Limbaugh at top of list of hypocrites and Why Edwards is not one

The Hypocrisy Hall of Shame
By Ian Hodder, Special to MSN

Rush Limbaugh
“If people are violating the law by doing drugs," Rush Limbaugh pontificated in 1995, “they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up.” Eight years later, the radio giant was himself under investigation for violating drug laws, and after three years of legal wrangling, Limbaugh was charged in Florida with fraudulently concealing information to procure prescription drugs. Translation: He allegedly “doctor shopped” to feed an addiction to painkillers. Prosecutors agreed to drop the charge if Limbaugh, now 57, remained in rehab and reimbursed the state $30,000 in legal fees. So much for throwing away the key.


http://specials.msn.com/AreTheyHypocrites.aspx?cp-documentid=9374298&imageindex=1

What makes a hypocrite (and why John Edwards isn't one)
By Ian Hodder, Special to MSN

Wouldn't you know it? Turns out the politician who brags about his unimpeachable ethics isn't exactly squeaky-clean behind the scenes, and the starlet who tsk-tsks about bimbo culture is quick to pose half-naked in a magazine. With so many public figures, from Eliot Spitzer to Rush Limbaugh, behaving in opposition to their stated virtues, hypocrisy is always making headlines.

The latest hypocrite on the public stage: John Edwards.

Or is he?

Not according to psychologists. Hypocrisy adds a moral twist to plain-old lying, cheating or self-deception. "It's only hypocritical when you oppose the behavior publicly," says James M. Olson, a social psychologist at the University of Western Ontario. By that measure, Edwards doesn't meet the bar.

Compare, for example, the indiscretions of Edwards and Eliot Spitzer. Infidelity allegations against Edwards started bubbling in the tabloid press in fall 2007, and though he denied the rumors, he didn't campaign against adultery or criticize unfaithful husbands. So when Edwards recently confessed to an extramarital affair, he outed himself as a liar and a cheater.

New York Gov. Spitzer, however, was revealed as a hypocrite when he resigned amid allegations he had patronized a call girl. He ran for office promising high ethics, and as state attorney general had busted up prostitution rings. Prosecuting hookers while patronizing them: That's hypocritical.

http://specials.msn.com/Hypocrites.aspx

& should have fought them to the death-because America's l!fe is at stake, so to speak, & he just stepped aside. Not the toe tapping neo con, not any neo con-in fact they're in-your-face-make-me when it comes down to it.

I'm on a mobile device right now, but I know there is a quote from 1999 with John Edwards chastising President Clinton for his moral failings.

But hey, he may not even be a hypocrite, he's been pretty up front about his level of phoniness from the beginning, for anyone paying attention.

Edwards both criticised Clinton and said that his Southern Baptist religion is why he was against marriage equality.