After months of being hounded by the National Inquirer, former presidential candidate John Edwards announced that he was in fact having an affair. Starting in 2006 while he was gearing up his campaign and his wife was battling cancer, Edwards started sleeping around with his Rielle Hunter (a campaign filmmaker). Hunter has a young child that the National Inquirer refers to as Edwards “love child” though he denies that to be the case. In a released statement, Edwards ended months of denials to admit his affair:

In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with my family, I did not tell the public. When a supermarket tabloid told a version of the story, I used the fact that the story contained many falsities to deny it. But being 99 percent honest is no longer enough.

I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices, and I had hoped that it would never become public. With my family, I took responsibility for my actions in 2006 and today I take full responsibility publicly. But that misconduct took place for a short period in 2006. It ended then. I am and have been willing to take any test necessary to establish the fact that I am not the father of any baby, and I am truly hopeful that a test will be done so this fact can be definitively established. I only know that the apparent father has said publicly that he is the father of the baby. I also have not been engaged in any activity of any description that requested, agreed to or supported payments of any kind to the woman or to the apparent father of the baby.

It is inadequate to say to the people who believed in me that I am sorry, as it is inadequate to say to the people who love me that I am sorry. In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up — feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help.

I have given a complete interview on this matter and having done so, will have nothing more to say.

Edwards gave a television interview with ABC News on the issue, trying to get everyone on the table and to put the issue behind him. Most of the responses sounded scripted, and he flashed his trademark smile too many times for me to take him seriously. I give a lot of credit to Bob Woodruff (the interviewer) for not holding back on his questions. The following is an example of the tough questions and the scripted responses:

WOODRUFF: Your wife, Elizabeth, is probably the most admired and beloved person in this country, she’s had enormous sympathy because she’s also gone through cancer, how could you have done this?

EDWARDS: Here’s what, can I explain to you what happened? First of all it happened during a period after she was in remission from cancer, that’s no excuse in any possible way for what happened. This is what happened. It’s what happened with me and I think happens unfortunately more often sometimes with other people.… Ego. Self-focus, self-importance. Now, I was slapped down to the ground when my son Wade died in 1996, in April of 1996. But then after that I ran for the senate and I got elected to the Senate and here we go again, it’s the same old thing again. Adulation, respect, admiration. Then I went from being a senator, a young senator to being considered for vice president, running for president, being a vice presidential candidate and becoming a national public figure. All of which fed a self-focus, an egotism, a narcissism that leads you to believe that you can do whatever you want. You’re invincible. And there will be no consequences. And nothing, nothing could be further from the truth.

If you might recall, I have been a bit critical of Edwards in the past for coming off as not being sincere when discussing his concern for the poor. To me, it comes across that Edwards is not very sincere in anything that doesn’t directly benefit himself. I hope I am wrong, and I hope that this serves as a turning point in his life to focus on what is really important; that being his wife and family, and not his self-described ego.

Related articles:
ABC News – “Transcript: John Edwards Interview”
Los Angeles Times – “Mainstream media finally pounces on Edwards’ affair”
Telegraph – “John Edwards to take paternity test over affair”
Associated Press – “Edwards’ statement admitting affair”
FOX News – “Strange Behavior Leaves Many Unanswered Questions in Edwards Affair”
Washington Interns Gone Bad – “John Edwards Gets His Own Show…”
The Law of Politics – “John Edwards, John Edwards, John who cares!”

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