Death watch?
The John Edwards affair with Rielle Hunter grows ever more sordid.
On Hannity and Colmes last week a National Enquirer spokesperson said his understanding is Hunter still loves Edwards and is waiting in the background for Elizabeth, who has terminal cancer, to die.
This shocked me. But it grows worse. There is Elizabeth’s perspective as the one with the terminal cancer. From this week’s issue of People…
Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards stunned the nation with his televised confession Aug. 8 that he had an extramarital affair. Battling cancer that her doctors call incurable, his wife, Elizabeth, issued a statement in support of her husband – but how is she really doing?
“There was anguish – excruciating anguish – for her in dealing with this,” Elizabeth’s best friend Hargrave McElroy tells People….
Behind the public show of strength, the Edwards’ household has been a scene of turmoil and tension since John, 55, first began revealing the truth about his affair with former campaign aide, Rielle Hunter, 44, after the formal launch of his campaign in the final days of 2006. “He told the truth slowly,” according to one source close to the couple.
Elizabeth, 59, faced an agonizing choice: “Do I kick him out, or do we have a 30-year marriage that can be rebuilt?” says McElroy. The fact that she suffers from a terminal disease, one that could rob her children – Jack, 8, Emma Claire, 10 and Cate, 26, a student at Harvard Law School – of their mother, weighed heavily in her decision.
“She couldn’t say, ‘Well, maybe we’ll work through this for years, or maybe we should separate for two years,'” adds Elizabeth’s best friend. “[The cancer] forced her to choose whether to move forward.”…
This whole matter is simply tragic. But there’s more. The National Enquirer, which has gotten the story exactly right so far, maintains the lies go on, as published August 13:
The Enquirer has uncovered that Edwards’ political operatives are still paying his mistress Rielle Hunter – and she was whisked away on a private jet two days before he confessed their extramarital affair on national TV!
The Enquirer has also confirmed that Edwards secretly visited Rielle and their love child 3 separate times at the Beverly Hilton hotel in LA this year – a fact that proves he is still lying to America and his wife….
Now, The Enquirer has uncovered more blockbuster information, including:
After Edwards confessed the affair to his wife, he restarted it, and was sexually involved with Rielle when she became pregnant.
Despite his denials, Edwards WAS aware that his former finance committee chairman, Fred Baron, was funneling money to Rielle.
Experts are now calling for a federal investigation into Edwards’ use of campaign funds.
And that’s why all this matters to us. This affair entered into the political realm with potential illegal use of campaign funds for starters. This man ran for president. He may have changed the course of political history by siphoning votes from Hillary. And even as recently as a couple weeks ago Edwards’ name was being floated as a potential Obama VP or cabinet appointee.
See my previous posts here, here, and here.
[HT: proofreader Laura Loo]
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – this man is a total cad. My heart goes out to women married to these self-serving, narcissistic bimbo-men who can’t keep their zippers done up. In olden days, we use to say men his age were having a “mid-life crisis”. As if it were some EXCUSE for his behaviour!
We should pray for Elizabeth – she certainly is suffering. And those children, who will be left with what?
I am waiting for someone to denounce McCain for cheating on his sick and disabled wife with a much younger and richer woman (cue the crickets).
COme on man, she was crippled. You can leave your wife when she is crippled…I have a friend that left his wife because she had a lazy eye..that is fine by me.
Maverick John McCain is at it again, sticking his finger in the eye of the Republican establishment by saying he wouldn
Peach Pit
I didn’t know this was a gossip column.
I didn’t know this was a gossip column.
Posted by: Andy at August 14, 2008 10:55 AM
Well, clue # 1: Quotes from People and National Enquirer.
And Jill, I never knew you were such a Hillary fan. “changed the course of political history by siphoning votes from Hillary” indeed. First, we know that’s not true, as the exit polls showed Edwards voters prefered Obama as their #2 choice much more than they prefered Hillary. Second, I think you and Jasper and Rush all wanted Hillary to be the nominee because of the boatloads of opposition research ready to roll out on her. She would have been a sitting duck and the Republicans were caught flat footed when she didn’t get the nomination.
I am waiting for someone to denounce McCain for cheating on his sick and disabled wife with a much younger and richer woman (cue the crickets).
Or, for that matter, Homewrecker Hyde. Let’s not forget that Henry Hyde, author of the Hyde Amendment banning federal funding of abortions and much celebrated by antis, himself had an affair in the late 60’s with a woman who was married with three children, which ended up breaking up that family. “A youthful indiscretion,” he called it.
Adultery, heterosexual or otherwise, seems to be a ripe old Republican tradition, as well as a Democratic one. When are we going to get over it and move on?
Jill, are you going to respond to this?
http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2008/08/obama-answers-t.html#more
Look at the amendment part. He’s claiming it failed…
well its true that senator clinton is the weaker of the two candidates and mccain wants to win the election. it would only make sense that the weaker candidate is the one you prefer. speaking of flat footed i think it is senator clinton who failed to see this challenge to her coronation.
Roger, I agree with you.
Clinton, who I initially supported, would have made a terrible general election candidate. The recent article about her campaign in the Atlantic is facsinating.
Ray 11:20 says that “[a]dultery, heterosexual or otherwise, seems to be a ripe old Republican tradition, as well as a Democratic one. When are we going to get over it and move on?”
First of all, all adultery is heterosexual because there is no such thing as “homosexual marriage.” But perhaps Ray was referring to the ways in which a marriage can be broken. What filth we have to define these days!
John McCain isn’t a very good example of a Republican, is he? I think it was Rush Limbaugh who said that the Democrats got to choose the Republican candidate, so the Republicans should be allowed to choose the Democratic candidate. McCain’s broken vow to his first wife is certainly a big blot on his reputation. It did happen many years ago, a fact which doesn’t make it any less serious but does perhaps make it less newsworthy.
You might have a good point about Henry Hyde, someone I don’t know anything about. Your thoughtful mention of his singularly callous evaluation–“a youthful indiscretion”–is a step in the right direction for you, I believe. It’s too bad that you chose to ignore your better judgement and instead advised us to “move on.”
While I certainly agree that both Republicans and Democrats have been guilty of adultery, I am happy to note that President Bush has indeed restored decency to the White House. I trust him much more than his Democrat predecessor.
If by “decency” you mean no affiars, I will probably give you that. But there are many indecent things about the current administration. Many.
1. the state or quality of being decent.
2. conformity to the recognized standard of propriety, good taste, modesty, etc.
PeachPit,
I know you’re chomping at the bit for Jill and company to comment on McCain’s latest zinger.
Give it time.
I’m sure Jill is working on it as we speak ;0)
To Ray and others,
So because OTHER people do it, John Edwards should get a pass? No I don’t think so. All you’re pointing out is that because other people are dirtbags to their wives, John Edwards is just following protocol. Come on.
Just a commentary on double standards.
Dan Quayle is running for VP with Bush I in 1988. The media is in full attack mode. Some woman claims she danced closely with him, which he vehemently denied. My goodness the media went wild. Democrats and the media wailed and gnashed their teeth, while pounding their chests in self righteous indignation.
Clarence Thomas is accused of, at worst, some lousy pick up lines. The media goes wild, feminists wail and gnash their teeth. He goes before what I believe was the Senate Judiciary Committee, though the Harper Valley PTA would more accurately describe it. Feminists and the media are so occupied with their vendetta against Thomas that they overlook Senate Judiciary Committee member Ted Kennedy spending the Kennedy millions bailing his nephew out of a rape charge, an incident stemming from a night of Tomcatting with Uncle Ted. No support or help for the alleged rape victim from this crowd. Not even a word of outrage.
Then along comes Bill Clinton charged with everything from exposing himself to rape. Feminists support him.
Larry Flynt, porn king and publisher of Hustler Magazine, who Gloria Steinem has referred to as “the Josef Goebbels in the war against women” speaks of his love and admiration for Clinton. Great character reference.
Double standards can certainly be interesting.
My concern for Elizabeth Edwards would be the possible effects of such stress and heartbreak on her already precarious health situation.
Also, for three children facing the loss of their mother.
Of course both republican and democratic politicos have often been unfaithful.
So What? But what good is a Washington
politician who is sqeaky clean in personal conduct if his or her policies are terrible? You know, the kind who wants to force women to bear children gainst their will but refuse to do anything to see to it that those unwanted children will get decent food,shelter,clothing,education and medical care, wants to deny the unemployed and the poor help because it’s “socialism” to do this, will thwart vital medical and scientific research because of superstitious religious beliefs, wants to pry into the bedrooms of Americans,censor what we read and view in private, force students to pray school even if they’re atheists, deny rights to homosexuals or even persecute them, and all of that conservative garbage. I’d rather have Bill Clinton in the White House, for all his faults, than a president or other powerful politicians like this.
Robert Berger,
Do you mean the same Bill Clinton who had a White House intern half his daughter’s age doing a number on him while he discussed the situation of our servicemen and women in Bosnia with a congressman?
The same Bill Clinton accused of everything from exposing himself to rape?
It is not gossip Andy…he is a major league jerk…yougner, richer, not crippled…its ok.
Correction to my 1:51PM post. I meant to say “his daughter’s age” not “half his daughter’s age”.
PP,
We are certainly in agreement about a “major league jerk”.
Edwards may also be waiting for his wife to die. The Enquirer also reports that after he denied loving Rielle Hunter during the Nightline interview, he called her to say “Of course I love you. Don’t worry, we’ll get through this.”
The ex-campaign aide pretending to be the father of Edwards child has an interesting history. Arrested for writing worthless checks, burglary and criminal mischief in his 20s, he accumulated a slew of traffic tickets over the next 20 years and was arrested for DWI in 1997 and 2006, pleading guilty the the latter charge in October 2007. Maybe in view of the fact he had little reputation to lose, he was brought aboard the campaign as a “finance director” for the specific purpose of taking the rap for Edwards.
It is not gossip Andy…he is a major league jerk…yougner, richer, not crippled…its ok.
Posted by: PeachPit at August 14, 2008 1:54 PM
……………………..
Gossip is gossip no matter how you justify it.
On one hand I can see why a man or woman would be tempted to stray from their partner if their partner had some type of medical condition in which they couldn’t have sex.
On that note, I think Edwards is a complete stupid boy for cheating on his wife when she was dying. Sometimes couples in that situation turn to unconventional means to return to a semblance of a normal sex life, there’s no reason for him to do what he did.
“The adulterer God will judge”
On one hand I can see why a man or woman would be tempted to stray from their partner if their partner had some type of medical condition in which they couldn’t have sex.
Unfortunately, Jess, I cannot. However,this apparently is very very common and to my mind demonstrates that the husband has very little respect for his wife.
BTW, this is ONE of the reasons that chastity outside of marriage and before marriage is SO important. If a man is chaste prior to marriage, trials such as these which are sure to come in any marriage will not be quite so difficult. The man (or woman) will have practiced for them before marriage. On the other hand, being unable to resist temptations prior to marriage and being sexually promiscuous doesn’t really train one to withstand the rigors of such a situation as the Edwards have gone through.
Amen, Patricia.
The best revenge Mrs. Edwards could ever inflict on Rielle Hunter is to let her have the bum.
When the husband of a dear friend of mine finally left her after years of tomcatting, I told her she should thank the “other woman” every day for the rest of her life. My friend has since remarried a man she is happy with and who truly deserves her. The “other woman” is stuck with my friend’s ex-husband.
Patricia many married couples find sex enjoyable and wouldn’t want to choose never to have it again should one become sick. There are actually classes and pornography that specialize in helping sick and disabled individuals (for instance veterans who have lost limbs) learn how to have sex again. Sex has been shown to have positive health effects, similar to those of regular exercise but with the benefit of an interpersonal relationship.
The point I want to make is that Edwards has no excuse to cheat, whatever problem he had he created himself. He’s not the victim, his wife is. He is the victimizer, the bully. I hope Mrs. Edwards realizes it.
And what do they mean, “terminal cancer”? Aren’t there people with cancer who are given like two months to live who pull through and live another 15, 20 years?
Jess my understanding is that Elizabeth has bone cancer which is manageable but not curable. That’s all they can do with secondary bone cancer. I have a friend who has this type of cancer (stage IV)- he is now in his 2nd year of living with it. Trust me, the last thing on his mind is sex. He’s too busy trying to survive each and every day and to live long enough to see all of his eight children grow up. There are some days when he looks like hell.
The fact is Jess, with cancer patients there is likely to be a protracted period of abstinence, while the other spouse goes through surgery, chemo etc.
I agree, her husband is a cad. He’s a loser in every aspect of his life, to my mind.
I think when they say “terminal” they mean that there is no longer any cure that they can come up with. There are of course ways to prolong her life, but as far as getting rid of the cancer so it won’t kill her, they don’t have any more of those options for her.
Patricia, I’m so sorry to hear about your friend with cancer. May God bless him and his family.
“The adulterer God will judge”
Posted by: HisMan at August 14, 2008 3:23 PM
Wow, there’s a separate god for adultery? Does that mean that there’s a murderer god, and perhaps an embezzler god, too? and we had you pegged as a monotheist, HS.
1) If they were really family and friends, they wouldn’t be “sharing” with People or Enquirer (what a rag- I’d be embarrassed to be seen reading it in the checkout line.)
2) Has it occurred to any of you that Elizabeth may approve of John finding solace with someone else – when she probably isn’t in a condition to do so intimately? Or that she may see the selection of the next Mrs. Edwards as giving her family continuity- yes, some people are that generous. Until she herself speaks, we won’t know the truth and it really isn’t any of our business.
Remember, she and John lost their eldest son – neither of them are stranger to the grief of bereavement – leave them alone to cope as they see fit – what a gossipy bunch of nosy old busybodies you are.
Patricia I also have a friend living with bone cancer. She will be 95 in September although her cancer was only recently diagnosed. She’s still healthy (despite the cancer) except for some cavities (caused by the cancer) and looks great. I never really think of her as “dying” but only as “living”. Because she is living, cancer or no cancer. She doesn’t just sit around and wait to die, she lives. I mean but any of us could just die right now. I could walk to the fridge and slip and crack my head open on a counter, but I think it would be a waste of life to just plan on death.
I never had cancer, but I did have a cancer scare and it made me just want to go to bed and sleep forever but I learned you’re not dead until you die. If you’re living now you’re alive no matter what, you’re not dead.
I like that quote from a commercial I saw for a cancer institute… “Life doesn’t have an expiration date.”
“what a gossipy bunch of nosy old busybodies you are.”
And when are you going to have a baby!?
One of my uncles (the anti-semite) came up to me at my cousins wedding and said, “Are you going to be next? When are you going to get married?” I was like, “I’m here with a Jew. Stay away from us at the reception.”
“The adulterer God will judge”
Posted by: HisMan at August 14, 2008 3:23 PM
Wow, there’s a separate god for adultery? Does that mean that there’s a murderer god, and perhaps an embezzler god, too? and we had you pegged as a monotheist, HS.
Posted by: phylosopher at August 14, 2008 11:12 PM
Thats, “The adulterer, God will judge”
“One of my uncles (the anti-semite) came up to me at my cousins wedding and said, “Are you going to be next? When are you going to get married?” I was like, “I’m here with a Jew. Stay away from us at the reception.”
LOL!
Has it occurred to any of you that Elizabeth may approve of John finding solace with someone else – when she probably isn’t in a condition to do so intimately? Or that she may see the selection of the next Mrs. Edwards as giving her family continuity- yes, some people are that generous.
Quite frankly, I’m NOT surprised you came up with this one phylosopher! Yes and fathering a child too! I believe there’s something called fidelity and exclusivity in marriage.I don’t thing most people on the same page as you phylo!
Jess, I agree. Cancer is not necessarily the death sentence it once was. My friend has pretty much run out of options in terms of treatment and drugs. What a sad thing. He was having bone scans every 2 years and between the scans, he developed cancer. The doctors suspect he had prostate cancer initially and then it spread to his bones.
Patricia,
With cancer you never know when or how it may strike next in the afflicted person, even if they are in remission or appear well controlled. Mrs. Edwards lives with the possiblity and daily fear of cancer showing up on such vital organs as her lungs, liver, or brain.
Her children also live with this. Something you think would be of concern to their father.
Who says Mrs. Edwards can’t have a normal sexual relationship with her husband?
The selection of the next Mrs.Edwards? Some woman he met in a bar. Couldn’t he at least wait until his wife dies or isn’t she dying quickly enough to suit him?
Patricia,
Despite her illness, humiliation, and heartbreak, Mrs.Edwards is still putting her family first and making every effort to act in their best interest. I have tremendous respect for her. As I stated before, we can only hope the stress and heartbreak of this situation does not compromise her already precarious health situation.
Hey you guys I saw a Lifetime movie like this once, a woman was dying and she picked out a new wife for her husband. Of course they lived on the prairie and it was like, the 1880’s.
I don’t think the idea of picking out a new wife in this day and age is so serious, it’s not like their family will starve if they don’t have an extra person to harvest the corn this fall.
Jess 11:30am
I remember that movie. Given that day and age when there were no social services, legal protection, or foster care, that may well have been a very viable option.
It was like my great grandmother sending her children into what would be considered indentured servitude. Though indentured servitude as such wasn’t legal, that technicality seems to have been overlooked as it was virtually the only option left to a destitute widow or divorcee with several hungry children.
I remember a vow I took once…
To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, till death do us part.
Did anyone point out that McCain remarried, while Edwards had an extra-marital affair? While one may draw a moral equivalance, there is no legal equivalance. Please comment. I will check back later. Thank you all.
“To love, honor, and obey..”
That too, Doug. :)
“To love, honor, and obey..”
I had friends who told me not to include that in my vows…but I did it anyway. ;-)
Jess, 11:30AM
There was another movie years ago called “All Mine to Give”, which I believe also took place in the latter 1800s. Like the movie you mention it does show what life was like, especially when a parent or parents were lost. It was about Scottish immigrants who came to the U.S., had 5 children, then died in some epidemic. It was up to the oldest child to find families for his younger siblings, which he did, and then try to find one for himself.
I sobbed through the movie, especially at the end.
The last time I checked, John Edwards was still married to his wife, which is more than could have been said for Reagan who is a supposed saint, but also a wife-ditcher. He broke up with his wife over acting!
The conservatives say that he tore down the Iron Curtin but he couldn’t even keep his marrige together. Face it, the party of Vito Fossella (R-NY, Robert “Bob” Allen (R-Florida), John David Roy Atchison (who had solicited sex with a 5 year old), Mark Foley (R-Florida) and Rev. Ted Haggard are so upstanding that one wonders why they are not hosting the G.O.P. convention at The Chicken Ranch.
Meh, Minneapolis is better – Larry Craig already knowns people there.
“Larry Craig” oh my gawd how hilarious.