Having already shot himself in the foot multiple times--it's a wonder he can still walk--former presidential contender John Edwards now concedes that he is being investigated for misappropriation of campaign funds. That sounds rather humdrum, doesn't it? The specific accusation, however, is not: the feds are trying to determine whether Edwards used the money to cover up his affair with Rielle Hunter.
Given the tangled state of the former North Carolina senator's financial records, it may take a while to sort this out. Still, according to a dispatch in the Raleigh News & Observer, "records show that Hunter was paid by a political action committee aligned with Edwards. She received $114,000 to film Edwards as he hopscotched the nation to rally crowds in the fight against poverty. She followed him to Uganda, where he met with starving children orphaned by attacks by rebel forces. Her 'webisodes' live still on the Internet." There is also some evidence that Hunter was assisted in her move to California by an Edwards-affiliated PAC.
Needless to say, Edwards is not the only presidential candidate to star in a vanity production. But the ironies here are stacked uncomfortably high, especially when you take a look at one of Hunter's initial videos, in which the honey-tongued candidate declares his intention to let his expensively coiffed hair down. "I actually want the country to see who I am," he tells his mistress. "Who I really am. But I don't know what the result of that will be." Ouch. (Given the extent to which Edwards has torched his own extraordinary prospects, it's also ironically appropriate that this film clip is prefaced by a teaser for Land of the Lost.)
The reaction on the Web was not exactly forgiving. Over at the CBS Hot Sheet blog, zeitman77 declared the former candidate a monster of hypocrisy: "John Edwards, who soulfully talked of the travails of poverty and two Americas, epitomizes the criminally treacherous politics of America and the betrayal of its people." But another, Brownermustgo, cautioned us against opening a partisan can of worms: "We need to be looking forward, not backward. What if we look into all this stuff and find out that Edwards waterboarded Hunter, as part of some good old kinky fun?"
Over at Twitter, another noisy conversation ensued. Of course Edwards has his own Twitter feed, set up by the media-savvy senator early in the campaign. But it hasn't been updated since November 14, 2007, when the candidate was en route to a hospital in Dubuque, Iowa for a meet-and-greet. (For a quick remembrance of things past, take a look at his October 3 Tweet: "Latest poll shows I'm the only Dem candidate to beat every republican in a head-to-head match-up.") Meanwhile, @GateCityBlog delivered a crushing verdict: "John Edwards cheated on his cancer stricken wife then paid his mistress with campaign funds. That is about as low as a politician can get." So did @BuzzwireStaff: "Guess John Edwards won't be pulling an 'Elliot Spitzer' revival anytime soon. Ruh-ohs! Here come the Feds!" And @rkref reminded us to keep the blame firmly pinned on the candidate himself: "Don't blame ego and sex for John Edwards. They were doing just fine before he came around."
Given the tangled state of the former North Carolina senator's financial records, it may take a while to sort this out. Still, according to a dispatch in the Raleigh News & Observer, "records show that Hunter was paid by a political action committee aligned with Edwards. She received $114,000 to film Edwards as he hopscotched the nation to rally crowds in the fight against poverty. She followed him to Uganda, where he met with starving children orphaned by attacks by rebel forces. Her 'webisodes' live still on the Internet." There is also some evidence that Hunter was assisted in her move to California by an Edwards-affiliated PAC.
Needless to say, Edwards is not the only presidential candidate to star in a vanity production. But the ironies here are stacked uncomfortably high, especially when you take a look at one of Hunter's initial videos, in which the honey-tongued candidate declares his intention to let his expensively coiffed hair down. "I actually want the country to see who I am," he tells his mistress. "Who I really am. But I don't know what the result of that will be." Ouch. (Given the extent to which Edwards has torched his own extraordinary prospects, it's also ironically appropriate that this film clip is prefaced by a teaser for Land of the Lost.)
The reaction on the Web was not exactly forgiving. Over at the CBS Hot Sheet blog, zeitman77 declared the former candidate a monster of hypocrisy: "John Edwards, who soulfully talked of the travails of poverty and two Americas, epitomizes the criminally treacherous politics of America and the betrayal of its people." But another, Brownermustgo, cautioned us against opening a partisan can of worms: "We need to be looking forward, not backward. What if we look into all this stuff and find out that Edwards waterboarded Hunter, as part of some good old kinky fun?"
Over at Twitter, another noisy conversation ensued. Of course Edwards has his own Twitter feed, set up by the media-savvy senator early in the campaign. But it hasn't been updated since November 14, 2007, when the candidate was en route to a hospital in Dubuque, Iowa for a meet-and-greet. (For a quick remembrance of things past, take a look at his October 3 Tweet: "Latest poll shows I'm the only Dem candidate to beat every republican in a head-to-head match-up.") Meanwhile, @GateCityBlog delivered a crushing verdict: "John Edwards cheated on his cancer stricken wife then paid his mistress with campaign funds. That is about as low as a politician can get." So did @BuzzwireStaff: "Guess John Edwards won't be pulling an 'Elliot Spitzer' revival anytime soon. Ruh-ohs! Here come the Feds!" And @rkref reminded us to keep the blame firmly pinned on the candidate himself: "Don't blame ego and sex for John Edwards. They were doing just fine before he came around."
