space of time, assuming they can put together a team with a few collage-level degrees to build it.

There's also the fact that not all of the warheads abandoned by the soviet forces were accounted for, although that could have been a clerical error.

[ororo.livejournal.com]

Edwards could always become born again, then he wouldn't be held accountable.

Hell, it worked for Shrub.

[ericthemage.livejournal.com]

That only works for Republicans.

[shaharazad.livejournal.com]

I agree with all of your "meanwhiles", but the guy was screwing around behind his wife's back while she's dying of cancer and publicly denying it.

That's pretty low. At this point I'm very glad he's not the nominee, both because it would have been an even bigger media circus, and because I'd really have a hard time supporting someone who would do this.

[roane.livejournal.com]

"...but the guy was screwing around behind his wife's back while she's dying of cancer and publicly denying it."

Well, yes, and I'm certainly not defending that behavior. That said, as someone who's gone through end-stage illness with three close family members, I have some sympathy for him. In an ideal world, when someone you love is very ill, you focus on them and take care of them and put yourself on hold. In reality, it's astoundingly stressful and hard, and sometimes judgment falls by the wayside. Further, we don't know Elizabeth Edwards' side of this. What Tom says is true: it's the Edwards' business.

[gavroche42.livejournal.com]

2 points
- 1 he claims in 2006 when the affair occurred his wife was in remission.
- 2 he also claims he told his wife in 2006 that it had happened.

This is actually different from other stories we have heard. A man who strayed, but didn't hide it from the one person to whom it matters.

Apparently the recent meetings with the women were behind his wife's back, though it's not clear what those meetings were about. The most likely explanation is she was trying to extort money - and it is understandable why he would hide that from his wife, as she is now dying.

[ladypoetess.livejournal.com]

I agree with you completely. My first thought was something along the lines of "You have got to be kidding me. His wife is dying, and he's already finding other people to sleep with? And doing stuff that could have gotten her pregnant? W.T.F." Shortly thereafter, my thought was "I'm glad he didn't get the nomination - if he had, when this came out it would have completely sunk the chance of a Dem White House."

It isn't our business, I agree - there are much more important things to worry about. But it is going to be a big deal with all the people who feel it IS their business, and if Edwards were the nominee, we'd never win.

[morpheus0013.livejournal.com]

Actually, the affair occurred while she was in remission.

I'm not saying that's a defense, I'm just saying it's not as if this was going on yesterday.

[dement1a.livejournal.com]

I've noticed that the presidents we knew were getting laid were pretty productive ones...

[palenoue.livejournal.com]

I've noticed that with the leaders of other countries. Maybe we should make it mandatory? Official White House Mistress? With any luck, that would force the fundies to leave the USA and we can get back to using our brains again.

[robin-june.livejournal.com]

As Jimmy Tingle put it years ago, "All of a sudden, everyone's from Bethlehem."

I'm not, although my guitars came from Nazareth. [g]

Seriously, the original Guy from Bethlehem was pretty big on Not Casting stones; and the only people that it's recorded that he got seriously p.o.'d at were those financial gougers who set up shop at the Temple Portico.

On the other hand, guys who are emotionally disloyal to their wives going through cancer hell deserve to know what kind of pain they are triggering.

[pandoradeloeste.livejournal.com]

As I understand it, the money changers weren't terribly gougy - they had a legitimate reason to be hanging around the temple. One of the requirements for Pesach (the holiday right before Jesus & Co. came to town) was for Jewish families to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and make sacrifices at the temple. Many people didn't want to travel with their sacrifices so they'd buy them in town, and often they had foreign currency to boot, so money changers and livestock vendors found it very convenient to set up shop near the temple. It was probably tacky and strange to have them actually in the temple, the way I've always pictured it, but they had a legitimate reason to be nearby. Basically Jesus went apeshit on them for no apparent reason.

[bayushisan.livejournal.com]

Honestly the reaction from politicians of both parties made me giggle in a way because I wondered what would happen if Jesus ran for President.

I think both parties would run attack ads of some form or another. The one I envision is a republican attack ad where they denounce Him for hanging out with prostitutes, thieves and other assorted "undesirable" people. Because no one wants a president who actually treats those people like people you know.

Least I chuckled at the thought. ;)

[stevemb.livejournal.com]

Bush vs. Jesus attack ad (http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/georgewbush/ig/100-Bush-Pictures/Bush-vs--Jesus.htm)

[morpheus0013.livejournal.com]

I don't understand why people bother lying about things like this anymore, once they hit the media. How can you not know this is going to come out? I have more respect for people who step up and say, "Yeah, I fucked up, here's the story." From what I read, Edwards would have been well-served to have done that--just laid it out, said, "It happened two years ago, it was a mistake, my family knows, my wife was in remission at the time, I suck, okay?"

[connor-campbell.livejournal.com]

i have to say one thing concerning your information listed concerning wars...it isn't totally correct. you see, we are in three wars, really, and the one against the environment is going VERY well, indeed.

on Edwards, your mention of it was the first i heard, and yes, you are correct, it the Edwards' business, no one else's. but for those who have this thing with keeping count:

George Washington - died of pnuemonia. contracted while coming back from his mistress' house on a rainy night.
Thomas Jefferson - mistresses? i doubt if HE was able to keep count.
Benjamin Franklin - known throughout Europe as a ladies man, two, possibly three potential mistresses while there. (i would need to double check that)

i have some very bad news for all you "shocked" people out there. better sit down. ready? here goes:


the president is human. get over it.

we know return you to your regularly scheduled filking, thank you.

[signy1.livejournal.com]

Oh, geez, not this again. I swear to God; this country has (or, at least, the media thinks/hopes/ensures we do) the most bass-ackward, stupidly immature mindset possible. You know what this is, right? This is yet another transparent attempt to distract people from all the real problems in the world, the ones we don't want to think about.

Yeah, we're struggling with two wars, our economy is in the toilet, gas is skyrocketing, the planet is damn near flatlining, ecologically speaking, the healthcare industry is a clusterfuck of epic proportions even for those lucky few of us with insurance, and the Constitution is being whited-out clause by clause. But we've got bigger fish to fry, don't we, folks? A washed-up politician stuck his dick in a consenting adult! Cue the vocal outrage!

I get that it was a sleazy thing to do, and I don't defend his actions. However, I'm also smart enough to realize that it's just. Not. Important, and I bet plenty of other people realize it, too. Why does our news industry treat us like Jukes and Kallikaks? Why do we let them?

[kightp.livejournal.com]

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

I don't care who a politician fucks, as long as it's not the whole country.

[zibblsnrt.livejournal.com]

(...I find it interesting - and kind of telling as regards the state of priorities for this sort of thing - that, despite the bulleted list, every original comment on this thread after the first two is entirely about Edwards' affair and not important things.)

[smallship1.livejournal.com]

Well, so is the post, if it comes to that. We all know what we think about the bulleted list.

What makes me angry (apart from the sheer stupidity of the man himself, though I suppose I should be used to that from Democrats by now: sometimes I think they just don't want to win an election) is the skilful way this kind of story polarises and divides people who should be on the same side. It's a natural, valid and human reaction to be sympathetic to his wife and angry at him...but if we try to get the real problems addressed, we will be portrayed as saying that what he did "doesn't matter."

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

Not every comment...but then some of us live downwind of Georgia so we're kinda interested in a war between two potential nuclear capable states.

[seanmonster.livejournal.com]

Even with this, Republican sex scandals outnumber Democratic ones (http://www.salem-news.com/articles/october172007/repub_scandals_10_17_07.php).

[qnofhrt.livejournal.com]

When I mentioned it to a friend and said that was Edward's career (what was left) going down the tubes, she opined that it was, but only because he's a Democrat. This sort of thing doesn't seem to hurt the Republicans.

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

He's in good company. He and Newt Gingrich can talk about cheating on their ailing wives over lunch.

Tom, all those things you list are bad. However everything you know about someone is used to create a full opinion of What They Are. If the person in question is a Great Man in your eyes then this may diminish him a bit but wouldn't keep you from supporting him.

It all depends on how much weight you put on something like marital fidelity. Personally I admit promises and fidelity are very important to me. If you can't keep the promise, then don't make the promise. Years ago, prior to his divorce, a man I know cheated on his spouse. He's a good man, I still like him, he's still a friend, I'd still do almost anything to help him if he asked me to. That said, I lost immense amounts of respect for him when I found out about it. Edwards is a politician, and without respect a politician is nothing.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

everything you know about someone is used to create a full opinion of What They Are. If the person in question is a Great Man in your eyes then this may diminish him a bit but wouldn't keep you from supporting him.

To an extent. If Edwards had treated his wife the way that Gingrich treated his wife, I'd want to stomp on John's throat myself. One of the things the Left has been wrestling with the past few years is the notion of "good Democrats", i.e., progressive candidates and legislators who work for the party platform and don't do stupid stuff like this to undermine the party.

The marital fidelity point, and its place in politics, is maybe something we should discuss....

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

The marital fidelity point, and its place in politics, is maybe something we should discuss....

It really only affects potential electability in my eyes. If someone is in office and cheats on their spouse I consider it to be a matter between them and their spouse. I'll be disgusted with their personal lack of ethics, but I don't see it as a reason to get rid of them. If I know they did this and I'm looking at them as a potential candidate it goes down as a negative under the heading "Unable to keep promises he makes."

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

I'd care a whole lot more about it if he had been screaming about, preaching against, or trying to outlaw that specific behavior. While he doesn't publicly opposed the legal restrictions of monogamy, he's never gone on the kind of moralistic rants about it that someone like Larry Craig did about gay sex.

Hypocrisy trumps simple poor behavior.

[realinterrobang.livejournal.com]

Yeah, what you said. I'd care a whole lot less about the marital peccadilloes of people like Newt Gingrich and Ted Haggard et al if they hadn't also been vocally attempting to convince the world that the only right way to have sex is with someone of the opposite sex if and only if you're already married to them (in the missionary position with the lights off once a week on Saturday nights, and none o' that funny stuff) et cetera.

I do have a problem with voting for politicians who have extramarital affairs, partly from the "can't keep a promise" angle, but especially since there seems to be a distinct trend that being a male politician in a position of some power makes having an affair almost a prerogative, and I really prefer to undermine male privilege, rather than winking at it. (For example, Elliot Spitzer has lost all credibility with me. Here's a guy I thought was fairly progressive, and he still feels that his position entitles him to purchase someone else's body for sex? Yuck.) On the other hand, I'm not personally affected, and the media circus is seven kinds of disgusting as well.

[lariss.livejournal.com]

Before I say this, I need to say: I am one of the leftist lefties you can get without becoming a complete Wingnut.
That said, I really do wonder if we'd by saying "Who cares..." or "See?! See?! See how baaaad they are?" if this scandal came out as big re: a Republican.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Honestly? I'd probably be rolling my eyes exactly the same way. I admit, it would also end up as another notch in the REPUBLICAN-AGAINST column I have in my head. Which is probably not fair. It's hard for me not to look at Repubs as a group. Of course, they've made that one of their primary selling points for the past fifteen years or so -- solidarity, united front, We're Better Than The Other Guys, etc. It gets tangled. I'd much rather take these things a case at a time. Or, in the case of marital infidelity, I'd rather not worry about it at all, 'cause it ain't my damn problem.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

I would be. At worst, I'd remind them of that whenever they start pointing fingers. It would be a "shut up, get off your high horse" thing.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

Sex sandals trumps real news every time.

[dan-ad-nauseam.livejournal.com]

The primary effects of the Edwards affair are:

1. It takes Edwards out of the running for major positions in an Obama administration.
2. It temporarily immunizes McCain against stories about his nonmarital sex life, which, given the timing of his application for a marriage license, may have included a relationship with his current wife before his divorce from his first wife was finalized.

Effect 2, however, is probably not too significant. I doubt the Obama campaign wants to throw mud against McCain on the sex angle in light of its current needs to establish Obama as a credible candidate to the over-50 white demographic and to criticize McCain on policy grounds.

[fredhuggins.livejournal.com]

You see? YOU SEE? THIS is why gay marriage is immoral - it causes OBVIOUSLY gay former presidential candidates to rebel against the system and do stuff like this!

And I know John Edwards MUST be gay. Why else would I be so attracted to him?

[bayushisan.livejournal.com]

Personally I find the hypocrisy of the media and the politcal parties to be really funny and insulting. They put forth someone as if they were perfect and when that person turns out not to be both sides come down on them like a ton of bricks.

I agree that this entire affair, no pun intended, is strictly the business of the parties involed. Namely the Edwards family and the woman in question. Anyone else commenting is an outsider and should keep their mouth shut.

[batyatoon]

"All of a sudden, everyone's from Bethlehem."

Or at least slouching in that general direction.

[kilbia.livejournal.com]

Oooh, reference love. =)

[crysthewolf.livejournal.com]

Amen and amen.