Reality Check About Extramarital Affairs

[LBJDemocrat]

MOST politicians probably have had affairs. MOST powerful people probably have had affairs. Most of those affairs never get discovered by the press. Get real and give me a fucking break.

Bill Clinton? Cheated on his wife.
George H. W. Bush? Cheated on his wife.
JFK? Most likely cheated on his wife.

I don't give a flying fuck, as a citizen, what they do. Is it immoral and repulsive behavior? Yes. But this tabloid bullshit is distracting us from the real issue of the moment - the war in Georgia.

I don't care when a Republican cheats on his wife, nor when a Democrat does it. Nor do I start whining about hypocrisy, because, in truth, while the candidate is technically a hypocrite, it's irrelevant. When a candidate talks about family values, he's talking about it as the representative of his constituents. We don't require pro-labor candidates to be bona fide proletarians.

Talk about naivete. You think someone in the top halls of power, who has the world basically kissing his ass 24/7 to get political favors - you think most of these people are faithful to their wives? Grow the fuck up.

[LBJDemocrat]

1. Kick

[TexasObserver]

2. You are in the minority. Informed, responsible citizens do care.

[NYCGirl]

3. Did the others also put their girlfriends on the payroll and pay them out

of PAC money?

[EFerrari]

8. Do you seriously not know that politicians give jobs to their friends

and family?

[NYCGirl]

11. And to their lovers who are unqualified so they can travel around

the world together? Does that make it OK?

[EFerrari]

14. But that speaks to campaign finance reform, not to John Edwards.

We routinely fork over tons of money and get not accounting.

Somehow this is now Edwards' fault?

[WeDidIt]

4. If it's so meaningless

why did Edwards LIE about it during the campaign?

[LBJDemocrat]

5. Because of the immaturity of the American public

and its third for infotainment. You know, the same people who think it's a drag to talk about labor rights, as opposed to talking about Paris Hilton.

[WeDidIt]

7. Then he should not have run

because these things ALWAYS come out.

If he wanted to keep it private, he should not have sought the biggest PUBLIC office in the world.

[LBJDemocrat]

9. "because these things ALWAYS come out."

Wow. And you would know... how, exactly? It didn't come out against GHW Bush in 1988, and while it did come out against Clinton in 1992, it wasn't established beyond any doubt. Or how about McCain? Are we sure he's been faithful to Cindy? He wasn't faithful to his first wife.

[WeDidIt]

10. If Edwards wanted to be treated like Bush or McCain

he should ahve waited until 20200 to run.

And yes, in 1988, I heard about Bush Sr.'s affairs. They happened years before.

And Bush, McCain, and even Clinton didn't put former lovers on their payroll with a six figure salary.

[LBJDemocrat]

12. Wrong about GHWB

The affair went on into the 80s, and he gave her one cushy job after another. It's called patronage, and it's still common practice.

[KharmaTrain]

6. All Politicians Screw Something

Take your pick...the campaign staffer or the economy. One we see and get all the tawdry details...far more than is needed, while the other is avoided because "people aren't interested". One gets ratings and hate radio tubes burning, the other requires critical thinking and substance. You know how the coporate media is going to go here.

And look at how many on DU took the bait.

Far be it from me to play moral judge here...nor on any of these scandals...be it (D) or (R)...the ultimate judge are the voters. Not the corporate media...the voters.

In short, even without the sexual mess, the Democratic primary voters didn't think Edwards was qualified to be at the top of the ticket (agree or not).

[girl gone mad]

13. If you think it's distracting us..

then why start yet another thread about it?