Reader Brad W thought I wasn’t being fair to Bill Clinton when I said I thought Bill’s infidelity was just as reckless as Edwards’. He wrote…

To be fair, Clinton probably never thought they’d go so far as to impeach him over a blowjob. If he thought at all, it was probably along the lines of, JFK did it, Ike did it, FDR did it, no problem. He didn’t know — he couldn’t know — that the GOP would have gone so far, especially when so many of them were likewise guilty. Maybe he should’ve suspected, but that’s water under the belt.

I respectfully disagree. Clinton had been dogged by sex scandal charges from the time (and maybe before) he was Governor. When your wife has to go on national TV with you and tell the world that you’re not a bastard, any subsequent bastardly behavior is just insane, egomaniacal and/or ragingly reckless. And when you represent the country and the party and you put their reputations on the line with you, you’re just an ass. I voted for the guy. He was a raging disappointment.

Former Edwards supporter Jay S shared the following thoughtful note about the Edwards, ahem, affair…

 As a former Edwards supporter I was more disappointed than angry.  I have a great admiration for Elizabeth Edwards and the fact he did come clean to her long before the public story broke is a good thing from the personal family side of the issue.  How in the world he really thought he could keep something like this private during a run for the presidency is beyond me.  Up through the 60’s or even the 70’s I think it might have been possible, but the press stopped “looking the other way” a long time ago (ask Gary Hart among others).  I am sorry for his family, but I am also deeply saddened that one of the most effective public advocates for ending poverty both in the US and around the World will no longer be able to deliver his message effectively.  This is not to say that he can’t continue to work against poverty.  He should, but as one would say in the electronic communications world, the signal will be eclipsed by the noise.  Without this scandal I
would just about guarantee he would have been THE anti-poverty person in the Obama administration (personally I never got why some favored him for Attorney General…Senator Dodd would be the one for that position).  Of course this doesn’t mean that good progress cannot be made against poverty, it can, but the road is that much easier with a strong public face for an issue that doesn’t rate well in popularity.  I don’t regret my support of Edwards, as, of course, I had no idea he had previously compromised himself.  I still fully support all the ideals he championed.

I think back on a good op ed by Glen Greenwald during the FISA votes.  He took Obama to task for his position and noted the odd rage shown by some of Obama’s supporters towards those who also were disturbed by his support for the bill.  I was not so much bothered by Obama’s reversal on his previous pledge to filibuster as I was by his poor justification (he is a Constitutional law scholar) of an incredibly flawed bill.  Regardless, Greenwald adroitly noted that we, as voters, should always temper our support of a candidate critically.  To excessively elevate a person in stature risks elevating them beyond criticism.  Obama is human.

And so John Edwards too, is human.  Obviously he is not a saint; but nor is he the devil (well, probably to some conservative corporate types he is ).  He has made some very bad mistakes of judgment and will pay the price.  Societally we are the poorer for it.  However it is nothing particularly new, and in the end, life goes on (we have a @#$%ing election to win, after all).  I hope he and his family will work though the issue and I hope that other politicians will learn (yeah…probably that last part won’t happen).  For the rest of us, if you care about ending poverty, if you care about good jobs and livable wages, if you care about healthcare…don’t let Edwards’ mistakes stop you, (just as Obama’s FISA vote didn’t end my advocacy for the Constitution…nor my ultimate support for Obama).  It’s not about the person, it’s about the larger issues.

Thanks for the notes fellas.

Stumble it!

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