See I think EE is alot smarter than some give her credit for, she can take her kids on her terms, have enough money to do what she wants and not a soul would fault her.  Icing on the cake is her ex looks like a low life scum and if he doesn't give her what she wants he looks even worse.  If I am on the mark I say YEAH for her, just hope she has the emotional support she needs.

I'm angry at EE, I'm sorry.  if she is telling the truth, she enabled and participated in a presidential campaign that was a sham, that could have endangered any high position he was given by opening himself up to blackmail (remember, money is changing hands here -- the man will clearly go to great lengths) and threatening to elect a Republican if this exploded in the wrong way at the wrong time.  if she knew this, and went ahead, she has done a bad thing.

 And don't forget the centerpiece if their campaign was his devotion to her, their marriage, the morality he would bring to the presidency.  It was a charade and she participated.

And then she has the gall to blame the media instead of her husband.  I'm sorry, they have both put so much of their private life out their to the public for their own ambitious purposes, its a little too late to cry invasion of privacy.

And finally, I think it is quite possible EE didn't find out in 2006 and that she is lying now.  JE is certainly still lying.  About so much.  And she appears to be enabling these lies.

 Having cancer isn't an excuse to act irresponsibly.  Yeah, JE is the main villain here, but EE hasn't acted so responsibly herself. 

I don't know who leaked the story originally, but I think it was very intentional that Edward's great confession came on the same day as the start of the Olympics in China and the start of a new war between Russia and Georgia.  Guess he thought that this might keep the story off the front pages.  Wrong!

I agree with those who say that this marital indiscretion is nobody's business but John Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards.  Whether he can keep it zipped or not is not an indicator of his ability to be president.  But what an idiot to think that it wouldn't come out when he made his decision to run for the presidency.  And it was a really bad call to lie about it when it first came out while he was on the campaign trail.  Don't you guys impeach presidents for lying about things like that?  Anyway, to me, that's where judgement comes in, this shows a lack of judgement on his part.  That is relevant.  Similarly, if he in any way knew about these pay-offs (or whatever we want to call it), that becomes a very serious issue.

Yes, Beesie, the serious issue as far as legality goes is the money.  I still cannot understand someone just wanting to "help" these people who are having difficulty moving on with their lives.  I doubt very seriously that the paparazzi is following the man who claims he's the father.   So, why pay that man $15,000 a month and put him in a gated community in a house worth millions.  Sompins wong wif this story.  LOL  I think it's called LYING and SHUT UP MONEY.  I think JE forgot that when you're JUST an attorney who makes millions of dollars most people in the news media could care less about you.  But when you're running for the president of THIS country we care where you take off your pants.

Shirley

According to the Times Online (UK) today, there's more coming from the NE:

"However, the Enquirer will go to press tonight alleging that Mr Edwards orchestrated the payments to Ms Hunter; that he carried on their affair throughout 2007; and that he is the father of the child.

Barry Levine, the Enquirer's executive editor, told The Times that the magazine would allege details of "regular" visits that Mr Edwards made to Ms Hunter during 2007 and into 2008."

NOT GOOD.  Of course this means, if true, that JE was seeing the mistress  (and making a baby) after EE discovered and announced to the world that she had mets.  This is what I don't get...he made multi-millions as a lawyer; he wanted to be the leader of the free world and yet  he didn't have the common sense to use a condom?

In no way is he off the hook and my feeling is this will only get uglier.  This relatonship sounds to me like a two-way fatal attraction.

On a separate note, does anyone if EE has updated her health status recently?  It's been well over a year, or perhaps a year and a half since her mets were discovered and I don't recall reading anything about her health since the initial announcement.

I wonder if JE realized he had gotten into a very bad situation.

 Shirley, perhaps he figured his money could keep the matter quiet.  I read somewhere online that his peeps were being paid to remove stuff from the Internet (i.e. those webisodes that the mistress produced for him disappeared, but resurfaced among other things).  JE forgot that we're not in 1927, or 1967; this is a new world and things of this nature just cannot be hidden or kept from the masses.

Unfortunately for EE, it's now open season.  The mainstream media (MSM) can now be as ferocious as the Nat'l Enq as they don't have any reason to not pursue this story.

You can read the Nat Enq online. 

He gives us husbands a black eye.  You say that it is a private matter, He paid her over a 100 grand to make an out of focus doc.  that was not used.  That came from campaign contributions.  5, 10, 20 dollars from the poor that believed in him.  Remember the movie the Jerk... Just like Steve Martin, I would love to see JE writing millions of small checks to all his contributors until all money contributed to his campaign or his PAC has been returned.  He's worth about 100 million.  That should about cover it.  Once that is paid back, then its a private matter.

I'm tossing in my two cents.... I don't know what the Obamasiah is about.  I find it offensive.  And the comment that Obama should have picked him as a running mate before it came out is off base.  What we're really talking about is these cheating, lying, a$$holes!!!! They get a little bit of power and go narcassistic (sp).  It just doesn't happen at higher levels (rich and famous), it happens at State levels, city levels, county levels, corporate, and probably at the pizza parlor. 

Yeah, it pisses me off, too.  Just like all the rest of these guys (they have come in all shapes, colors, and sizes).  My good friend who is Triple Negative, and was in treatment caught her husband cheating on her.  She didn't stand by him, but kicked him OUT!!!   Oh, and men are supposed to be soooo smart.  They don't even know how to hide their dumb butt affairs. 

Let's put on our combat boots and kick John Edwards' a$$.  Elizabeth will thank us later!!! 

I was glad to be reminded of the reason I supported John Edwards until he dropped out.  I can forgive almost anything of someone who gets us universal health care, but then I'm not his wife!

Can it Happen Here?  Paul Krugman, New York Times

The draft Democratic Party platform that was sent out last week puts health care reform front and center. “If one thing came through in the platform hearings,” says the document, “it was that Democrats are united around a commitment to provide every American access to affordable, comprehensive health care.”

What’s easy about guaranteed health care for all? For one thing, we know that it’s economically feasible: every wealthy country except the United States already has some form of guaranteed health care. The hazards Americans treat as facts of life — the risk of losing your insurance, the risk that you won’t be able to afford necessary care, the chance that you’ll be financially ruined by medical costs — would be considered unthinkable in any other advanced nation.

The politics of guaranteed care are also easy, at least in one sense: if the Democrats do manage to establish a system of universal coverage, the nation will love it.

I know that’s not what everyone says; some pundits claim that the United States has a uniquely individualistic culture, and that Americans won’t accept any system that makes health care a collective responsibility. Those who say this, however, seem to forget that we already have a program — you may have heard of it — called Medicare. It’s a program that collects money from every worker’s paycheck and uses it to pay the medical bills of everyone 65 and older. And it’s immensely popular.

There’s every reason to believe that a program that extends universal coverage to the nonelderly would soon become equally popular. Consider the case of Massachusetts, which passed a state-level plan for universal coverage two years ago.

The Massachusetts plan has come in for a lot of criticism. It includes individual mandates — that is, people are required to buy coverage, even if they’d prefer to take their chances. And its costs are running much higher than expected, mainly because it turns out that there were more people without insurance than anyone realized.

Yet recent polls show overwhelming support for the plan — support that has grown stronger since it went into effect, despite the new system’s teething troubles. Once a system of universal health coverage exists, it seems, people want to keep it.

So why be nervous about the prospects for reform? Because it’s hard to get universal care established in the first place. There are, I’d argue, three big hurdles.

First, the Democrats have to win the election — and win it by enough to face down Republicans, who are still, 42 years after Medicare went into operation, denouncing “socialized medicine.”

Second, they have to overcome the public’s fear of change.

Some health care reformers wanted the Democrats to endorse a single-payer, Medicare-type system for all. On the sheer economic merits, they’re right: single-payer would be more efficient than a system that preserves a role for private insurance companies.

But it’s better to have an imperfect universal health care plan than none at all — and the only way to get a universal health care plan passed soon is to inoculate it against Harry-and-Louise-type claims that people will be forced into plans “designed by government bureaucrats.” So the Democratic platform emphasizes choice, declaring that Americans “should have the option of keeping the coverage they have or choosing from a wide array of health insurance plans, including many private health insurance options and a public plan.” We’ll see if that’s enough.

The final hurdle facing health care reform is the risk that the next president and Congress will lose focus. There will be many problems crying out for solutions, from a weak economy to foreign policy crises. It will be easy and tempting to put health care on the back burner for a bit — and then forget about it.

So I’m nervous. The history of the pursuit of universal health care in America is one of missed chances, of political opportunities frittered away. Let’s hope that this time is different.

One more thing: if we do get real health care reform, a lot of people will owe a debt of gratitude to none other than John Edwards. When Mr. Edwards dropped out of the presidential race, I credited him with making universal health care a “possible dream for the next administration.” Mr. Edwards’s political career is over — but perhaps he and his family can take some solace from the fact that his party is still trying to make that dream come true.

” Mr. Edwards’s political career is over — but perhaps he and his family can take some solace from the fact that his party is still trying to make that dream come true.

The young trooper dove on the grenade,  but perhaps his family can take some solace from the fact he saved the lives of others.  

Please, I won't argue politics with any of you brave brave brave ladies here, but please don't make JE  a martyer ,  he is cheat, a liar, a hypocrit.  Not just the affair, but the two America's while building a 28000 sq foot house.  He holds a poor baby in New Orleans and says America can do better.  Then flies in his stylist for his 400 dollar hair cut.  Before he ask me for money for his campaign or for relieving poverty let him decide that he can live on say 10 million dollars, and have him give his other 90 mil to charity.  I know he has a foundation for education of the poor.  But a foundation is what one extablish in one's name, so other people can donate to it.  

I just want to thow something out there on Elizabeth's behalf - could she be staying with John because she is a Stage IV woman who could lose here children to her husband in a custody battle?  I don't have the experience but I am sure there are some ladies on these boards that may have knowledge of this - would courts favor the husband in such a circumstance under the guise of "it's best for the children"?

anneshirley, I agree with what you're saying except that this woman is a bimbo. I don't know enough about her to make that determination. it's not her fault that JE cheated, she wasn't the one who was married. For all the talk of sexism in this political climate, I'm surprised you'd use that term.

To me his cheating would not effect how i would vote for him, but what would effect it is that he lied to the american public, rather than telling the truth or refusing to answer the questions. Our last 2 presidents have lied, one about sex and one about war which is far worse. I want a president who will be honest with the people.

Member, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who's angry with EE. Having mets  doesn't make her a saint or closed the criticism.  I have when people view her as a weak woman because she has cancer.

I've said it before and I;ll say it again, repairing a marriage often takes a stronger person than one who just leaves. Marriage isn't a book that says if A happens one must do B. I've worked with couples who decided to divorce and who decided to stay together after conflict. If both parties are invested in saving the marriage and willing to change, almost anything can be overcome with a lot of work.

It was the National Enquirer that first published the story.  A few weeks ago, one of their papparazzi was hanging around at a hotel in L.A. They recognized JE in a hallway around midnight and photographed him.  He ran away from the papparazzi guy and hid in a bathroom.  The Enquirer did some digging and found out Rielle Hunter and the baby were at the hotel and printed a story saying Edwards was there visiting his mistress and illegitimate baby.  The mainstream media stayed away from it for awhile because it was a tabloid that broke the story, but the pressure and questions kept mounting on JE and he finally came clean.  I posted about this on another board, but I'll reiterate it here.  I remember when EE held her news conference announcing her cancer was back, but that JE would still run for President.  At the time, I remember thinking how surprised I was. I thought it was so selfish of him to commit to a federal election campaign with all the travel and time commitments when his wife was ill AGAIN.  Plus they had the two young children at home.  I think he's a very selfish man who just does what he wants.  This affair is further proof of that.

I think if you have an affair with a man that you know is married, it is your fault and your morals need checking!  I think she is to blame right along with JE.  Anneshirley is right:  bimbo is being kind.

From the sounds of the posts ... mostly everyone feels sad for EE ... and I know I didn't support him when he said he wanted to be Prez after the mets announcement.  Very selfish. I think every person in the last years of their life, when they are being cut short, deserve to have some focus on them ... quality family life not chasing a buck and a vote. 

Felicia...kinda' liked him in 04, kinda' liked him in 08, feeling for the kiddos, but believe EE and JE are equal partners but it's their life and can understand their unity where the marriage is concerned, wouldn't be everyone's choice but I guess that's what makes us all unique, our differences and our likenesses.