A Note to the Mainstream Media: Drop the Edwards Affair

Posted by Jill C., Brilliant at Breakfast at 1:16 PM on August 15, 2008.

Enough.

Let it go.

What is this accomplishing?

Today the New York Times continues to hammer the Edwards affair as if it were vital to the future of this nation.

"But what if?", you might say. "What if he had gotten the nomination?"

If he'd been the nominee, we'd be utterly screwed right now. But he isn't, and to the extent that we are screwed at all because of this, it's because of the double standard in the media in handling Democrats' peccadilloes as opposed to those of Republicans.

At this point, I have no concern about the feelings of John Edwards. As someone who supported him in his quest for the nomination, and sent money for that effort, I'm angry at the idea that a dime of my money was spent to pay off Rielle Hunter to keep quiet. I'm baffled at how on earth he thought he could get away with it. And I'm appalled and disgusted at him, not just for cheating on a wife who is smart, attractive, loyal, and may very well have put her own life in danger conceiving two children after they lost their son; but also for choosing such an obvious ditz. It's one thing if your husband has the opportunity to nail Angelina Jolie. That would hurt, but at least you could understand it. But to fall for an aging party girl because she tells you that you have an old soul and that you may be the second coming of Gandhi? Sorry, but that's right up there with "You're beautiful, have you ever done any modeling?"

So now that's out of the way.

But I fail to understand how the very same media that has been kind to Elizabeth Edwards up until this point because of her illness has decided that they need to continue to put this story on the front page in perpetuity. John Edwards is not the nominee, he is not going to even attend the convention, his career in public life is over. Do we need to punish his wife further to feed the insatiable maw of right-wing talk radio? And where IS Vicki Iseman, anyway?

I'm having a hard enough time wrapping my mind around the fact that the ferociously intelligent, passionate, brave, kind woman who stood on the landing of the steps in my house in the summer of 2007 and talked about universal health care has been reduced to staying with this man because it's the best way to ensure as much time with her children as possible in the time she has left.

Let it go already. I don't need to know any more. And neither does anyone else.

Tagged as: new york times, edwards, rielle hunter

Jill Hussein C. blogs at Brilliant at Breakfast.