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John Edwards Ducks Rielle Hunter
Elise Amendola / AP Photo
Speaking at Brown University last night, the one-time presidential candidate for the first time publicly addressed the distress of one of his former supporters. (Definitely former—she was wearing a black Obama "HOPE" T-shirt.) It was a poignant moment.
Before a packed audience of almost 600 at Brown University last night, John Edwards made his second public appearance since the presidential election. At Indiana University in November, Edwards answered only prescreened questions. Edwards still seemed cautious—his contract for the Brown event specifically prohibited videotaping. But he did answer a variety of questions—unscreened this time—from students for almost a half hour. And, for the first time, he publicly responded to the disappointment of one former supporter who pressed the former senator about holding politicians to higher standards.
His half-hour speech, titled “Beautiful America,” focused on the centerpiece of his presidential campaign, the plight of the poor.
Was it right for the public to judge candidates by this higher moral standard? The question presented the tensest moment of the night.
If he was hoping for a sympathetic audience, Edwards picked the right place. Brown students asked questions about campus warhorses like youth activism, corporate social responsibility, and the drug war—nothing about his affair with former staffer Rielle Hunter.
One student, however, came close: Emilie Aries, a senior at Brown concentrating in political science, who had volunteered for the Edwards campaign for about a year, going door-to-door for him in New Hampshire.
“So as someone who believed in you,” she said, “I really wanted to afford you the opportunity to speak on something that I think Joe Trippi, your former campaign manager, explains pretty well toward the end of his book, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. And in there, he says something about the American public judging candidates to hold a higher moral standard, on a higher moral standard, than they would judge normal people in our daily lives.”
Was it right for the public to judge candidates by this higher moral standard? The question presented the tensest moment of the night.
Edwards didn’t give a direct answer. He said, “I don't think it's for me to impose my judgment on anybody about what they can consider and what they can't consider. I think that I have my own view, which I'm going to keep to myself tonight, but I think in the long run it is enormously important for us to have the best thinkers, the most visionary people, and people who know where the country needs to go and where the world needs to go, I think that is absolutely crucial for America and the world.”
Afterward, Aries said she was less than satisfied. She was hoping for a fuller apology from the former candidate.
The one that came after the revelation of his affair was a disappointment. “I didn't want to hear about his ego, I wanted to hear him apologize to the people like me who worked to the point of illness on our own time, our Christmas, basically.”
The eerie silence in the lecture hall over Edwards’ affair also bothered Aries.
“It's stupid that we all have to sit in there thinking the same thing and nobody actually talks about it,” she said.
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Jacob Bernstein is a senior reporter at The Daily Beast. Previously, he was a features writer at WWD and W Magazine. He has also written for New York magazine, Paper, and The Huffington Post.
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Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
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Jeff Madrick is a contributor to the New York Review of Books and a former economics columnist for the New York Times. He is editor of Challenge Magazine, visiting professor of humanities at Cooper Union, and senior fellow at the New School's Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. He is the author of Taking America, The End of Affluence (Random House) and The Case for Big Government.
Matt Sledge can't be a real name.
I thank God, that John and Elizabeth Edwards have worked hard and preserved their marriage. We need both of them as advocates against poverty and for Universal Health Care.
What John Edwards needs to do is to stop pontificating to America. He needs to devote his time and attention to his terminally ill wife, his children - and if it's true that he fathered a child with his mistress, to that child too. He has more than enough on his plate, and if he concentrated on those priorities with real humility and love he might actually redeem himself.
Cherubim, glad to see you're still just as much of a douchebag as ever.
Well done.
By the way, I'm sorry things didn't work out between
Ms. Aries and Senator John Edwards, but she always knew he was already married.
Cherubim, your comment is terribly offensive to a fellow woman and one-time supporter of John Edwards. I strongly believe that I am far from alone. I feel that Edwards has lost the future vote of women. Among this group, his integrity has been damaged beyond repair, IMO.
I think that there will be continued and much-needed discussion about the moral standard set by the politicians who serve us. The voting public deserves better! John Edwards cannot possibly resurrect his political career without coming completely clean about his moral transgressions, IMO. The public is owed answers to the tough questions that Edwards is currently skirting.
Future ambitious politicians might take heed of the continued fallout from Edwards "fall from grace." America needs a better thinker than this. It needs visionary who knows how important honesty is. America is in need of someone who sets a positive, moral standard which others want to emulate. It does not need someone who will keep dig a trench to escape the spotlight and much-needed scrutiny! What Edwards continues to do in the aftermath of his affair is so much more than disappointing; it is sickening.
I LIKE BOTH ELIZABETH, AND JOHN EDWARDS, I'M ALSO GLAD THEY, HAVE DECIDED TO STAY TOGETHER, PEOPLE DO MAKE MISTAKES
Please remind me why anyone is paying any attention to John Edwards. He is and was an empty suit.
Cherubim, while I find your attempt to discredit my question to Sen. Edwards amusing, I supported him because of his commitment to bridging our economic gap in this country. It was his hubris, which your ridiculous suggestion contributes to, that led to his own demise. I wonder whether you'd be drawing the same conclusion about my intentions if my question had been yielded by a male member of the audience.
Great point, Politicker! Here are some more questions from another former supporter: Was it "best thinking" to publicly disgrace and betray your cancer-ridden wife who admitted just how important fidelity was to her even before your marriage to her? What lasting "vision" will your own children have when they realize just how shallow your own family commitment has been? Will you be able to lead the advocacy movement when "damage control" is one of your priorities? Is your self-professed narcissism currently interfering with your ability to be honest with the public? How can you be trusted to lead America and/or the world when so many unanswered questions remain? How much longer will we be taken for fools?
Hey, Cherubim, why don't you get your head out of Edwards' ass? Should a senator cheat on his wife (who is living with Cancer) with a member of his staff? Not in my America, not in my America.
Grown up, ass clown.
I would agree with jacobin to a point. I admit, however, that I do care because he has received a way to easy ride. The man was always a "phony". But when he got busted, he never paid a price. The old medicine man being "tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail" and publicly shunned comes to mind.
I regret that this young woman's trust was betrayed by Sen. Edwards inability to keep it in his pants. I suppose she supported the impeachment of Bill Clinton as well.
I for one, find such matters immaterial to the issues facing our nation, and none of my damned business...
What a pointless article.
On the underlying question about personal morality and leadership, let's compare the condition of the country after GW Bush left office with the condition of the country when Bill Clinton left office.
Lord knows, nobody ever accused Dubya of being a philander--and everyone knows that Clinton chased (and caught) every woman who caught his eye. How many of us want to go back to the Bush days? In contrast, how many would happily return to Clinton's days in the Oval Office? There have been other notable womanizers--FDR, JFK, Washington, Jefferson (Sally Hemmings), etc., and I'm sure there were others who made substantial contributions to the country. There personal behavior didn't enter in.
Today, it would seem the American public is obcessed with being voyeurs at the bedside of every notable poltician, actor or athelete..not to mention Joe Schmoe, next door. Morally, it really isn't any of our business, is it? Isn't there something in the Bible about "judge not, that ye be not judged?"
Am I defending philanderers? Definitely not. But personal relationships are and should be the business of the people in them unless they involve criminal behavior. There isn't any reason to believe that Edwards was any less committed to the cause of fighting poverty after he had his affair than before.
Sorry, Ms. Aries if your sophomoric passion for the cause was extinguished by the behavior of the man who espoused it. Apparently he's still willing to fight for it despite potential personal embarrassement and you are not. What, exactly, does that say about both of you?
Based on his behavior, I sure wouldn't want him to be my brother-in-law. But his behavior doesn't say anything about his ability to govern.
The measure of Mr. Edwards character will not be that he fell from grace by possibly fathering a child outside of his marriage. The measure of his character will be whether he acknowledges this child and welcomes it to his family of 4 older children, one of whom died at age 16. They are all his children. To deny one his "fathering" would be the major sin here, not the initial fathering. That is the minor sin and a private matter between him and his wonderful wife, Elizabeth.
I was actually surprised that John Edwards had an affair. I always thought he was in love with his hair.
LOL!! Right on target!
There is actually no direct correlation between upholding high moral standards and the exercise of outstanding presidential leadership. FDR, Eisenhower, JFK, Clinton, and others, they all had their well known affairs, but anyone of these guys ran the country one thousand percent better than saintly G.W. Bush.
We don't know how what it took to keep their indiscretions from the light of day. Could they have done better were the time and focus spent on maintaining secrecy, not to mention the time and effort the bad behavior depleted used towards productive behavior? Do you want your hard earned taxes wasted by babysitting and cleaning up messes left in the wake of our leaders? Are they responsible for decisions that result in consequences of incredible magnitude? If so, would it be better for all of us and in line with what we pay them to do, that they have a moral compass to judge by? If they are above the law, does that make it easier for them to declare laws that would be harmful to the 'regular folk' that sit beneath their dining room tables in order to be fed?
Your hostility to saints and support of immorality answers the questions and says a lot about who you are.
America is a young nation. Our collective public psyche seems to lack the ability to distinguish between the man and the idea. We hold our political leaders to a standard of personal conduct that, collectively, we do not hold ourselves. However, those who enter the public arena know that going in, and so they effectively consent to this unspoken "contract". So while I don't agree with the childish relationship we have with our politicians, like children in the schoolyard shaking fingers at the one who's been naughty, I accept this is reality and those who enter the fray must act accordingly or face public ridicule. However, I wish my fellow citizens would start to get a little maturity and learn not to judge ideas by the people who may espouse them. The neo-con republicans have exploited this childishness of the American intellect and used it as a tool to gain power that has subsequently led our nation to the brink of economic collapse. All men are flawed and have foibles. Let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Grow up folks.
The point is that actions that could result in damaging consequences to the life of any political leader can be used as blackmail and affect his decisions.
For example a plot to assassinate Ted Kennedy was almost successful due to the fact that one of his gay aids was blackmailed by an undercover lover.
IT SEEMS, JOHN EDWARDS, AND ELIZABETH, HAVE WORKED TROUGH THEIR PROBLEM, I AM GLAD THE DID, THEY SEEM LIKE NICE PEOPLE, IT SEEMS SHE HAS FORGIVEN HIM
I don't think this discussion is pointless. The point is valid. Do we, as Americans, hold our elected officials to a higher standard of ethical conduct than we do ourselves? Do we as Americans, honor ourselves and our country by doing just that?
If we hold elected and ppointed officials to a higher standard across the board, regarding all behavior, then I believe that is acceptable. We are talking about people who have the responsibility to manage trillions of our dollars for the 'common good'. A guy who steals out of the petty cash box isn't the guy I want watching my tax dollars.
But if we only hold them to selective higher standards, then no, it is not acceptable. We do ourselves no honor by playing sex police and not bribery police, or tax evasion police or illegal campaign contributions police.
I wish that John and Elizabeth Edwards' situation could play out in private. It seems to me that this is and should remain a private matter. That said, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards chose a public career, and Mr. Edwards, in full knowledge of the existence of the National Enquirer and the like, and their insatiable interest in publci figures, as well as right-wing radical nut-jobs with long-lens cameras, could not honor his marriage vows.
In other words, honoring his marriage vows or not doesn't concern me nearly as much as the stupidity and hubris that led him to believe that no one would know.
Public figures, especially political figures, have no privacy. Right, wrong or indifferent, that is a fact that any politican and his family members knows altogether too well.
So how come John Edwards thought he could pull something like this and no one find out?
LIke I said: arrogance or stupidity. Either one is not a characteristic I want in an elected official. Do you?
I hate to say it but I do expect a higher moral standard from candidates, though realizing at the same time they are human and subject to flaws.
Edwards is a pig. By staying in the Presidential race knowing he would never win due to his adultrous affair he helped destroy Hillary Clinton's chance to be President. Hillary would be President today if not for Edwards selfish behavior. I have often wondered if Obama's campaign paid Edwards to stay in the race long enough to hurt Hillary.
At the time I wondered why the media all but ignored Edwards. I think they knew about his affair and failed to break the story.
Also, if the media knew of Edwards affair (and I am told on good authority that they did know or suspect) why didn't they break the story earlier? I know that the entire media was promoting Obama 24/7 for two years but this covering up of Edwards affair is unacceptable.
It takes the National Enquirer to break the story?
I like Elizabeth Edwards but she should kick John to the gutter where he belongs.
He's a phony. I worked on the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004 and Edwards is obsessed with his hair and diet Coke. In that order.
Universities and colleges should not waste money on his speeches. He's simply not worthy. At the very least students and audience members should be able to ask him any question they want and demand answers.
Maybe naively this young woman thought she was campaigning for an honest politician, ergo the disappointment.
If Mr Edwards could have his wife out stumping for him while lying to her on a daily basis imagine how easy it would be for him to lie to the American people.
Elizabeth Edwards has no choice but to put up with John's behavior. The woman has incurable cancer and two young children. And John Edwards cared so little for his wife, his supporters and his causes that he engaged in behavior that totally destroyed his credibility. Yes, I voted for him in the California primary and will regret that vote for the rest of my life.
I think the article misses the point. The issue with Edwards has little to do with holding elected officials to higher standards. The issue is his betrayed of the poor Democrats and the country itself. Specifically had Edwards won the primary and the scandel broke during the election he would have handed the presidency to Republicans.
I don't think his affair hurts him as much as the incredibly stupid way he handled it. The affair story was around forever and he fervently denied it.
Then he admitted the affair and issued a tepid apology, which made him appear to be not sorry about the affair, but sorry he got caught. And he didn't admit to the affair until his bid for the nomination was well over. Eventually, I believe, he will admit to being the baby's father.
The only hope a politician has of managing a scandal of this magnitude is to come clean the minute he knows the story is going to break.
For his supporters his crime is of lying for so long when the facts were out there. The public can eventually forgive a politician for an affair because it is the spouse that is betrayed.
But when John Edwards repeatedly lied he betrayed every single person who supported him. For his supporters the affair and the lying are a personal offense against them.
John still doesn't seem to grasp that. How stupid and selfish can a grown man be?
I keep reading these "wonderful wife" comments and how Mrs. Edwards is so far above her husbands garbage, well, she's not above Johns garbage, she is wallowing in it as deep as he is.
She knew that her husband was a liar, a cheat and certainly not fit to lead a nation, not this nation anyway, yet she continued to stand up before the voters of this country and tout the ethical supremecy of her husband to that of the other cantidates.
She knew of his lies, yet she touted his honesty, she knew of his infidelity, yet she touted his integrity, she knew he was the opposite of everything he presented himself to be, yet she stood up there and held him up as a worthy cantidate. No, she is just as bad as he is, or worse, because she knew the truth when SHE was telling us lies.
I'm sorry she is ill, I feel compassion towards her because of her medical condition, but just because she is ill I can't pretend like she didn't lie to our faces for the sake of her and her husbands political gain.
She is no saint, and she as the cowardly husband that she deserves.
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