Rev. Erudite Redneck, B.S., B.S., M.A., M.Div.

I have not cheated. But I have been the partner of a few cheaters. Which may explain why I choose to spend so much of my time without a relationship. It sucks. I can't imagine the pain of fighting a life-threatening illness AND being with a cheater.
 

Never cheated, never even been tempted, since getting married.

I'm not surprised about Edwards, nor would I be about any politician, because they are put in the position of both having their egos constantly stroked and having lots of opportunities/temptations -- even a hideous toad like Henry Kissinger never suffered from a shortage of beautiful women wanting to be seen with him. I am, however, disappointed -- and I find the fact that he still had the cojones to run for President knowing full well this was lurking in the closet absolutely mind-boggling. What if he'd actually become the nominee and the affair wasn't made public within just a week or two of the general election? Talk about handing the election to the Repugnicans on a silver platter.

You know, I think I may actually be more disappointed by the realization Edwards isn't as smart as I thought he was than I am by the news that he's a hound.
 

"Ah, but when it comes to affairs of the weiner, men are never smart," Dr. ER said.

Myself, I see it as the usual plain vanilla abuse of power: He did it because he could do it.
 

What's the difference between a dog and a wolf?

At least the dog realizes that chewing up the shoe was wrong, and tries to hide it.

The wolf just thinks of chewing up the shoe as something to do until it can find the shoe's owner.

From what I've seen from politics in the past forty years...we've got a choice between dogs and wolves...and all the good dogs stay home where they belong.

Ill take a bad dog over a wolf. Might not like it, but if that's the deal, I'll take it.

*expecting a rebuke from Drlobojo any minit now* :-)
 

Mine will be a different voice, I think, in all this. I don't think Edwards' affair is anyone's business but his - and his wife's - own.

An argument can be made that this position is untenable, because part of Edwards' appeal to voters during the primaries was personal. He highlighted his biography, and his current family-life, including the death of a child and his wife's struggle with cancer, as part of his c.v. for President. My counter-argument is, in the face of the administrative collapse under Bush and the Republicans, this approach didn't work so well for him, did it. I don't think most voters care all that much one way or another, about the private lives of public figures.

As for cheating - been there. As a two-year relationship wended its way towards a denouement of the inevitable whimper, I met a young lady and, yes, I cheated. I will say up front that my only regret is not having enough guts to tell my then-girlfriend the truth, getting out from under our relationship, and then moving on.

I'm a human being. Sue me. And don't vote for me for President.
 

Suing for being human is exactly what that scum-bag Edwards was known for. I'll post my rant over at my blog (as it was not requested here), but kudos to ER for the post calling out this "cur".

A couple-a thoughts:

Would there be as much negativism towards Edwards by those who frequent the liberal blogosphere if he were the presidential candidate?

I think that the personal lives of a politicians do matter, especially when they lie: openly, boldly, and repeatedly. Edwards' character, intelligence, and trustworthiness should be in question, and those are viable concerns for the public.

As to the actual question posited by ER: I've been cheated on, and what made me the angriest were the unnecessary lies. But I didn't sue.
 

An addendum -- I'm not angry at Edwards, I'm disappointed in his stupidity given the current moralizing "gotcha" climate. It's a distraction from much more important issues (Iraq, the economy, the environment). I don't think who a politician sleeps with (unless the bed partners are minors or farm animals) should be anyone else's business. In an ideal world, what would count would be a politician's ability to make policy decisions that benefit the country as a whole and not whether or not he or she has done some slipping around. I'd like to see us be as civilized as countries like France, where, IIRC, both Mitterand's wife and his mistress attended his funeral and no one raised an eyebrow (except for the gauche Americans, of course). If we don't want politicians in our bedrooms (e.g., sodomy laws, anti-abortion, anti-contraception, whatever) than we all should stay out of theirs.
 

Teresa, I agree. I'll take a bad dog ove a wolf any day. A bad dog will back down or hesitate. A wolf will attack without warning or compulsion. Dick Cheney is a wolf, Bush is a bad dog running with a wolf pack.

John Edwards is a damn fool.
Not because he didn't keep his pants zipped, but because he thought he could lie and get away with it. The dicking around is none of our business. The lying about it and thus jepordizing the very election of a Democrat to the Presidency is all about our business.

John Edwards is a damn fool. I personally sent him money and gave him my support back in 2004, and recently. Bad dog, bad dog indeed. Where's that folded up newspaper at?
 

Hangs head. Slinks away. You can guess the answer.
 

I cheated on my college sweetheart, a rancher's daughter from western Oklahoma, with a Deadhead chick from Tulsa, at a party, in the back of a VW bus. We didn't do "it" but it more involved than stealin' kisses. My sweetheart never found out. But I felt so bad, I've never even been tempted since.
 

Ah yes, VW buses!
 

Nope, never did. Loyal like a labrador, that's me. :)

As for Edwards, he's a cheater and he's stupid. (But at least he isn't a hypocrite.)