the first I actually wanted to see.

It was the Miss South Carolina tape.

"bummer"

hmm... i guess occupiers don't like porn very much.

maybe just rather porn involving those 2 individuals.

I can't remember.

...er...got busy in the 'downtown' fashion. He was aware he was being recorded.

If my memory of the description of the thing is accurate....I read it in conjunction with an article about the loyal schmuck and his wife who took Ms. Hunter into their home after the husband suggested he was responsible for the child to the press...

What the?

Does that mean what I'm afraid it means?

They were probably all on the same disc, or in the same file, or something.

Don't even get me started on Edwards. I believed in this guy and was all ready to vote for him in the CT primary and then this scandal got published in the Enquirer. Even THEN I didn't believe it and I defended him.

Imagine my dismay when I found out the truth!

Geezus god, I was pissed as hell! And I am still pissed. I felt betrayed by someone I had believed in. But it was a case of transferring my feelings to him, I now realize. I thought he felt the way I did. I thought he and Elizabeth had a strong, caring marriage.

As a result of what happened with him, I will NEVER trust so completely in a candidate for office. NEVER. Sad but true.

This guy can rot in hell for all I care...

I was one of those people who bought this guy hook, line and sinker...I thought he was the real deal. Just goes to show you how some people can pull the wool over our eyes.

It was all bullshit, wasn't it? This is America, folks. Here we have it. We can exploit the message for the Right and we can exploit it from the Left. Take your pick.

Perfect. You got me. I am now disgusted. Totally....

What is it that you don't believe any more?

just because he says he does. Not any more. A big part of this was my own desire to have such a candidate. Plus, there was no way I could prove he wasn't sincere. But I shouldn't have been so naive.

I think the effects of this recession however has sobered many of us about what is considered "poor" in this country. Poverty has been ruinous to people's lives. And we are all in this together. I don't think we can think in terms of this half or that half any more. It is the essential point of OWS that has been resonating so strongly in the country: 99% against 1%.

John Edwards made that point. The Two Americas was not about dividing the US into two equal halves as some seem to think. It was dividing Americans into the group that wins no matter how awful they are -- the 1% -- and the group that always takes the losses no matter how well they perform or how great they are -- the 99%. John Edwards, for all his human failing, saw what was going on.

John Edwards was not a Romney. His father was not a wealthy governor of a then flourishing state.

John Edwards was not a Hillary Clinton -- daughter of a middle class businessman.

John Edwards was not a Barack Obama -- son of a mother who loaned money to small businesses in Indonesia (at least that is what I understand that she did) or the grandson of a manager or executive in a small bank.

John Edwards was the son of factory workers. I believe his father eventually moved into supervision in the factory where he worked. His mother, I think, worked for the Post Office. John Edwards made his money the hard way -- fighting for plaintiffs in courts. He did not inherit it as some of the others did. He was the real thing when it comes to understanding the problems of little people.

By the way, much as I admire Dean, his family was quite wealthy.

Nothing wrong with coming from wealth. But John Edwards was the real deal when it comes to talking about the problems of people who were not born and did not achieve wealth.

On edit, it isn't that I am so lax about people's sexual indiscretions. I think they are very unfortunate. They destroy trust. They destroy families. But I think that a person's mistakes in the area of sex are just one factor to be considered among a number of factors -- and depending on the situation -- probably not the most important factor.

If you judged men of the generations before women's liberation by their sex lives, we would probably have to discredit most of our presidents and certainly almost every European monarch or other man of great achievement.

Women's liberation has changed our attitudes towards women's sexual freedom but even more toward men's sexual license.

Lucky is the couple who truly have a relationship that is trusting and honest. It happens, but it is a lot of work, and a lot of bad luck can ruin it. Let's don't be so quick to judge in this area.

He took money given to him in good faith for his campaign and used it to bribe the mistress he was banging while his wife was dying of cancer. That's not the "real deal."

he was truly caring and loving and devoted to her. I guess I wanted to believe that it was true. We were all so weary and ground down by all those Bush years, I think we yearned for someone who would inspire us and give us hope.

Boy, did that hope died a hard death with me...

Feelings can be complicated, and people do impulsive things that they later regret.

I gave money to Edwards too, and I was furious because I also campaigned and put my integrity on the line to support him. But having seen what the Obama administration has done -- the signing of the NDAA, no public option and sitting down to negotiate with insurance companies, not prioritizing the passage of an amendment to end limitless corporate campaign involvement, continued eavesdropping on Americans, the appointment of bankers to manage the economy, the lack of support for labor unions, the campaign against teachers, etc., I am grateful that Edwards at least brought some more liberal points of view to our primaries in 2008 regardless of his personal life, regardless of whether he really planned to be elected. At least I feel that someone, sincere or not, voiced my view on a lot of issues.

Edwards, for all his human weakness, made sure that the progressive view was not completely laughed at or ignored. I like Kucinich, but the press does not take him seriously. They laugh at him. I don't expect that the press will wise up about Kucinich. He also is a good man.

Please note. The press and the FEC do not descend upon conservative politicians or "moderate Democrats" to destroy them by scandal, innuendo or ridicule the way they do progressive or very liberal candidates. That is not an accident.

I see this terrible trend. No matter who the liberal candidate or the liberal spokesperson is, the right wing and the so-called "moderates" will destroy that person. I remember when Schroeder was destroyed simply because she cried. We heard endlessly about how weak women are. That is what Edwards faced -- a campaign to destroy the reputation and respect and trust of any person who dares to tell the American people the truth or present another, more progressive/liberal point of view.

There are a lot of politicians who are leading double love-lives right now. You will never hear about them unless they cross up the 1%.

and you make a good point about trying to destroy good people. I'm afraid Edwards was just fatally flawed to carry our message. But look at what they did to Clinton...and he was not as much to the left as I would have wanted.

I remember what happened to Pat Schroeder. I thought that treatment of women politicians was a thing of the past, and then I saw what the VA legislature did...disgusting...

I met her--eons ago. Wonderful, wonderful woman. Smart, sharp, and very personable--she had some of the best "people skills" I have ever seen in a human being, never mind a politician. She knew how to own a room without being an ass about it. Definitely a top shelf, grade A individual!

Haven't thought about her in years.

Larry Craig is likely tapping his toes in exasperation as well.

after seeing where it got Bill Clinton just a decade earlier. Now that's vain, stupid, and egotistical all wrapped into one. I hope they throw the book at him when they finally do get to drag his sorry ass into court.

so I could contribute to your presidential campaign, you pos.

Why would you ever have more than the original? Crazy.

He made a horrible mistake and couldn't deal with it.

On the other hand, his view of the Two Americas was absolutely correct. He was talking about predatory lending very early on. If not the first to warn about it, he was one of the first. He focused strongly on health care and did a lot to draw attention to that issue.

I doubt that Edwards ever thought he could be elected. We campaigned for him, but unlike those working for other campaigns especially Obama's campaign, we had to print out our own campaign materials. It was quite unusual.

I note this:

Edwards’ attorneys have said that the case against him is politically motivated.

The trial had been scheduled to start in January, but has been delayed until at least March 26 because Edwards requires treatment for a serious heart condition.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/23/all-copies-of-john-edwards-sex-tape-to-be-destroyed/

I strongly agree that the case against Edwards is politically motivated as was the outing of the scandal in the first place and who knows what more.

In general, it is very difficult for progressives in the Democratic Party. Even here on DU we have to struggle against terrible personal calumny when we voice sincere differences with the right-wing, Wall Street admirers in our party.

which I would have gladly read and passed on to colleagues.

He conflated a populist vision with his own ego-driven need to have power and that little kryptonite took him down.

I say this as a disgusted Howard Dean supporter who never really got over 2004, BTW.

I was wrong in 2004. I thought Kerry was the smarter choice, but we should have run someone with moral clarity on Iraq.

We should have run Dean, absolutely.

He seemed--and still seems--more "real" to me.

prosecution at all. It shows where the priorities of this country are.

I hope he beats the charges and remains healthy for his childrens' sake who have lost so much already.

All these people who are so certain they are morally superior to Edwards. I wonder what their personal lives are really like.

It's easy to look at someone else and smugly judge, but it is difficult to live your own life loving your family and always doing right for them.

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

That's wisdom.

And if I were in a room full of GOP politicians I could point blindly and it would be hard NOT to hit a scumbag who cheated on his wife or who was a pedophile.

http://armchairsubversive.blogspot.com/

babymamma. There's a difference.

It's not about cheating, it's about cooking the damn books.

I'd have to slit my own throat to get that image out of my mind.

Was all I could do to vote for Kerry in 2004 because of him, hated him in 2008 and now it is just time for Johnny (son of a millworker) to just disappear from public life for a while. Like maybe a decade or two.

The tragedy of John Edwards is one of my favorite and most amusing political stories of the past 10 years.

We're just lucky he didn't get the chance to do any real damage.