I can see why he comes off that way, but sleazy has never been his reputation. I think most people who know him around here have been genuinely surprised.

And there were other affairs before Cindy. :rolleyes:

Wonder if John will take Elizabeth to Wendy's this year for their anniversary (as has been their tradition)?

And god, this Hunter woman sounds like a piece of work, what did he even see in this new-age weirdo? http://www.nydailynews.com/news/poli...she_doe-2.html

She reminds me of a woman that works for my company. She has broken up 3 marriages and just married for the 3rd time on Saturday (this one is only 14 years older than her). We have a hard time keeping track of her last name.

How Is John McCain's Affair Different from John Edwards'?
By Cenk Uygur, Huffington Post
Posted on August 11, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/94550/
We have this weird notion in America now that if a politician is caught in an affair that his career is done. We seem to be saying that what he did in his private life effects his policies or how he governs. But we all know that isn't true. We know that because almost all of our great presidents, and great leaders throughout history, have had numerous affairs. Obviously it didn't hurt how they governed at all.



I love the idea of someone saying Alexander the Great can't lead his empire because he's cheating on his wife (by the way, doesn't Alexander's bisexuality single-handedly destroy the idea that gays can't serve in the military). How about Genghis Khan? He had so many affairs that nearly 1% of the entire world population has his genes. Not fit to lead? And there have also been men of great compassion who led noble fights while still doing ignoble things in their private lives. We are all human at home.



We have now heard the stories of JFK receiving sexual favors after speeches in his limo and partying with several women on a yacht while his wife was delivering. But those are all in the past -- so they don't count. But John Edwards is caught having an extramarital affair and the overwhelming assumption is that his political career is absolutely over. How does that make any sense?



Does John Edwards care less about poor people today than he did yesterday? Would his affair lead him to change his position on NAFTA? How would it alter his policy on Iran?



Some will claim, as they did with Bill Clinton, that it's not the affair but the lies that went along with it. Really? Did JFK come out and tell the American people - or his wife - "by the way, while my wife was in the hospital I was having an affair with not one, but several women at the same time"? No, of course, he lied too. Every man that has ever cheated on his wife has lied (and so has every woman who has ever cheated). It is part and parcel of the affair.



Now, we get to the most relevant question - if John Edwards' political career is done, why isn't John McCain's? John McCain had a well-documented affair on his first wife, with his current wife. He has admitted in the books he has written about his life that he ran around with several different women while still married to his first wife. And don't forget that he left her for a younger, richer woman - multi-millionaire Cindy Hensley who is now Cindy McCain - after she had been severely hurt in a car accident.



So, why are McCain's actions any more excusable than Edwards'? Because it was thirty years ago? Does that wash it away? Will we be fine with Edwards running for office again in a couple of years because then it will all be in the past? What is the statute of limitations on an affair?



Cenk Uygur is co-host of The Young Turks, the first liberal radio show to air nationwide.

© 2008 Huffington Post All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/94550/

I read somewhere that our preoccupation with infedility is a cultural thing.

Is it true that in countries like France the affairs and things like nude pictures of public figures don't cause as many blips on the radar?

You have it the nail on the head. In Greece, women expect it of their husbands, but turn their head because their fathers did it and their brothers do it. Not that they like it, but many Greek (nationality) women know that the hubby always comes back and he always buys them a big house filled with nice things.

Back futher in the post I indicate that I've grown immune to this, particularly with politicians. Maybe I'm starting to expect it?

I love how this is being turned into a political thing on both sides. Some of the posts in this thread make it seem like its just the Republicans criticizing Edwards, and it's not.

Whether or not he cheated doesn't really matter, but the perception of a guy who would cheat on his cancer-stricken wife isn't a good one, and that's the kind of thing that tends to kill political careers. McCain's screw-ups were 30 years ago, when the media didn't scrutinize politicians' personal lives to quite this degree. If he gets caught cheating on Cindy McCain now, he'll get the same type of public flogging that Edwards is suffering. His cheating was no better, no worse; the public reaction is all a matter of the era in which it occurred.

I disagree with the idea that McCain is getting a free pass on this, and that Uygar column seems to be short-sighted to the point of hilarity. This has to be a political thing, because lord knows no one thinks of Giuliani as some sort of cheater/dirtbag, right?

I don't think Edwards killed his political career here. I think he killed it when he hooked up with the Kerry campaign. In all likelihood, this whole affair will be forgotten in a few years when Edwards is making a boatload of money on the speaking circuit, and as counsel to some big law firm.

DS, John has said:

Do not post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or you have permission from the copyright owner. This has been part of the site rules since these forums were started.

If you are posting a news article it is fine to post an excerpt/summary along with a link to the full article on the news publication's website.

(Why the moderators never worry about this, when it could have legal implications, I simply do not understand.)

I imagine that's the case. That's why the article's citations of Alexander the Great or Genghis Khan are completely unpursuasive. They didn't live in cultures with the same understanding of marriage, much less marital infidelity by a monarch, that holds today in this country.

And I agree with KSigkid that (1) the atmosphere was different when JFk was president (and the public knew little if anything about his affairs because the press didn't report on those kinds of things) and when John McCain cheated on his first wife (though I find the parallels to his first wife's physical conditions and Elizabeth Edward's cancer interesting); and (2) the article showed a lack of real analysis.

And I don't think it should be a GOP vs. Dems thing. Thiough certainly campaigns on both sides have shown themselves more than willing to use these things to their advantage.

I think one reason these things get so much play now is the rise of the "social conservative/family values" voter. Then there's a whole segment of the press (if media like the National Enquirer and Extra can be called that) that won't turn a blind eye as was once the norm.

Bu I think the main reason affairs gets such play now is because of what they say about the candidate's character. And while I don't ignore McCain's "indiscretions," what he did 30 years ago could be said to indicate less about his character now than what he did two years ago.

Come on - you know that stuff isn't as important as deleting posts about helicopter moms...

I agree, and I think these ideas are one in the same. "Character" has become such a buzzword now, even though you get 100 different responses from 100 different people about what it means. If a candidate is good to his family, but goes back on campaign promises, does he have good character? How about one who goes to church every Sunday, but is a bad father/mother? One who cheats on his/her spouse, but has given significant amounts of their time and money to a charity?

I'm not saying that I expect the electorate to look that closely at things, but it's amazing how quickly the lines get blurred.

http://www.smilieshq.com/smilies/sick0009.gif Oops. That trip out of reality made me a little woozy. Thanks for pulling me back down to earth.

And I agree with the rest of what you said.

Actually, I have been trying to police this in the entertainment forum. Please report any posts you see like that and I will edit them. I actually edited and warned DS for just this earlier this week...

My cousins have been living in the embassies in both Bosnia and Macedonia. They say that full frontal nudity on billboards is the norm.

But most of Europe also has nude beaches or swimming pools.

Also, McCain wasn't in a public office, nor was he actively campaigning for one, during his affairs. To be sure, what he did smacks of jackassery. But, he was a private citizen at the time.