News and Politics | August 08, 2008 | 140 comments

Edwards admits sexual affair

source: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5441195&page=1

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Liberal007
ABC NEWS: John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extra-marital affair with a novice film-maker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today.

In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 42-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her.

Edwards also denied he was the father of Hunter's baby girl, Frances Quinn, although the one-time Democratic Presidential candidate said he has not taken a paternity test.

Edwards said he knew he was not the father based on timing of the baby's birth on February 27, 2008. He said his affair ended too soon for him to have been the father.

A former campaign aide, Andrew Young, has said he was the father of the child.

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140 comments // Edwards admits sexual affair

  • twodee
  • JohnA
  • twodee
    • 0
      twodee  

    • Very sad.

      This makes sense now why he got out of the campaign when he did. He knew this was gonna come out at some point and it likely would have cost the democrats any chance of election. Even with all this crazy war, economic collapse and global warming stuff going on.

      Mess with the great American image of what is right sex and you have blown their world apart. War, poverty and global warming just fade into the distance. I hope I am wrong and just feeling a bit cranky at the moment.

    • 3 years ago
  • mrburns
    • 0
      mrburns  
    • twodee:

      What the frick are you trying to say?

      are you making excuses for him? Shit you complained about everything else, the economy is not down, global warming is happening only because gore says so . . .

      As for poverty why don't you give every penny you earn away?

      Have you adopted any child molestors from prison yet.

    • 3 years ago
  • twodee
  • stephenthomson
  • twodee
  • Kynmore
    • 0
      Kynmore  

    • Who cares?

      Just as I don't want the president to know about my private life, I don't want to know about his. Unless him boinking someone affects his job, then why would I care? Now, a president getting a divorce might gain my attention, because the stress of that would affect his job.

      I'm sorry people, but even a president deserves some personal privacy.

    • 3 years ago
  • JohnA
  • Incredulous
  • virggie
    • 0
      virggie  

    • LOL@Scott. (And I apologise for that :P)

      But, yes. I especially agree with Mark701. I frankly don't care where my boss puts his dick, as long as he doesn't make me attack the café next door because they have coffee and we ran out.

      But I guess American voters have another mechanism of thinking.

    • 3 years ago
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • Yes, taking an oath with another person to love and cherish them for life is so provincial. So tired of the opinion that if you actually care for someone and love them that you honor the vows you make to them as somehow being abnormal. This has nothing to do with "caring" per se for me but everything to do with the impression you have of a person given by that person and then being disappointed by the truth. It does say something about a person's character to me regardless of political party.

    • 3 years ago
  • VSiskos
    • 0
      VSiskos  
    • JanforGore:

      Well, I think the point is that if Edwards had screwed 80 women in the last week without his wife knowing, but he was able to negotiate peace in the middle east and help create an alternative fuel that gives us clean energy forever, there's a difference between someone's professional life and their personal life.

      He's a public servant, and if he's a good public servant, what's it matter what should only matter to him and his family? Yes, cheating's bad. Period. But not all cheaters are bad people. It doesn't ALWAYS speak to a person's character.

      But, in this case, I have strong feelings because he could've cost Democrats the election. It shows a whole other realm of selfishness that he cheated on his wife, knew what happened to the Clintons and still went ahead and ran for president. Extremely selfish of him.

      I could care less that he cheated on his wife as it has nothing to do with me. But I do care that he was playing with many peoples' lives in the process knowing full well he could've screwed America over by handing McCain the election.

    • 3 years ago
  • J_Jammer
  • lecoke
  • richjm
    • 0
      richjm  
    • Image

    • Just look at the backlash from people who had marked themselves as his fans/supporters on Facebook. Amongst the angry and dismayed wall posts are these:

      "If he had won the primary, he would be handing the presidency to John McCain right now."

      "I am EXTREMELY disappointed, dismayed and disgusted by your deceit."

      "What a total dirt bag you've been revealed to be. Cheating on your dying wife, classy. Wow, you're another greasy, slime ball politician."

      And, to be fair, from 'Mandy':
      "I wanna have john's love child too. he's soooo sexy"

      (Thanks to Current's Mariana van Zeller for the pointer about this on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MarianaVZ/statuses/881864456)

    • 3 years ago
  • JohnA
  • tanyetta
  • VSiskos
    • 0
      VSiskos  

    • I still can't get over the fact that he ran for president knowing that he had this ready to be uncovered. I mean it really paints him as a selfish, self-centered person. What if he had become the nominee? McCain would've eaten him alive.

      Although this is sad, and I agree with sgirgis that someone's job and personal life have nothing to with each other, I'm just glad that he wasn't nominated!

    • 3 years ago
  • stephenthomson
  • VSiskos
    • 0
      VSiskos  
    • VSiskos:

      Since when did hypocrisy stop the Republican from attacking their opponents and winning with it?

      They would've killed the Democrats in November had Edwards won the nomination.

      But I'm living in a hypothetical. Obama won, and it has nothing to do with him, thank the universe. So, I'm disappointed with Edwards, but I think it's really no big deal now. He's not our nominee, and he and his family have to figure out how to proceed and that process has nothing to do with us.

    • 3 years ago
  • Chique
    • 0
      Chique  
    • VSiskos:

      Agreed. This may or may not be Edward's child but either way it's hard enough for the average family to deal with betrayal, let alone knowing the whole world is watching and judging you. Like Clinton, their personal lives are none of our business. We need to leave him and his family to work this out. Think about the worst thing you've ever done that you're mot proud of and imagine it being plastered over the whole nation. Half of the process of judging other people is it makes some feel above it all. Remember all of the republicans pointing self-righteous fingers at Clinton when half of them were doing the same thing. Not justifying a bad decision, just saying . . .

    • 3 years ago
  • lecoke
  • J_Jammer
  • cda0827
  • Scott_Bromley
  • JohnA
  • JohnA
  • stephenthomson
  • damnneargenius
    • 0
      damnneargenius  
    • Scott_Bromley:

      Of course he doesn't respect the mistress. F-n duh. But he's supposed to respect his wife. Since their lives are under the microscope because of his job, this makes it even more devastating to her because EVERYONE knows.

      Edwards and his campaign guy(s)? too?...what a ho. Hey look, sloppy seconds is having a baby, just what the world needs.

      Well, son, you see, your mom loved the cock. Not me, just cock. You were born out of blind lust and bad luck. How do you feel now?

    • 3 years ago
  • TheRepublicant
  • eustatic
    • 0
      eustatic  
    • Scott_Bromley:

      I would respect him more if hadn't said this. Why does he feel that we care to know? Who does he feel he has to prove this to? this is a private matter between the people involved, and blurting about it makes it so much worse.

      "Uh, Rielle, our relationship was worthless and stupid

      --as I will now inform the news media."

    • 3 years ago
  • sgirgis72
    • 0
      sgirgis72  

    • I guess I am in the minority, but I have no idea how a person's private life has anything to do with how they do their job...all kinds of people have affairs, it seems so provincial to care.

    • 3 years ago
  • JohnA
  • clemwilson
  • rightbrain
  • Bovey
  • stephenthomson
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • I am heartbroken. What do they do in these campaigns? Pass the women around like a joint for everyone to get a puff? Sickening. What a disappointment.

    • 3 years ago
  • JanforGore
  • stephenthomson
  • JanforGore
  • stephenthomson
  • ikeula75
  • Mark701
    • 0
      Mark701  

    • Apparently he told his wife in 2006. Frankly I could care less. At least he isn't trying to pick up little boys or tapping under men's room stalls. However if he had won the primaries the Democratic Party would be in a world of hurt. Torture ok, lie us into a war, ok, forge letters to get us into a war, ok, illegal domestic spying no problem but having consensual sex with anyone other than your wife= a political death sentence.

    • 3 years ago
  • VSiskos
    • 0
      VSiskos  

    • The only way I can really look at this in a non-negative light is if his wife knew about it and asked him to be happy while she was sick and couldn't give him what he needs.

      Even then it's kind of sick. His wife's possibly dying of cancer, and he has an affair!?

      I still think he's right on many issues, and I believe in the separation of someone's personal life and their job, but I do think he's not a very good person for this. How flipping sad!

    • 3 years ago
  • littlesparrow
    • 0
      littlesparrow  

    • back in the olden days, when being a ho wasn't cool, being a playah was totally awesome. benjamin franklin even wrote a short essay entitled "how to choose a mistress." these days, as sexy as we want everything to be, we need a leader who sticks to his wedding vows.

      sorry edwards, you ain't ever gonna get into the white house now, because if you can't be happy with your wife, how is America gonna be happy with you.

    • 3 years ago
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