I saw his tv show once, my mom loves all of those crossing over shows, first time I saw him I knew he was scum.

quatchi: There was nothing really new in that article

Yeah. At least half of that was in "Game Change," but it's nice to see the book validated again.

Actually the worse thing to come out of this case? There are still supporters of his coming to the court house everyday and cheering him as he gets out of his black SUV.

People are strange

Tex Watson has 4 kids.

I feel sorry for him.

And he would have been the best president in many decades probably while we know for sure that the swell guy that you would love to have a beer with wrecked this country and Iraq.

Douche is right in the headline and yet no South Park references.

For shame internet!

Vagina is powerful.

Aarontology: The best part about this headline is that it works with any famous John Edwards.

Obligatory:

contrapunctus: A scummy trial lawyer who made his fortune by destroying the lives of otherwise productive people turns out to be a sleazebag?

That little girl should have been grateful to the people who produced the drain that sucked out her entrails.

contrapunctus: HARD./u>b>

Is that a new emojicon?

notmtwain: Yes, but he isn't being tried for being a douchebag. What is this, TMZ?

// Sounds to me like he's going to avoid a conviction.

Alright, I'll admit that this isn't one I've really been following all that much. What is he being tried for? Screwing around on his wife? It seems that all the stories regarding testimony have something to do with his mistress...

notmtwain: Yes, but he isn't being tried for being a douchebag.

It's a good thing someone's willing to stand up in defense of the rich and powerful. Without your help, he'd be in a real jam. Just him and his high-powered lawyers. And his piles of money. Him, his high-powered lawyers and his piles of money. And his political connections. Him, his high-powered lawyers, his piles of money, and his political connections.

I'm glad you're there for him. That kind of unwavering loyalty brings a tear to my eye.

Mikey1969: notmtwain: Yes, but he isn't being tried for being a douchebag. What is this, TMZ?

// Sounds to me like he's going to avoid a conviction.

Alright, I'll admit that this isn't one I've really been following all that much. What is he being tried for? Screwing around on his wife? It seems that all the stories regarding testimony have something to do with his mistress...

Thank you, Kenneth Starr.

Mikey1969: notmtwain: Yes, but he isn't being tried for being a douchebag. What is this, TMZ?

// Sounds to me like he's going to avoid a conviction.

Alright, I'll admit that this isn't one I've really been following all that much. What is he being tried for? Screwing around on his wife? It seems that all the stories regarding testimony have something to do with his mistress...

I think it's campaign finance violations, which is hilarious.

Mikey1969: What is he being tried for?

Utilizing campaign donations to payoff/hide his mistress. Kind of a no-no in the biz. The real issue is whether the money he rec'd from Bunny Mellon was a campaign contribution or a personal gift. Another issue is whether he knew that Mellon had given him money that was used to hide the mistress. Gov't's prolly gonna lose, but not by much. And Edwards' character does appear much worse than many thought.

Humean_Nature: Diogenes: And would have seriously hurt the party. Selfish, egotistical jerkwad.

Somewhere out there, there is an alternate reality where the following happened:

Obama didn't gain traction. The Edwards affair stayed secret through the primary. Clinton couldn't spend any more of her personal money, so she stepped back for a vice-presidential spot. Edwards became the nominee and the affair came out as an October surprise. President McCain is elected, dies of heart failure (or whatever). BAM - President Palin.

All because Edwards is a colossal asshole.

If it's any consolation, Palin was obviously picked because the Democratic primary came down to a very popular and newsworthy showdown between two minorities. Had the Dems chosen a white guy as candidate, the GOP VP choice would probably still be another white guy. Unless you are talking about the darkest timeline...

Mikey1969: What is he being tried for?

I should have added that he is accused of trying to hide the mistress for political reasons, ala, it would hurt his chances for election. He claims he hid her for personal reasons, ala, to protect his marriage.

That may be the dumbest article I've seen on TPM in a while. It's better suited to TMZ and that's quite a comedown.

OMG! He called his mistress a crazy slut! He asked Sean Penn for help! He told his aide to f*ck himself! A famous heiress said he's a jerk!

Clearly the man is guilty of misusing campaign funds and should be hanged. And clearly, this article should be in the Entertainment tab.

I, too, already knew pretty much all of this stuff about him after reading "Game Change." What caught me by surprise is how stupid he is. He was caught by his shenanigans, and everybody knew it would come out. They knew he was doomed. He wouldn't believe it. John Edwards is too important. John Edwards will be VP. John Edwards will be on SCOTUS.

Man, is that guy dumb.

kid_icarus: I remember the interview with the mistress a few years back. She was a complete nutcase.

Which is what makes this story so interesting. She is indeed a flake of epic proportions, and isn't really all that much to look at. So the question is, why did Edwards put everything he had on the line for her?

Is she such a beast in the sack that he was always willing to trade loss or reputation and family and having to listen to her nutbaggery just for one more poke?

Is it a Lewinsky-type situation, where he just figured he was so above everyone else that he could just walk around sticking his dick into whatever he wanted and that no one would ever have the nerve to fault him for it?

Or is it a Hugh Grant-type situation, where he subconsciously wanted out of the marriage and this was his brain's demented way of engineering it?

Angry Drunk Bureaucrat: Look, I'll admit that I like Edwards early on in his campaign; at the time I though his message was spot on. However, after finding out that he thought he could hide his mistress from the public AND have a cancer stricken wife AND use campaign money to hide it and STILL be elected president... well, he now strikes me as a douchebag/idiot.

I'm proud to say that as a liberal, I never liked the guy. He always seemed smarmy, insincere, and douchy to me, and I made it clear to others my opinion of him when he was running for president. I do think he said a lot of the "right" things during the primary, sometimes to a greater extent than Obama or Hillary. But saying the right things ideologically isn't the same thing as being the right person for the job. So I supported Obama pretty early on in the primaries, even though I thought that Edwards was more liberal on the surface, because I just didn't trust something about him. I wasn't surprised to find out that my instincts were right.

This is why it's important to look at more than just ideological purity when picking a candidate for something as important as the presidency. If someone has a bunch of skeletons in their closet, it's irrelevant whether their views line up more with yours than the alternatives, because they're bound to self-destruct. Given the entitled culture among the American political elite, it's very important that people be thoroughly vetted for things like Edwards was up to. A LOT of politicians are just like Edwards, and it's important for their supporters to expose this stuff before the other side does (I'm looking at you, Newt! And Herman Cain!). Liberals are generally more likely to throw someone under the bus once they've shown they deserve it. Conservatives are more likely to circle the wagons and defend their guy, warts and all. It's an interesting contrast that says a lot about what the two movements value.

Uzzah: Is it a Lewinsky-type situation, where he just figured he was so above everyone else that he could just walk around sticking his dick into whatever he wanted and that no one would ever have the nerve to fault him for it?

This one.

Aarontology: Mugato: Aarontology: The best part about this headline is that it works with any famous John Edwards.

Yeah, i was hoping the story was about the psychic John Edwards and that he was raped and killed by rabid ocelots.

I'd like to see him try to get a cold read on them.

"I'm sensing... HOLY fark IM SENSING PAIN. LOTS AND LOTS OF PAIN"


"On the way we gotta stop at a toy store and at _least_ get him a stuffed animal. ... It's like... Meow-schwitz in there."

Fuggin Bizzy: notmtwain: Yes, but he isn't being tried for being a douchebag.

It's a good thing someone's willing to stand up in defense of the rich and powerful. Without your help, he'd be in a real jam. Just him and his high-powered lawyers. And his piles of money. Him, his high-powered lawyers and his piles of money. And his political connections. Him, his high-powered lawyers, his piles of money, and his political connections.

I'm glad you're there for him. That kind of unwavering loyalty brings a tear to my eye.

Just because you do not sympathize with the man -neither do I, by the way- doesn't mean that he doesn't deserve legal representation and a fair trial. But the integrity of the trial has to be preserved. Otherwise, completely apart from degrading the concept of trials in general, it also opens up holes which the aforementioned high-powered lawyers might be able to use to get a mistrial declared and the man set free. If this is worth doing -and I think it is- then it is worth doing properly.

Bringing up the affair was one thing, because it was necessary to prove that he had a motive for the crimes of which he's accused. What's going on now, however, goes rather beyond that.

Kibbler: I, too, already knew pretty much all of this stuff about him after reading "Game Change." What caught me by surprise is how stupid he is. He was caught by his shenanigans, and everybody knew it would come out. They knew he was doomed. He wouldn't believe it. John Edwards is too important. John Edwards will be VP. John Edwards will be on SCOTUS.

Man, is that guy dumb.

We call it Hubris. And one of the key features of those with this tragic flaw, is that they are too proud to realize that they might be... you know... TOO proud.

lysdexic: Mikey1969: notmtwain: Yes, but he isn't being tried for being a douchebag. What is this, TMZ?

// Sounds to me like he's going to avoid a conviction.

Alright, I'll admit that this isn't one I've really been following all that much. What is he being tried for? Screwing around on his wife? It seems that all the stories regarding testimony have something to do with his mistress...

Thank you, Kenneth Starr.

What's your point here? I asked what the investigation was about, and just stated that at this point, all the news on the story seems to be about the mistress...

When the scandal first hit, they made it seem like she was a "videographer" making a documentary about Edward's presidential bid. As it turns out, he actually met her in a bar, had her in his room a couple of hours later, and then concocted a $250K scheme to hire her as a filmmaker so she could join him on the campaign trail.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/13/rielle-hunter-john-edwards-_ n _1512964.html

But don't forget about the sex tape:

http://gawker.com/rielle-hunter

fawlty: Mikey1969: What is he being tried for?

Utilizing campaign donations to payoff/hide his mistress. Kind of a no-no in the biz. The real issue is whether the money he rec'd from Bunny Mellon was a campaign contribution or a personal gift. Another issue is whether he knew that Mellon had given him money that was used to hide the mistress. Gov't's prolly gonna lose, but not by much. And Edwards' character does appear much worse than many thought.

OK, that makes sense now. I couldn't understand why the mistress mattered before. What a moran.

What should you do when accused of having an illicit affair with a presidential candidate? Pose for a national magazine in your underwear:

I really thought the prosecution had more. Instead all they had was dirty laundry, but precious little substantive or relevant proof.

Yes, Edwards got a fat check from someone who also had donated to his campaign, and yes he used it to pay off and hide his mistress and kid. But the things the prosecution did NOT prove are: 1) the payment was clearly an illegal campaign contribution; 2) it was used on campaign related costs; or 3) It was not a personal gift from one person to another. Edwards paid gift tax on it for fark's sake, so he treated it as income, not a donation. So where exactly is the evidence of a CAMPAIGN DONATION law violation?

Say what you will, dawgs. But at least, Monica Lewinky was not impregnated by Clinton. She only blew him!

This just further demonstrates that both sides are bad.

"I told him if it was true that he was having an affair with Ms. Hunter, he should not run for president," Scher testified. "If it was true, eventually it would come out and it would destroy his political career."

This is what pisses me off the most about Edwards. He knew this was all going to come out sooner or later and he still decided to run. Just think if he had actually got the nomination and was elected and then it all came out. What an ass.

bugontherug: cefm: 3) It was not a personal gift from one person to another. Edwards paid gift tax on it for fark's sake,

These two statements seem incompatible.

You don't pay a gift tax on a personal gift, like if your granny gives you a thousand dollars for your birthday. You pay gift taxes for professional or commercial gifts, like if your business gives you a thousand dollars bonus for being a good employee.

Designer Bryan Huffman, an interior designer who is close with 101-year-old Edwards donor Bunny Mellon, testified that the heiress wasn't one to judge someone having an extramarital affair but did have an opinion about how her money was spent.

"She thought maybe you should probably pay for your girlfriend yourself," Huffman testified.

I think that Huffman just created JE's political epitaph.

If this man was a Republican, the talk-radio clowns would still be defending him all the way to the end.