Surprise, surprise: who's your Daddy?
When news first broke– confirming the affair that America’s ‘paper of record,’ the National Enquirer, had uncovered– my husband phoned me himself. He knew I had flirted with voting for John Edwards and his populist fervor and winning smile, plus his highly admirable, highly likable wife: a fellow Elizabeth.
Though first a Hillary then an Obama supporter, I had contributed ‘Coulter cash’ to the Edwards campaign when he and his wife were under attack. (Now I wonder if that small donation found its way to Rielle Hunter‘s love nest, where she hid out while carrying the now-confirmed Edwards’ offspring– the darling baby who always, as the intrepid Enquirer pointed out, looked like ‘John Edwards in a onesie.’)
‘Oh no,’ I cried into my cellphone when my husband said Edwards had admitted the affair, my voice so appalled that my young son in the back seat of the car– a child of these Recession-struck times– asked in horror: “Did Daddy lose his job?”
No, it was just Mommy losing her mind. Which scandals drive you up a tree? Blog fave Mary Kissane put it all so well I can only quote her Facebook flame, affire with the indignation so many of us feel toward the man who has just confessed to fathering the child he at first denied and who has been declared by Huffington Post pollsters to be the most unpopular figure ‘anywhere, anytime.’ Mary Kissane, responding to that poll, takes the mic:
“Gee, Mark McGwire gets a standing o for “coming clean,” but at least this poll shows people have some sense of proportionality left!
Cheating on his dying wife, the mother of his very young children, fathering a love child w/ a gold-digging party girl, and only NOW admitting he fathered the skank’s baby, after denying it for 2 yrs & even asking an aide to beard for him… Yeah, political Siberia is too good for him. Also loved a thread commenter’s noting that by timing it amidst grim Haiti news (not to mention our comic relief from NBC), he cannily avoids being ‘Tigered.’ And Seth Meyers priceless line: ‘Edwards’ admission is so the REVERSE of shocking that my coffee spit ME out!’”
Mary and Seth, you speak for millions. Is anyone sorry for this man, at one time one of the most popular in politics? I’m certainly sorry for his hard-working idealistic volunteers and supporters, for his wife and kiddies, all of them. Why is this particular politician-with-pants-down scandal so irksome, so– as Mary put it in a separate Facebook post– ‘revolting’. What is it about this one that makes some of us reverse-spit our coffee and frighten our own innocent young children?
photos: Edwards & daughter: crooksandiers.com; National Enquirer: mostlymedia.com; Edwards smirk: gather.com
Nope. Not sorry for him at all. I feel badly for the baby. Can you imagine having Edwards and Rielle Hunter (aka Lisa Jo Druck, Lisa Jo Hunter, Lisa Hunter — these name were all used by her!) as your parents?
I read a scathing article about this mess in New York Magazine recently. Enough to make my skin crawl.
Gawker.com says the National Enquirer should get a Pulitizer Prize for exposing this story. Their tactics may not be the best, but you have to hand it to the Enquirer — they keep getting the story right about Edwards, Tiger Woods, OJ, you name it. Who knew they’d be the reliable source for “news”? (I use the term “news” loosely.)
Caitlin, as always our minds follow the same tracks– I too have got to hand it to the Enquirer: chasing Edwards down in that hotel bathroom. If only the DC press corps displayed such single-minded purpose!
And yes: the baby. She’s a lovely already; at least she got Good Hair genes– but otherwise a raw deal.
Here’s hoping their “love child” doesn’t follow in mommy’s footsteps and become a “wild child” in NYC. Genetically she’s destined to become the queen bee of the celebutard circuit. Before she’s 21, we could hear about her hitting the clubs with Nicole Richie and Casey Johnson’s kids. Yikes!
And let’s hope she doesn’t trust her golden locks to mommy’s hairdresser. My husband can’t comprehend this one because he thinks Rielle ‘looks like Rod Stewart.’
(Sorry, Rod!)
Really, the kid is gorgeous with the face of an angel; maybe there should be a Celebrity Kid Protection Program like Witness Protection, allowing for name change, plastic surgery, new home and identity… At least little Frances will get some of the Edwards family fortune now…
I do feel sorry for the family as a whole; sounds like things spun out of control after the son’s death and the parents maybe never got back on track– Running for President is probably not the best Family Therapy. The real question is why on earth didn’t he simply end his Presidential quest when Elizabeth’s cancer was re-diagnosed? That would have been the moment to step aside gracefully.
No doubt we’ll know more when the fake-baby-daddy aid publishes his Tell-All in February. All I want to know is: can I have my Coulter Cash donation back?
Has any local noticed the ad in the Harvard Square that looks JUST LIKE RIELLE HUNTER? It is one of those big flip camera ads. The smile is identical to the one in People Mag.
You have all forgotten my favorite awful detail–promising Rielle a rooftop wedding in New York City featuring the Dave Matthews band–after my wife dies.
Ugh.
How John Edwards could have this hanging over his head and still run for president is beyond me. What a narcissist.
“You are soooo sexy….”
YES: I had mentally blocked the Dave Matthews Band moment– Thanks (I think) for bringing all that back, Penny2!
And YES2: how in hell could he have run for president with this time bomb ticking? It’s beyond mere garden-variety politician selfishness.
John Edwards and Joe Lieberman have to be the two worst VP picks of the century.
Was it Rielle who said ‘You are sooo sexy’ to John? Or vice versa. Must’ve been Rielle’s version of Monica Lewinsky’s invitation to Bill to view her ‘thong.’ Two come-on lines that rocked political empires or wanna-be empires. I feel most for all the Edwards volunteers, giving their lives to him because they cared about poverty. Can they get their year in Iowa back?
Will have to look for that billboard in Harvard Square. Surely it is ‘not’ Rielle herself? After all Monica cashed in by designing purses or some such thing… Always good to see a bright Penny2 comment– cheers– Elizabeth
Make it stop — Edwards is now in Haiti with a CAMERA CREW!
http://gawker.com/5454123/look-who-else-is-helping-haiti
Is Rielle on this crew? Hmm….
Good God– he has fled to Haiti? Who invited him in? Really? Well, I guess it’ll give him some perspective. Maybe he’ll fork over some big bucks, like Tiger…
And yes, is Rielle behind the camera??
I think we have a winner for disgraced celeb this month: John Edwards. His rep dropped the announcement of his love child like a smart bomb today, far away from Edwards, who is in Haiti with –surprise, surpirse! — a camera crew in tow, capturing every moment he brushes back his $400 haircut in pretend-anguish over the plight of other people. As if he really thinks of anyone other than himself.
What’s next? Is he going to ask Tiger Woods to co-sponsor a canned-foods drive?
So true: it’s not too early to start thinking of Disgraced Celeb. of 2010– Edwards is on the fast track. Who is funding his camera crew?
Maybe like Monica Lewinsky he will take up residence overseas?
But yes, maybe he and Tiger can join forces and try to donate their way out of the holes they have dug…
PS: for those looking for comic relief from the Edwards mess, check out this new link for our Golden Globe post, with thanks to RACHEL:
PS: A big THANKS to Rachel Robbins for reminding us that no Golden Globe coverage is complete without mention of Amanda Palmer and her antics, including a see-through dress and a ‘drop-dead’ routine on the red carpet:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-stranahan/amanda-palmer-naked-dead_b_429343.html
CNN.com is conducting a poll right now re: whether people should be vacationing in the parts of Haiti that weren’t affected by the earthquake.
Could John Edwards have a secret motive for being in Haiti? Did he hitch a ride on a Carnival Cruise? Is Rielle/Lisa Jo/Lisa hiding in some cabin on this trip? Will Edwards chase Julie McCoy around the poop deck after helping those in need (all while a camera is watching)?
I know that after reading about Edwards’ scandal, I need a stiff drink from Isaac the Bartender!! (BTW, I am totally dating myself with the “Love Boat” references. Anyone else remember this show? I used to watch it as a kid and beg to stay up and watch “Fantasy Island” afterward!)
Wow– wild speculation about John E. and I’m sure hoping he’s not Carnival Cruising out there. I hope they put him to work!
Should be good for him to get out among a world of real misery, and I think he does have an idealistic streak that’s real buried underneath all that Breck (sp?) Boy hair and all the lies…
Though he himself probably can’t help much in Haiti, his millions of lawyerly $$ sure could, so I hope this trip (whatever his motives) is paired with a nice fat check…
Love Boat, yes; I never watched but I knew of a girl who went to college with my husband who had been forbidden to watch TV as a kid by her well-meaning high-minded parents. The result? As soon as she hit college, she became a total addict of the first show she hit: LOVE BOAT!
That shows where good intentions lead you.
Julie McCoy– that name rings a bell but the only Love Boater I can picture is the genial bald guy from Mary Tyler Moore…
Good luck to all those genuinely helping out in Haiti, minus personal camera crews, and make sure Edwards doesn’t leave the island without donating a sizable sum to real relief….
PS on Haiti:
And all fellow Celeb addicts be sure to tune in to the George Clooney TELETHON this weekend!! (see link on our Haiti post)–
Go, George & co.!
Breck Boy blends DNA with Rod Stewart clone, what’s the big deal?
Apologies, but the Anthrolopologust From Mars just doesn’t get it.
Well put, Litotes.
In short, these two deserve each other.
(But what of angelic little Frances or Quinn or whatever her name is?)
It’s his hypocrisy and dishonesty that makes Edwards more despicable than most….what a phony. As much as i like Elizabeth, she is not blameless..she knew about the affair and continurd to urge him to run. I think she wanted to be First Lady, I won’t repeat “Game Change” comments about her, but she can dish it out as well as take it, and John deserves anything she does to him. The other annoying thing is that he continues to be the always smiling do-gooder. At least Tiger had the grace to disappear.
It’s his hyprocisy and dishonesty that makes him more despicable than most..what a phony! Elizabeth is not blameless since she knew about the affair and continued to urge him to run. I believe she wanted to be First Lady. I will not repeat the information about her in “Game Change” but she can dish it out as well as take it and anything she does to him is not bad enough. But he won’t go away, and he continues to be the generous, always smiling do-gooder.
At least Tiger had the grace to disappear.
Hi Barb-
You hit the nail on the head, as usual– Yes, I think the Hypocrisy here and the smarmy do-gooding pose make this one especially hard to stomach. I do like and admire a lot about Elizabeth; she was such an asset to him as his wife since she came across as so REAL compared to his sugary Southern salesman manner.
But I have to agree: the two of them knew this affair was a ticking time bomb and yet chose to push ahead with his presidential quest. Incredibly selfish and irresponsible if he had won the nomination and brought the whole election and Democratic party down with him. And for what? Honestly, Edwards just shows such bad taste as well as bad character in crashing his whole life and family over– HER.
Anyway, you make your point well, as always. Appreciate your voice of reason here!
Elizabeth