JOHN EDWARDS blames his vanity for his 2006 affair with a woman who was doing work for his campaign. Vanity certainly played a part, but there must be more to it than that.
All presidential candidates are vain — it is a prerequisite for political ambition. Candidates must believe they are smarter, wilier, luckier, more powerful or better than anyone else. It takes a puffed-up ego to rise to the highest altitudes of politics.
But a big ego is not a terrible thing if it is accompanied by the wisdom to keep it leashed and hidden. A wise candidate behaves as though his or her voice is not the voice of a self-centered individual, but the amplified voice of ordinary people. In the best candidates — and most of the successful ones — there is little difference between the two.
Edwards made a good candidate. He is youthful, handsome and has a 1,000-watt smile. He rose from humble beginnings to become a rich, successful lawyer. He based his campaigns on a call to end the great disparity in income and opportunity between the richest and poorest in the nation. And he put money where his mouth was, starting a scholarship program that has provided full-ride college scholarships to 190 high-school graduates from a poor North Carolina county.
People who were put off by Edwards’ glossy appearance and his wealth often gave him the benefit of the doubt because of his family. His wife, Elizabeth, is funny, smart and brave. Their marriage has survived the tragic death of a teenage son and a recurrence of Elizabeth Edwards’ cancer.
So beloved is Elizabeth Edwards that some of her husband’s supporters, who might forgive him for lying to them, cannot forgive him for lying to her and causing her pain.
If we are to believe recent studies, adultery is a fairly common sin in our society. It is so common that the price it exacts is usually only personal — loss of family, loss of self-respect. But for those in positions of public trust — politicians, say, or church leaders — the professional cost can be high.
Vanity may have led John Edwards astray. But it was his own foolishness that made him think there would be no consequences.
Voters have been known to vote for sinners, repentant or not, but they will not vote for an obvious fool.
It is time for John Edwards to retire from public life.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I can never understand how high profile people like politicians or pro athletes etc think they can fool around and it never get out. I mean, really does blackmail or even status seeking ever cross their minds as a reason these women throw themselves at them? What an idiot. I hope his wife makes him sleep on the couch for a year for the pain and public shame he's caused her!
August 12, 2008 at 3:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
After all Elizabeth Edwards has been through with the death of a son and the recurrence of cancer, this jerk still thought nothing of putting her through yet another pain. I'd leave the SOB and take him for all he's worth.
August 12, 2008 at 5:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
I'm not all that impressed with him regardless. Last night they showed his mansion - WOW!
Last night they showed some clips where they talked to some middle-lower income people who live in trailers near his spread, which he jogs by regularly. They claimed they couldn't find one person that had a good thing to say about him. They all said that they think he doesn't have a clue about the poor. Of course, they might just be jealous. His "call to end the great disparity in income and opportunity between the richest and poorest in the nation", didn't hold much weight with his poorer neighbors, however...
Check out his mansion.... the largest and most expensive in the county....
http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclus...
August 12, 2008 at 5:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporialifer (anonymous) says...
So Pat is actually pulling his support from a Democrat (did he-ll freeze over and I missed it?) because Edwards turned out to be an "obvious fool"? So I'm curious, what exactly made Edwards an "obvious fool"? Because Clinton cheated on his wife and lied about it (hmmm, anyone seeing a pattern here) and people still love him. Granted Clinton's cheating didn't involved the exact same sex acts, but c'mon - for all intents and purposes - he cheated.
So is Edwards only an "obvious fool" because his wife has cancer or because he actually admitted to being and used the phrase "99% honest" or because he may have an illegitimate child with the other woman or is it because of the shady $$$$$$$ that exchanged hands between either himself or one of his supporters and the other woman?
I'm just curious exactly which one of the above made him that much more of a fool than Clinton that Edwards' crime is unforgivable yet Clinton is still loved? Don't get me wrong - I think cheating is horrible, but I consider what both men (I use that term loosely here) did to be the same offense.
August 12, 2008 at 5:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
esuhornets (anonymous) says...
I'm glad someone finally called out Patrick Kelley. It's a shame the Gazette doesn't fire him and get a new person to write editorials.
August 13, 2008 at 2:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )