Savage Washington

Luiza Ch. Savage covers political life south of the border. Follow Luiza on Twitter: @luizachsavage

Categories: Savage Washington

Behind the John Edwards debacle

by Luiza Ch. Savage on Monday, January 11, 2010 12:21pm - 18 Comments

Ew. This is embarrassing to read, yet morbidly fascinating. This guy really thought he should stay in the presidential race. His wife thought he should stay in, though on some days she allegedly refused to campaign for “that a–hole” or even stay at the same hotel. New York mag has an excerpt from the new book, Game Change, that digs up all kinds of dirt from the 2008 campaigns. Every future candidate should read page five of this excerpt to learn what not to do when a campaign aide confronts you about rumours that you are having an affair.

More by Luiza Ch. Savage

http://intensedebate.com/people/jolyon jolyon

Thanks for the link. Too busy to read all of it at moment but will get back to it later. Have been reading excerpts from other parts of book as well and it looks fascinating. Might have to get myself to bookstore – I love 'behind the scenes on campaign trail' books.

http://intensedebate.com/people/sourstud sourstud

I would pay top $ for Hunter S. Thompson to be able to write another "Fear and Loathing on the campaign trail"…. best read ever.

http://intensedebate.com/people/SisyphusThis SisyphusThis

Politics disguised as TMZ highlights. Should do well.
jarrid

What I find striking is how the MSM was almost as much in denial as John's Edward's wife was regarding Edward's affair.

Can anyone imagine the main stream media giving a conservative politician such hand-offs treatment as Edwards got. They only reported it after Edwards did his public partial confession ( I had an affair but the kid ain't mine).

Unless a left/llib politician admits an affair, it's not reportable. Compare with how the left/lib main stream media went after John McCain.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Criacow Criacow

Um. Bill Clinton?

jarrid

Well when you're ****ing everything that moves, I mean sooner or later the world will know.

http://intensedebate.com/people/SisyphusThis SisyphusThis

Like Ensign and Vitter and ….

Congress's health care plan must include the l'il blue pill or the lobby guys and gals
deliver a gift pack on the daily visits.

Anon

Washington; Hollywood for ugly people. High school with money.

Press corps included.
http://antisense-propaganda.blogspot.com Lifer

Politicians not living up to moral America's high ethical standard… Whoaa!

If one recalls, Edwards actually talked about reigning in the corporatists on K-street, preventing the backroom deals that Obama passed, ending two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and doing something about poverty.

What does the press do? Talk about how gross sex is between a man and woman they've never met, and how awful these people must be. Thank God we had morally up right leaders like Dubya and Nixon who never slept with anyone else than there wives, or else we'd all be in real trouble!

http://intensedebate.com/people/VinceClortho VinceClortho

The question is do you actually eblieve he would have done it….or was he just saying it. These actions lead one to believe his positions were temporary at best and were what he thought would close the sale. See his "negotiation" on his position in a future administration.

Say what you want about the length of the US primary process, there is a weeding out that happens. And thank goodness Obama won Iowa rather than Hillary. It would have meant edwards as Obama VP…and then the revelations would somehow have been saved till October and the whole thing would have come crashing down.

Like Lord Halifax and his dentist appointment…..sometimes history is written more by who isnt in the chair and not by those who are in it.

http://antisense-propaganda.blogspot.com Lifer

The fact is that the early Iowa primaries resulted in Edwards loosing the first spot to Obama and Hilary, then the mainstream corporate candidate, came in 3rd.

The fact is the public doesn't care. They didn't care about Bubba for eight years… yes there was an impeachment, but that was because he lied about it and about it per se. George HW Bush had an affair, so did Dole, McCain, Kerry, Saint Ronnie, JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King Jr, FDR…. etc.

The only fault I have against Clinton in that he chose such hideous creatures to cavort with.

My point is that for all the talk in the primaries, none of these Democrats can be trusted and certainly they have no interest in doing anything they ran on. Obama has royally betrayed his base. He's basically a front-man for Goldman Sachs and Big Pharma. Hell… McCain is talking about bringing back Glass-Steagall; Obama is now less of a progressive liberal than McGeezer!

http://intensedebate.com/people/VinceClortho VinceClortho

I agree with you on Iowa….had Hillary won instead of Obama then there he would have been under pressure to accept Edwards "offer" to be a VP. That he won meant he felt he could bring Hillary down on his own.

Would people have cared about edwards having an affair……not because they care about affairs, but because his wife's battle with cancer and her humanizing effect on his image were so much of his appeal. Left to his own devices Edwards would have immolated, as he did, and burned up Obama in the process. Not because of puritanism, but because of the deceit and inauthenticity it would have revealed.

http://antisense-propaganda.blogspot.com Lifer

Point taken.

I'd only add that Obama is doing a first class job of being one of the weakest and most ineffectual leaders of all history (and yes I remember the last guy was Dubya). Does anyone know what this guy believes? You're right, If Edwards was on the ticket, it would been an excuse for the Messiah's masses to complain about him derailing there team's objectives. Now what is their excuse, given the utter uselessness that is the Democratic-corporatists, who never saw a lobbyist they wouldn't take a check from and a progressive cause they wouldn't piss on?

Reader

A one-track mind is doomed to run around in circles, Jarrid.

Kat

To Jarrid's point…Obama says "leave my family alone" and the media does even though Michelle was out there and saying controversial stuff.

Sarah Palin – Attack the children, including the infant and fact check later. Don't apologize and don't let up.

True or False?

Anon

"Michelle was out there and saying controversial stuff. "

Like what? And if the media left her alone, then how did you hear about the alleged "controversial stuff?"
Reader

@Kat — have you failed to notice that Jarrid is like a Indianapolis 500 race car, but backwards? All of his commentary turns right. That strikes me as unbalanced. You can go real fast but you still get nowhere. Progress requires the ability to find a way out of an endless loop.