John Edwards

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In the news today:

While I'm glad this loser is taking responsibility for his child, he's still as bad, if not worse, than the lying, cheating, governor Sanford. The point is that supporters of Sanford (including Rush, of all people), and myself, who would have been glad to support this dirt bag, John Edwqards, over Barack and Hillary, would have been dead wrong to do so. In the current political system, it's hard to believe that ANY of these people are not just self-serving bottom-feeders.

I don't care if you are a Republican or a Democrat, it still stinks to high heaven. While none of us can see inside a personal relationship, and judge the dynamics and reasons for such outcomes, the lying and the cheating - the pure ego of these guys - has to give one pause, and to question why we think these guys are anything more than what they apparently are - self-serving dirt bags.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34963767/ns/today-today_people/

 

I've never really had high expectations in the morals of our politicians. They get elected to do a job, the other aspects of their lives I really don't care about. The problem comes when they are embarrassed by those other aspects and will do illegal things to hide that portion of their lives -- I expect them to lie about affairs (I never faulted Clinton for lying about what he did, hell I think it's irresponsible if a husband doesn't try to protect his wife).

I'm not at all surprised or dismayed at Edwards. I think he's done a fine job in the past and his personal life has no impact on that. I'm also not going to condemn Kennedy or Johnson for all their affairs in the White House.

 

Good grief, I'm not going to go back 40 years to look at cheating politicians (why should I when we have so many around today?), but the more recent ones have put themsleves before the public. The supporters of Edwards, like myself, would have given our donations, our time, our efforts for nothing, to have this eventually blow-up in the middle of an election, and damage an entire political effort.

While you are right that guys like Sanford, Dan Burton, Rudy Guiliani, David Vitor and John Ensign still have political careers because it's not really about the sex. However it is about the judgment that is used by them. IMO, all the above are dirt bags of the first order, but they still hold office, or still have careers in politics.

I voted for Bill Clinton - twice. And he lied to all those who supported him when the story first broke, when we were defending him against people who despised him regardless of what he had done. He should never have been questioned about his sex life, especially by those like Burton and Henry Hyde who were engaged in the same thing, nor should he have been impeached. Nevertheless, he was a huge embarrassment to his country, his supporters and his family. And his behavior in the Oval Office, where he was supposed to be engaged in the people's business, was poor judgment and just short of disgraceful.

 

Chandos, I'm glad you're finally waking up to this. All those bad jokes about politicians? There's a reason for them. I won't say for a second that all politicians are crooks, adulterers, and murderers, but I'd bet good money that there are more who are than who aren't. And that goes for both parties, and probably many of the independants, too. It tends to go with power.

 

At least Hillary didn't walk in on him like Lady Bird did Lyndon. On the desk no less.

 

Sorry, but I think that Edwards is doubly bad. Sure, there are PLENTY of other scumbag politicians, but this bass-turd was a scumbag before he got into politics... He was (is?) a GD ambulance-chaser. It's bad enough that most pols are friggin' lawyers, but to be a bleeping ambulance chaser??? I knew that this turd was a total POS the instant I learned that he was an ambulance chaser.

 

Like Chandos, I also would have supported Edwards if he was the nominee in 2008. Heck, I was so turned off by the Bush regime that I would have supported Hillary too. But Edwards was my first choice. The arrogance is astounding. Obviously, these guys don't think they'll got caught. (I don't exactly know why they think this, when there is plenty of evidence plain for all to see that they DO get caught.) It was a stroke of good fortune that he didn't win the nomination.

Furthermore, while I consider any man who cheats on his wife to be a dirtbag, Edwards cheated on his wife while she had cancer. You can't get much worse than that. (Well, maybe if she had cancer and was pregnant.) To cheat on your cancer stricken wife. Even other dirtbags would consider him a dirtbag.

 

I'm not sure what you mean, NOG.

 

Actually, he was a medical malpractice attorney. There's a difference. That said, not all "ambulance chasers" engage in frivolous lawsuits against innocent parties. You can't judge a lawyer's character by the area of law in which he specializes, since valid reasons to bring suit exist in every area of law.

 

Bullfeathers. He's an ambulance-chasing POS and always has been.

 

Then back up your assertion with factual examples. Cite specific lawsuits that Edwards brought forth and explain why those lawsuits were frivolous. Explain how the legal tactics he employed demonstrated a lack of character. Just saying something doesn't make it so, and if you aren't prepared to do the work, then you probably shouldn't make the accusation.

On a somewhat semantical note, ambulance chasers sue the organization or person auspiciously at fault for an accident. Mal-practice lawyers don't sue unless the doctor or hospital screws up. Generally speaking, the doctor screws up at the hospital, so there's no ambulance to chase. Whether or not Edwards took frivolous cases or employed unscrupulous legal tactics (and the burden would be on you to prove this) is immaterial.

 

Hey, watch it. One of the best bible-study teachers I ever had was a personal injury lawyer (aka ambulance-chaser). He's a great guy, and doesn't pull any of the BS some lawyers do.

Sorry if I made an assumption, but it really did sound like you were just coming to that realization now.

 

Well, they have to chase them, and fast. They know that when the hospital gets through with them, they won't have any money left.

There's no need to apologize, NOG. I just get mad everytime I hear about it, and had to vent a bit.

 

It gets better, he bought his mistress a house in Charlotte, NC, to be closer to him. 3500 sqft in the nice side of town, just a cottage compared to his own house (great example of his 2 Americas) and purchased it with money from a dummy corporation set up by his campaign.

 

Logically, Drew is of course right, because Drew is a very logical fellow.

But a part of me feels the same as Crucis -- it's really hard for me to feel anything positive towards personal injury lawyers, who I believe defend liars. Or criminal defense attoneys, who get the vilest of criminals off, the criminal re-offends, and then they mouth some platitude about "it's necessary and Constitutional!" That makes me sick.

As for philanderers, they also make me ill -- I understand that some believe that personal life is irrelevant to political skill. My take is that a person getting married voluntarily gets up in front of witnesses and makes a solemn oath. Then he breaks it. When he gets elected he voluntarily takes an oath in front of witnesses. If he can't keep the oath to someone he is close to and loves, does it not seem to be a logical extension that he might be willing to break one to voters who he's never seen before?

 

LKD, just remember that, if someone actually hurt you and wouldn't pay or if you were accused of a crime you didn't commit, you'd be really happy to see one of those people. Believe it or not, innocent, honest people still need lawyers sometimes.

 

Wow, T2Bruno pretty much spelled out what I was thinking. You get someone elected to be a pol and do what a politician is supposed to be doing - that is, legislating, hopefully in a way that represents you and what you stand for. They aren't supposed to be faultless or moral exemplars. Sure, it helps, but it's not what they are there for.

Edwards might not be that much in his personal life, but that personal life seriously affects, say, twenty people; to the best of my knowledge, he is not a friend or a personal acquaintance of any of us. As a politician, what he does and has done affects millions; that is the Edwards that we should be more concerned about. Can he make mistakes? Sure. He has, does, and will. You just need to draw the line and decide if he's good enough for you regardless. That is why I think that LKD, your comparison is a bit far-fetched. Sure, he made mistakes in his personal life, he will occasionally make some in his political career. It happens. Yet there were many great statesmen (not that I'm putting Edwards among them) who were lousy husbands or fathers. Saying that he will be a bad pol because he cheated on his wife is like saying that since he's not always acting in his voters' best interests, he must be unfaithful in his marriage as well.

As for malpractice lawyers, there are probably a few that are just in it for the buck. Then again, as NOG said, if actually you were the victim of an actual malpractice, it helps to have them around. I wouldn't necessarily hold a guy as a bona fide certified PoS because he won a case against someone who hit a pedestrian.

 

For instance, Ben Franklin was a terrible husband and father.

The point you and T2 are missing is that these guys, like Edwards, put their personal lives first. They craft policy for millions, as you point out. Do you know how much time and energy the Monica scandal cost Bill Clinton and his adminstration? Sure it was great fun for the media and conservative talking heads. Nevetheless, the country was consumed with it for a year. Hell, we even had a national trial. It's easy to say no one should care, but in the take-no-prisoners, two party system, political enemies will do anything to bring the other down, even though many of the Republicans were engaged in the same exact thing, and more than a few of their political careers went down in flames.

IF we had a different political environment, than yes, it would only be a personal matter. But politics in this country are toxic.

 

I agree with that, Chandos -- in an ideal world, people would be able to deal with their sins / mistakes / etc privately. That is not the case now. But when I hear that someone is dishonest in one element of his life, I wonder about other elements. But I'd never go snooping into someone's life myself.