On Edwards, Spitzer and Accountability
A couple of things have been really bothering me about the to-do over John Edwards’ public admission that he had an affair a couple years back:
- I’ve heard people angry over the fact that he didn’t tell the world about it sooner. One, this is a personal matter and he came clean with the ONLY person who needed to and deserved to know: his wife, Elizabeth. Two, if he had announced it to our voyeuristic media and country earlier, how would the presidential primary have gone? Remember how every time his voice was in the mix, raising issues about poverty and the middle-class squeeze, Hillary and Obama started talking about that more, instead of trying to outflank each other on the right? Would you have had that voice silenced, so you could know details about a private failing that he and his wife were working through?
- Politicians/rich people/famous people/etc. are human just like us. They put their pants on the same way as we do (and, apparently, take them off), and they will fail us, sooner or later– sometimes surprisingly, like Eliot Spitzer, or inevitably, like George W. Bush. This is why, although they can be useful to help make the world a better place, ultimately it is up to us. Once again, we are the ones we’ve been waiting for. Putting politicians (or anyone) up on too high a pedestal puts you in danger of being crushed when the pedestal falls.
- Given the number of affairs I know about (and I’m just talking about my wider circle of friends and acquaintances), it makes me think there’s something fundamentally broken about how we approach relationships and sexuality in this country. I put it into the same systemic problem that creates so many weirdly repressed gay Republicans.
Well, that’s enough for now. Here’s hoping that this makes sense in the morning since it’s kinda late. I’m not defending what Edwards did. But in my opinion, he owes an admission, apology, and restitution to two people: Elizabeth, and whatever god he prays to.
PS: Don’t take my word for it, because my word doesn’t count for crap against Elizabeth’s:
This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well.
…
I ask that the public, who expressed concern about the harm John’s conduct has done to us, think also about the real harm that the present voyeurism does and give me and my family the privacy we need at this time.
You might want to put down your torches and pitchforks for a second and read her whole post on this. Then ask why there’s not a media circus around McCain’s many infidelities. Or those of our local politicians, especially the really moralizing ones.
Update: Exile here. I thought this discussion would not be complete without some words about the impact Edwards had on the race. I’ll quote Paul Krugman, though many others have said the same thing:
One more thing: if we do get real health care reform, a lot of people will owe a debt of gratitude to none other than John Edwards. When Mr. Edwards dropped out of the presidential race, I credited him with making universal health care a “possible dream for the next administration.” Mr. Edwards’s political career is over — but perhaps he and his family can take some solace from the fact that his party is still trying to make that dream come true.
Related posts:
Amen to that, btp.
And in addition, all you Obamaniacs out there (and you know who you are), how would the Iowa Caucus have gone if John Edwards had not been a participant? Would we now be looking at a Clinton Candidacy? Bill Press was talking about it this morning. We will never know, will we?
Actually, lad, we will know. Thanks to second-choice polling and the actual results after Edwards left the race, it’s clear:
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/08/why-howard-wolfson-is-out-of-job.html
I’m just a news reporter, not an “Obamaciac.” But I try to read all the local blogs and link when it fits. If I recall correctly, you worked for Mr. Edwards in NH; if you’re interested, hop over to our blog and let me know your thoughts regarding Mr. Edwards anti-poverty initiative. You know his work more intimately than most, so I’m wondering if something is wrong there.
Evan Dawson
13 WHAM
Spot on, btp.
Spitzer and Edwards are two different cases. What Spitzer did was illegal on several levels. What Edwards did was not. We need to remember that when politicians screw up and we have to look at whether that screw up affects his/her ability to govern. If not and it’s a private matter, then people need to decide if that matters when going to the polls. John Edwards may pay for this the next time he runs for Senate, but for now, we have more important things to focus on.
i liked how edwards admitted his vanity in his comments. that is the character trait that leads to ivory tower arrogance. i could care less about edwards and his affair, since far as i can tell he broke no laws. although i hope his wife gave him hell.
Evan,
Thanks for chiming in here-I looked at both and would still say, we don’t “know”, although evidence does indicate that Obama would have won Iowa. Second place, though, would have certainly given Hillary more clout. As far as the anti-poverty initiative, it doesn’t look good for John. But I would not have his primary voice be silenced because of it. His causes were important and needed to be part of the discussion. Yes- I did go to NH for John, no regrets here.
I don’t care about his affair. I am very relieved that he’s not the candidate though!
Excellent post, btp. I have to wonder though, is Edwards’ political career really over? He’ll ever run for president again, however, does his affair really preclude him from a position in the Obama administration?
Edwards paid Hunter over $100,000 as a “documentary photographer” for footage that was useless. That’s the reason he couldn’t reveal the affair, and it’s the reason that it would have sunk his campaign.
Having a mistress is possibly excusable. Having a mistress on your payroll doing questionable work is not.
Also, if you’ll check out Evan’s blog post, you’ll find that his poverty effort was mainly a sham operation used to fund his presidential campaign.
http://www.13wham.com/content/news/political/story.aspx?content_id=259d25e2-1b8f-4e67-8c9f-53180fea3719
Edwards political career is over, it’s his own fault (not the media’s) and he has nobody to blame but himself.
Matt Stoller writes this about Edwards. It is pretty good and worth a read.
Thank you Stlo7-from the Stoller piece, here it is, in a nutshell:
We really need to grow up as a country. Our collective lack of maturity about sex is pathetic.
Thank you Matt Stoller!
It is a shame that behavior like this is publicized. Hurts the wife and the family and doesn’t really determine if the candidate would be a good office holder.
What Spitzer did was illegal so it is a different story.
And this, Elmer, is why you remain my favorite Republican!
I agree with that, but, he also says he was reckless and politically stupid, which I agree with too.
Although an affair should really only be an issue between the participants and the cheated on spouse(s) and children, and although I really don’t think it necessarily reflects on how a leader may lead, in these days of media attention to all details personal, I think Edwards was wrong to take the risk and then try to run for president. Had he won the primary and then been discovered, all those who worked so hard for a Democrat in the White House would have been cheated on too.
I agree with you completely.
I hate to think what would have happened to FDR and Churchill — and thus to our civilization — under our current system.
Excellent point, Exile.
Lad,
To be sure, I don’t expect you to have regrets about going to NH for Edwards, nor do I think you should. This country is a healthier place when passionate citizens volunteer their time and efforts to support causes in which they believe. Edwards was the candidate, yes, but reading your posts, it’s clear that you are drawn to the issues for which he stood. So his political demise ought not cause regrets, just as someone who volunteered for, say, Mike Huckabee ought not regret that effort just because he didn’t win the nomination.
Ours is a better nation when citizens engage in the process.