Elizabeth Edwards is a better woman than I am

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

How Is John McCain's Affair Different from John Edwards'?
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Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

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

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.