Is The Outrage Over John Edwards´ Infidelity Really Justified?
Dave Gibson
August 09, 2008
At 4:00 EST on Friday, the news of John Edwards admission of an extramarital affair could be seen on CNN, MSNBC, CNN Headline News, and the Fox News Channel. This, on the same day which saw a war begin between Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia, the price of oil drop below $120 a barrel, as well as the opening of the 2008 Olympics.
The voices of talk radio were heavy with both righteous indignation and satisfaction for having caught the former Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate in an embarrassing position. Sean Hannity even suggested that somehow there may be "legal ramifications" due to the fact that Edwards´ girlfriend had been a paid member of his campaign staff. It was evident that Hannity could barely contain his glee as he repeated the details of the affair.
Of course, the internet is also abuzz with condemnation of John Edwards. A public forum for the website of the Kansas City Star displayed the following comment from a reader named Joan: "Mr. Edwards, I have a father like you and I used to look up to him too. I thought you were different and finally there was someone I could trust. The impact not only affects your family and your poor wife, but it affects so many others also. I know now there is not an honest person I can look up to."
I am not certain how the actions of someone she has never even met could elicit so much disappointment and anger, but her sentiments were typical of the rest. How can the infidelity of someone to whom one is not married, nor even related have any affect on their life?
To begin with, John Edwards is not a public official. He is no longer a Senator, nor is he running for President. He is in fact, a private citizen. He is a famous, but a private citizen nonetheless. That fact alone, would seem to make it his affair a non-event. However, Americans now seem to have a bloodlust for the misery of others.
Did he lie about the affair?…Yes, he has done so since that pillar of journalism, The National Enquirer ran the story in October 2007. Has he made hypocritical statements about others who have had extramarital affairs?…Yes, when Bill Clinton was caught lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, Edwards made the following statement: "I think this president has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter."
So it has been proven that John Edwards is a liar, an adulterer, and a hypocrite. Does that really make him that much different from the rest of us? While we are not all guilty of adultery, we are all certainly guilty of lying and being at least somewhat hypocritical. However, it is always much easier and much more fun to make moral judgments of others, than it is to examine one´s self.
Speaking of hypocritical…Two days before Edwards´ admission, former Democratic National Committee Chair Don Fowler told a reporter: "If there is not an explanation that´s satisfactory, acceptable and meets high moral standards, the answer is ´no,´ he would not be a prime candidate to make a major address to the convention."
Does Fowler know that Bill Clinton is slated to address the convention?
By now, it should come as no surprise that many politicians have trouble remaining faithful to their spouses. We know that President John F. Kennedy had numerous affairs, as has his brother Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA). We know that Gov. Elliot Spitzer (D-NY) as well as Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) have kept company with prostitutes. We know that former Congressman Ed Schrock (R-VA) was looking for sex partners on gay chat lines in Washington D.C., and that Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) pled guilty to disorderly conduct, after being arrested inside an airport bathroom, where he was accused of soliciting sex from an undercover police officer.
While those cases have titillated, humored, and maybe even disgusted, they have all managed to capture the attention of the American people. More importantly though, they have allowed us to judge others with the kind of harshness which we would never judge ourselves.
While I do not wish to be in the unenviable position of defending a politician, I feel it necessary to take a look at a few aspects of John Edwards´ life. While he has had an extremely successful legal career, which has made him a very rich man, he like many of us has experienced great tragedy. His son Wade was killed in a car accident in 1996. Of course, his wife Elizabeth has been dealing with cancer since 2004. The cancer is reportedly ´no longer curable,´ the two met in college and have been married since 1977.
Is the stress and angst brought on by tragedy an excuse for abandoning your marriage vows? Of course not, but it is understandable and actually fairly common.
According to a University of California (San Francisco) study conducted in 1998, 24 percent of men and 14 percent of women have had extramarital affairs. The Associated Press has reported that at least 17 percent of U.S. marriages end in divorce. While other studies and researchers suggest that the number of Americans cheating on their spouses is much higher, the very nature of an affair makes it difficult to document. However, it is safe to say that a great deal of us have done or are currently doing the same thing for which John Edwards is now being condemned.
While so many claim to be appalled by the details of Edwards´ affair and by the fact that a married man would cheat on his sick wife, I believe the truly appalling facts are that the Great American Pastime seems to have become passing puritanical judgment upon others, even worse…We now have a mainstream press which holds itself to a standard no higher than does a supermarket tabloid.
The voices of talk radio were heavy with both righteous indignation and satisfaction for having caught the former Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate in an embarrassing position. Sean Hannity even suggested that somehow there may be "legal ramifications" due to the fact that Edwards´ girlfriend had been a paid member of his campaign staff. It was evident that Hannity could barely contain his glee as he repeated the details of the affair.
Of course, the internet is also abuzz with condemnation of John Edwards. A public forum for the website of the Kansas City Star displayed the following comment from a reader named Joan: "Mr. Edwards, I have a father like you and I used to look up to him too. I thought you were different and finally there was someone I could trust. The impact not only affects your family and your poor wife, but it affects so many others also. I know now there is not an honest person I can look up to."
I am not certain how the actions of someone she has never even met could elicit so much disappointment and anger, but her sentiments were typical of the rest. How can the infidelity of someone to whom one is not married, nor even related have any affect on their life?
To begin with, John Edwards is not a public official. He is no longer a Senator, nor is he running for President. He is in fact, a private citizen. He is a famous, but a private citizen nonetheless. That fact alone, would seem to make it his affair a non-event. However, Americans now seem to have a bloodlust for the misery of others.
Did he lie about the affair?…Yes, he has done so since that pillar of journalism, The National Enquirer ran the story in October 2007. Has he made hypocritical statements about others who have had extramarital affairs?…Yes, when Bill Clinton was caught lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, Edwards made the following statement: "I think this president has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter."
So it has been proven that John Edwards is a liar, an adulterer, and a hypocrite. Does that really make him that much different from the rest of us? While we are not all guilty of adultery, we are all certainly guilty of lying and being at least somewhat hypocritical. However, it is always much easier and much more fun to make moral judgments of others, than it is to examine one´s self.
Speaking of hypocritical…Two days before Edwards´ admission, former Democratic National Committee Chair Don Fowler told a reporter: "If there is not an explanation that´s satisfactory, acceptable and meets high moral standards, the answer is ´no,´ he would not be a prime candidate to make a major address to the convention."
Does Fowler know that Bill Clinton is slated to address the convention?
By now, it should come as no surprise that many politicians have trouble remaining faithful to their spouses. We know that President John F. Kennedy had numerous affairs, as has his brother Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA). We know that Gov. Elliot Spitzer (D-NY) as well as Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) have kept company with prostitutes. We know that former Congressman Ed Schrock (R-VA) was looking for sex partners on gay chat lines in Washington D.C., and that Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) pled guilty to disorderly conduct, after being arrested inside an airport bathroom, where he was accused of soliciting sex from an undercover police officer.
While those cases have titillated, humored, and maybe even disgusted, they have all managed to capture the attention of the American people. More importantly though, they have allowed us to judge others with the kind of harshness which we would never judge ourselves.
While I do not wish to be in the unenviable position of defending a politician, I feel it necessary to take a look at a few aspects of John Edwards´ life. While he has had an extremely successful legal career, which has made him a very rich man, he like many of us has experienced great tragedy. His son Wade was killed in a car accident in 1996. Of course, his wife Elizabeth has been dealing with cancer since 2004. The cancer is reportedly ´no longer curable,´ the two met in college and have been married since 1977.
Is the stress and angst brought on by tragedy an excuse for abandoning your marriage vows? Of course not, but it is understandable and actually fairly common.
According to a University of California (San Francisco) study conducted in 1998, 24 percent of men and 14 percent of women have had extramarital affairs. The Associated Press has reported that at least 17 percent of U.S. marriages end in divorce. While other studies and researchers suggest that the number of Americans cheating on their spouses is much higher, the very nature of an affair makes it difficult to document. However, it is safe to say that a great deal of us have done or are currently doing the same thing for which John Edwards is now being condemned.
While so many claim to be appalled by the details of Edwards´ affair and by the fact that a married man would cheat on his sick wife, I believe the truly appalling facts are that the Great American Pastime seems to have become passing puritanical judgment upon others, even worse…We now have a mainstream press which holds itself to a standard no higher than does a supermarket tabloid.