support group?

It's like a death.. am feeling all the feelings: denial, anger, depression

keep thinking of how he was so genuine hugging and squeezing my shoulder over and over. really feel a loss.

Do I know how to pick'em? Cried over Bill.. he broke my heart.

sorry for the indulgence of emotions.... is anyone else hurting?

He's human. He made a mistake; one which I might add would have had no effect on his ability to govern and no basis for blackmail if we weren't so busy sticking our noses into their private lives. Now if you wanted to start a support group for people who can't control their own lives so they try to pry into and control the lives of public figures, that might might useful.

...it's the lie and the coverup. That wasn't the man we were supporting. I believed in Bill, but he lied to us too.

This is the man that wagged his finger at Bill over the pain he caused his family during Clinton's impeachment. Oh the hypocrisy too :(

On trust, in his own words...

On this crisp New Hampshire morning, a woman with a thick chowda accent asks Edwards to name "that one other characteristic that you have above all the other that you say, 'I'm in this race because they don?t have this and I do.' "

Edwards stammers a moment to find his words. "If I were choosing a president and I wasn't running," he says, "besides the policy positions, which are important, I would be looking -- absolutely require -- that the person I vote for be honest and sincere. ... We don't need the world's next great politician as president. We need somebody we can trust."

The affair is one thing, but the continual lying is another. I read in Elizabeth's book that they both were furious with Clinton, not only for what he did, but for lying to cover it up. Pot, meet kettle.

I think Andrea Mitchell nailed it the other night on MSNBC in saying that it could all be dismissed as a personal and private matter had Edwards not made family, honesty, integrity, and values a critical part of his platform. He ran as the candidate with integrity. Many of us were high on the "trust" factor which he seemed to exude. Over and over I said here and elsewhere that JE and Al Gore were the only politicians I truly believed in. Now, it's down to one.

Frankly, I can't believe anything he says now. If he lied so frequently and so convincingly about this, what else did he lie about? His platform now is riddled with holes and is subject to skepticism.

I am really about done with politics. As Hawthorne said, "Men cease being men in becoming politicians."

instead of just letting them go. He acted without thinking clearly and that happens to the best of us.

It's shocking when we think of people we admire doing something that is so painful but he is only a man and we all do things that aren't so great, we just don't all have the whole world watching.

Give it some time, you'll feel better after a while, I think right now it's all too fresh and the emotions are a bit shocked. :hug:

Marital infidelity is indeed a private and personal matter, except when it affects 300 million other people.

People gave John and Elizabeth their support in time and money. Many people didn't have the extra money to spare, but sent it to them anyhow because they believed and were inspired in the hope the Edwards' gave us for a better America.

Now that the media's been given the Big Okie Dokie to dive into this story, the sordid details about Ms.Hunter are hitting the wires. As one said "she had been passed around the campaign like a bong at a Phish concert".....then she was put on the payroll....with my donation dollars.

There's a chance Elizabeth didn't know in 2006, I would like to believe that, or that just puts her in the coverup. Heartbreaking either way.

There's a chance L'affair never ended.

says Hunter still believes they will be together and pretty much documents what you're saying:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08102008/news/nationalnews/no_test_for_love_lips_john_123859.htm

NewsWEAK:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151783?from=rss

Good grief, we're in "monica" territory :cry:

It portrays her in such a sympathetic way....yet her badmouthing Elizabeth was unbelievable.

Truly am still baffled and dismayed..and really don't trust anyone at all?

Surely Elizabeth is reading all this junk? and as Edwards is kicked to the curb at convention..I wouldn't blame her for doing the same.

who do you think is the victim is this whole mess? Us? Hunter? Elizabeth? "dysfunctional" Edwards? I just can't tell anymore

Full disclosure....I've been a part of the "campaign" since Aug 2006....puts me right there with that "skankyho" timeline (no offense to skankyho's or timelines).

My time, money, travel, more time, and money, meant nothing to him.....just Ms. Feelgood?

I'm not done. I've (We've) been cheated on too. Think about it. The conservative blogs are not feeling sorry for Team Edwards supporters right now. And, I don't blame them. We're all clueless idiots.

If Eliz knew about this in 2006, bad on her. If she didn't, bad on her for covering it with that syrupy Dkos diary.

....and it's still getting worse. Sigh.

and sometimes poster am not surprised by disclosure and suspected it. It makes your verbiage all the more compelling. Your words are comforting to know that someone like yourself has experienced so much greater loss. I do think it's helpful to be able to articulate and express feelings..and not be condemned for it. This place is quiet without the craziness of the big threads. I hope all here can feel comfortable to say what we are going through. Am looking for some kind of self help book to heal bitterness?

Perhaps throwing pillows and slamming ice cubes against the wall would be therapeutic I wonder.. but talking about it seems to help more? Am thinking about state campaign head I know and what he is going through...hopefully listening to others will assuage the anger and disappointment I have. What a loss...just a horrid loss. dammit!

I'm sure you've been hearing him. Yesterday morning heard him interviewed that he wasn't even given the courtesy of a phone call to give a head's up of interview.

he dropped out. Google Joe Trippi :(

he seems quite serene on his blog? I wonder if he still thinks Edwards should not have dropped out?

http://joetrippi.com/blog/?p=2425

I really don't care about his affair and I still believe in the causes he represented.
I find it interesting and it saddens me that as a result of this one mistake many of his most fervent followers are ready to abandon him and some are even turning on Elizabeth, blaming her for keeping secret something that none of us were "entitled". to know.

This issue is only as big as people allow it to be. It is the same issue it was when that rag the NE ran it in Jan. It died then because it wasn't "fed" by someone or something. It was the same story but had no legs. Everyone piling on and denigrating Edwards gives it "legs" and builds the story's power.

All I can ask is who this story benefits and I think the answer is obvious.

None of the alleged Edwards supporter now out for his blood seem to be the least critical of the skank who is refusing to give her baby a blood test. Has it not occurred to anyone that if the baby is definitively proved to NOT be John's that she loses her 15 minutes in the limelight?

I am sad and disgusted more with the judgmental qualities and self loathing being displayed by the Edwards followers and other "progressives" than I am by any actions taken by John or Elizabeth Edwards.I guess both "judge not lest ye be judged" and "Let he who among you is without sin cast the first stone are both unnecessary in a group of persons of such perfection.

As for me, I put my Edwards sticker back on my car.I don't want to be mistaken for part of a group who condemns a campaign that was the only one that stood for the real people of this nation. And now I am going to write a note to JRE, Elizabeth and the family wishing them all well and strength throughout this debacle and thanking them for all they have done to make our lives better. I want them to know their all efforts weren't wiped out by this event and that some folks still appreciate them.

As I have repeatedly said elsewhere, there's something very different about this affair compared to the other affairs in recent memory. Yes, even Clinton's.

For one thing, it has the definite feel of an anomaly, not a pattern.
And, as I said over and over again, he never stopped loving Elizabeth or sticking by her in her hour of need.

From what Hunter is starting to say, it looks like a case of powerful attraction and idolization taken to its logical conclusion. She seems very insistent, and even a bit delusional (to still believe they're going to be together!) -- I can definitely see her working on JRE until his resistance broke down.

It is definitely "Monica" territory in that the woman was the pursuer and the attraction was heavily lopsided on her side.
Somebody wrote an excellent thread on the GD page detailing what was likely going through her head, and Hunter's reference to a "brilliant, generous, giving man who had two competing needs: his ego and his cause". While that's a beautiful description of his personal complexity and an easily recognizable portrait of his character, the poster made the point that such a line was also a well-crafted way to say she wanted to get in his pants. Compliments are an excellent way to charm men, particularly if they're being emotionally tested.

It's natural that people are going to wonder what JRE can be trusted with anymore-- to extrapolate his lies to everything he's done. You just never know. And plenty of people don't trust those who are especially good-looking, friendly, smooth or articulate... or who appear to have especially happy family lives, either. We naturally believe that if someone is to good to be true, they probably are.
But I just can't join in that game with JRE. The entire picture just doesn't add up to a wholesale untrustworthy man.

The only thing that worries me is the money he paid her. The responsibility is on him to prove it was not improper. I hope my worries will not be confirmed as more details about the money come to light.

But overall, her character looks a lot shadier than his. I can a lot more easily imagine her blackmailing him for child support, than him being insincere about his ideas. It does seem odd that *she's* saying, "no paternity test", when her family is clamoring for it.

That same thread I mentioned earlier mentioned how Hunter seems the opposite of Elizabeth-- which definitely fits a diversion rather than a true emotional betrayal. In my experience, it's a lot rougher when the "other woman" could be considered an upgrade of the wife-- a younger, thinner, hotter, more fun, more pliable or affable version.

As was, of course, the case with John, Carol, and Cindy McCain!

:thumbsup: I might be naive too, because I don't feel betrayed either. :shrug:

OF COURSE politicians are going to lie about their affairs, as long as the media's so hot to expose them and the American public goes ape over any hint of sexual scandal. Since changing our mores is the work of generations, and the media sinks lower in what they cover every year, I predict this isn't the last Dem with a promising future to be undone by an affair he _thought_ was private.

Well, maybe changing the public's attitude is the easier task. When I was growing up, back in the benighted 50s, there'd have been equal opprobium for an unmarried man (let alone a woman) caught up in a sexual relationship. Now, except for extreme

Extra-marital sex, however, didn't survive the sexual revolution as a viable option, not even for those partners who might have an agreement between themselves. (Admittedly, not many people can cope with this kind of marriage.)

At least, can't we say that "Well, Dubya seems to have been a faithful husband. Would you rather have someone like him in the White House?"

undoubtedly because of alcohol and coke limiting his sex drive but still. I would much rather have a sexually active president than a sexually repressed president with no outlet and his finger on the button. Bush may not be expressing himself sexually but he sure is getting his release by invading every country he can.I would rather he had a mistress and so would the many folks who have lost family members but hey, thats just me.

was talking to older obsessed Hillbots (my mother included) who were telling me they didn't care if Bill or Hillary was at convention....so many great dems could speak.

why the sudden turnabout? they felt vindicated by Edwards' lies and think they supported a great candidate but can let it go now. Perhaps it's the smug factor