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Oh boy! He claims that yes, the Enquirer was correct that he was visiting her, the child isn’t his, and Rielle Hunter is his lover, but he doesn’t love her:
In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 42-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her.
Edwards also denied he was the father of Hunter’s baby girl, Frances Quinn, although the one-time Democratic Presidential candidate said he has not taken a paternity test.
Edwards said he knew he was not the father based on timing of the baby’s birth on February 27, 2008. He said his affair ended too soon for him to have been the father…
Edwards said his wife, Elizabeth, and others in his family became aware of the affair in 2006.
Edwards made a point of telling Woodruff that his wife’s cancer was in remission when he began the affair with Hunter…
Edwards today admitted the National Enquirer was correct when it reported he had visited Hunter at the Beverly Hills Hilton last month.
The former Senator said his wife had not known about the meeting.
So her being in remission somehow makes the affair okay? She is still his wife! And why would he visit the woman and child at a hotel at 9:30 at night, if in fact the affair was over, and he is not the father 
? What’s love got to with it?
Allahpundit wonders:
Who forced him to finally ‘fess up? The Enquirer? Hunter? The Obama campaign? Other Democratic power brokers? Mickey Kaus? Who, I ask you?
Deceiver notes that Brian Ross of ABC was digging around on the story. Possibly (probably?) what happened is that ABC somehow confirmed it and went to Edwards with the evidence to give him a chance to respond before they went public. Result: A monster exclusive interview. If this is how it went down, Ross is an exception to the sort of elitism that kept big media away from a story broken by the Enquirer.
Edwards Admits Affair
Nuance: But Denies Child
More Nuance: Oh, By the Way, I Didn’t Love Her, So It’s Cool
BEST NUANCE EVER: I Didn’t Pay Her Off, But “Possibly” My Friends Did Without Telling Me!
More Allahpundit:
Update: People in the comments are seizing on him saying he didn’t love Hunter but that’s obviously designed to limit the injury to his wife. There are, after all, three ways in which Edwards is still potentially exposed here: (1) if it turns out he cheated while his wife was sick, (2) if he knew about money changing hands, and (3) of course, if he’s the kid’s father. If his hands are clean on those then he’s “only” guilty of something millions of other men are guilty of. If they aren’t…
Update: Actually, here’s arguably the most corrupt element of the whole story: “According to friends of Hunter, Edwards met her at a New York city bar in 2006. His political action committee later paid her $114,000 to produce campaign website documentaries despite her lack of experience.” Also, Ace wonders how dearly loved a man must be by his friends for it to be “possible” that they paid off his mistress on his behalf without so much as telling him.
Update: Good catch by Media Blog. Edwards says his family found out about the affair in 2006, but according to the December 25, 2006 issue of Newsweek, Hunter was still “under contract” with the campaign. Would he really have kept her on after he told his wife given the unbelievable awkwardness that would entail?
Update: Commenters are noting that they saved the story for Friday afternoon. Not just Friday afternoon, though — it’s also day one of the Olympics. I wonder how long ago Edwards ‘fessed up to ABC and what conditions he placed on the timing of the story’s release in return for the exclusive.
Update: Why is it so important to Edwards to have people think the affair ended in 2006 even though, per the Media Blog item above, that’s unlikely? Spruiell explains:
Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed with incurable cancer in late March of 2007. Rielle Hunter’s baby was born in late February of 2008. That means that if Edwards is the father, he was definitely still carrying on the affair with Hunter after he knew his wife’s cancer was back.
Update: Another interesting bit about the timing: Obama’s just starting his weeklong vacation. Doubtless this announcement was coordinated with Team Barry to get it out there when it won’t be a distraction to the campaign. This way, when Obama comes back next week, it’s already old news. Unless, of course, the media finds new evidence on any of those three areas of exposure I mentioned above.
Update: A spin unanticipated by Kaus: After resolutely failing to do its job by investigating, the media — in the person of David Shuster — decides it’s a victim here too.
There’s going to be a whole round for the next 24 to 36 hours of all the staff members who were telling all of us in the media, ‘don’t go for this garbage, the story’s complete nonsense, it’s complete bull.’ Well now these people are going to have to come out and make their round of apologies, and in the same course of doing that, in terms of their apologies to us, they’re going to rip John Edwards apart for misleading them.
Update: No one around Edwards knew anything, of course. Not a soul. Except, of course, the family itself and those super-keen friends of his who “possibly” gave Hunter money completely unbeknownst to Edwards. Cue David Bonior, former Edwards campaign manager:
David Bonior, Edwards’ campaign manager for his 2008 presidential bid, said Friday he was disappointed and angry after hearing about Edwards’ confession.
“Thousands of friends of the senators and his supporters have put their faith and confidence in him and he’s let him down,” said Bonior, a former congressman from Michigan. “They’ve been betrayed by his action.”
Asked whether the affair would damage Edwards’ future aspirations in public service, Bonior replied: “You can’t lie in politics and expect to have people’s confidence.”
Question for Bonior: Why’d you dismiss Hunter as campaign documentarian?
Just think, when I first reported the story, SFL said:
It’s just crap journalism, period.
It is NOT a “respected” journalistic establishment, at all, and Drudge, RV and anyone who picks up this garbage and cites it should be ashamed.
I don’t care who buys it, Democrat or Republican, either person would be wasting their money in my opinion.
And:
Pam, your first mistake was reading the NE. Your second mistake was posting the link, along with drudge, to the NE on a political commentary website.
It’s just fucking retarded, that’s all.
You lower yourself and your website by citing such garbage.
If you want to run a smear story on Edwards, my suggestion to you would be to look somewhere a little more credibility.
What’s next, Bat-Boy is Bills secret love child?
come on…you guys can do better here. (maybe)
“The National Enquirer is no less credible than the New York Times, AP or Reuters”
———-
See, that’s where you are wrong.
It may believe it is personally, or with a group of people who might, but seriously…it isn’t with many more people than that.
Bat-Boy.
Alien Abductions.
Lame.
No one takes this rag seriously, and for very good reasons.
As far as Edwards being “callous”, I wouldn’t know. I’ve never met him.
Tons more blog reaction at Memeorandum
20 Responses to “John Edwards Half-Assed Admission Of An Affair To Remember….I Didn’t Pay Her Off, But “Possibly” My Friends Did Without Telling Me!”
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[…] Original post by Right Voices […]
San Francisco Liberal is partially correct, at least indirectly, because none of this matters anyway. Edwards isn’t running for anything, and this is a private matter between him and his family and nobody else. Bringing these allegations up endlessly is suspicious. Perhaps it is an attempt to mask the failures of Bush? Direct attention away from the Republican culture of corruption?
I am not defending the San Francisco Liberal. He is childishly naieve and i owe him nothing anyway.
I think it is just as plausible that Edwards “admitted” to having an affair just to bring these years of endless speculation, endless gossip, tabloid activism to an end. Even if it never happened, at least this will end it. Thats why his wife doesn’t seem to care. This was all planned just to get the tabloids off his back.
Anyway even if it is true it is very easy to see how the stress, the pressure of trying to counter the Bush machine could cause almost anyone to act erratically in an effort at escapism. This is the sort of atmosphere Bush/Cheney created. It would be very understandable and excusable because of them.
That is what this story should about. Bush lied thousands died! Where are the WMDs? We have a war for oil! The Bush admin blew the cover of a CIA agent, putting her in grave danger!
That is what everyone should be talking about. Not this so-called Edwards admission that was probably just done and planned to close the matter when he didn’t do it anyway!
DA you are very wrong as this matters a great deal. For starters Edwards was a presidential candidate and was on the VP ticket before and slated as a current possible now.
Your charge that it was Bushes fault shows the level of ignorance and hatred liberals generally exhibit. That’s truly a shame but what can you do?
Like it or not there are a great many people in this country who do not look favorably on affairs, especially from our politicians. We expect more. At least conservatives do. Liberals anything goes in society attitude hurts people when all is said and done in ways that go unacknowledge by the left. Again, it seems the strategy of liberals is to blame conservatives and more specifically Bush. What are you going to do when he leaves office? Who will you have to blame for the democrats failures then? Is Pelosi’s hatred of Bush the reason why she didn’t do her job for the 70% of Americans who want offshore drilling?
Puhleese.
Yes of course! EVERYTHING bad that happens is Bush’s fault, Bush/Cheney’s fault, or the fault of the Republicans and Corporations! Even when Bush leaves office they’ll still be blaming him for the next 10 years.
It is part of the mental illness. Liberals can never take responsibility for themselves, for their own actions and decisions. It is always someone else’s fault when they are looking to rationalize failure.
LOL that Pam posted the quote from SFL declaring reports of this were wrong. But he won’t be posting any time soon admitting that he was wrong. Another trait of Liberals is they never will admit they were/are wrong. Instead they twist and spin and try to rationalize. Or just disappear and never be held accountable for their position.
Edwards is just another lying pos politician. And we have an oversupply of them now; it’s frankly cliche. I saw his attempt at spin last night. He said he came clean and told all to his family back in 2006. Okay, fine whatever. I feel sorry for them and whatever he does in that respect is his business only.
The part that is more interesting and applicable to public discourse is that he lied to the American people while he was a candidate for POTUS. In Clintonian fashion, he looked them straight in the eye and lied.
So like Klinton, Like Obama, when someone can look the American people in the eyes and lie, how can the pos ever be trusted? How can we trust that person with the responsibility for the future of our country, with above Top Secret information, with making decisions that affect us now and for generations? I sure as hell can’t and won’t. THAT is the big story here, the one that matters. And idiot Liberals, democrites, and their apologists once again won’t even acknowledge that let alone debate it.
Edwards is Just another PATHETIC PRETTY BOY, WITH HIS POOR MAMA PROTECTING HIM. NARCARSSIST DEMS - LIKE ‘BABY DADDY’ OBAMA! PUKE! GAGWITHSPOON! This is getting more than all of us can stomach, without getting sick. Buffoons!
SFL, you owe the group an apology. I think SFL ought to be banned unless he can own up to his lies.
It is high time Liberals, especially SFL, pay a high price for lying.
Hi PCD. At the very least he owes Pam an apology. BUT, as usual when SFL is wrong he is mia.
Liberals should be paying the price for lying and I’m hoping this election cycle will be when.
I cannot believe that even now there are people so rank stupid that they demand, not just think, but actually DEMAND THAT YOU ALSO BELIEVE, that the war in Iraq was about oil.
Democrat Activist, since you are one of those idiots, could you perhaps answer a question for me? It’s been bugging me for some time, and only a fruitcake like yourself could possibly explain it.
Ready? Here goes: If the war in Iraq was about oil, as you say, and America has had control of Iraq as a “conqueror” for close-on five years now…
…THEN WHY THE HELL IS THE PRICE OF OIL SO HIGH, YOU FREAKING BUFFOON?!?!?!
Can someone do the math to explain how $60 billion in oil is worth a $140 billion war? I’m a little lost on this logic, but democrats seem to think it’s a valid point somehow, and some really stupid ones are STILL trying to use it like a club. I heard one feeble-minded goob call in to a local talk radio show last week with that claim.
And by the way, the only reason you think the Edwards Affair is unimportant is because he’s a democrat. You can bet your prayer beads that if this were a story about Bob Dole, Newt Gingrich, or any other Republican former presidential (or vice presidential) candidate you’d be sitting on your roof with a megaphone right now.
The funny thing is that you called someone ELSE “childishly naive.” (By the way, there’s more oil in ANWR than in Iraq. Just so you know, we could have gotten more oil, with no loss of life and little cost to the American taxpayer, simply be releasing the drilling moratorium. Perhaps you should consider researching a subject before you rant on it.)
To everyone else making comments about the National Enquirer and connecting them to stories about “Bat Boy” and Elvis: you’re confusing the Enquirer with the Weekly World News. WWN is a ragloid in every sense of the word. I routinely use it in my classroom as an example of an incredible information source. The National Enquirer has its faults, including focusing more on scandal than on actual news most of the time, they they have never run a headline about aliens in the House of Representatives.
Not even when I’ve sent them photos of Pelosi as evidence. They claim the pics are photoshopped.
Angry D.
http://angryd.livejournal.com
Angry D, I am absolutely convinced, no joking, that Pelosi is seriously mentally ill. I am not a psychologist, I am just going by gut feelings. But I am convinced.
I am guessing the Democrat talking point for addressing the price of oil is it is manipulated by the Corporations, plus Bush/Cheney. Those with IQs above room temperature who also can think for themselves know that oil is a commodity on the world market just like pork bellies and grain. But the Democrite fantasy is that somehow its all the oil companies fault. Never mind 40 years of systematic maneuvering by Democrites and Ecowhackos to put us behind the eight ball.
Okay Angry D,
But can you say that you bought your nephew the Bat Boy book?
We used to love to follow his trials and tribulations at the checkout counter, and when there was a good enough tall tale, we bought the issue. When I saw that book, a compilation of his life story, I knew that the kid would love it! 
Other than that, carry on!
Hanky Panky, pay offs, insider trading, lying, greed, pork barrels, betrayal, to name a few of which the Demorats are thick as thieves along this line. The Congress has robbed every American out of hard earned money and given it away to lazy Americans that have had a hand out and hard luck story, plus lined their pockets as well. PAY DAY IS HERE!The Democrat Congress’s Luck has run out, we are all wise to their shady deals plus fleecing of America. Pelosi leading the pack of lying Demorat theives, we are on to you and your crooked deals. NO NO NO, it won’t be so easy to fool everyone any more. Your chickens have come home to roost. Pelosi, you sowed to the Wind and you will reap the Whirlwind. It couldn’t happen to a better Witch. Hop on your broom and leave the country!
Take Obama with you!!!
This whole thing is such a steaming pile of crap. Edwards looks into the cameras and glibly professes he’ll take a paternity test, in fact he welcomes a paternity test!
So moonbeam, his Liberal ex-hippy-looking GF, says no way, not no how, she won’t cooperate with any of that to “protect the privacy of the child”…
Is there anyone out there gullible enough to believe that this isn’t planned, that she has been well paid to take that position?
The Democrites didn’t invent lying, but they sure have elevated it to a fine art…
This whole thing is such a steaming pile of crap. Edwards looks into the cameras and glibly professes he’ll take a paternity test, in fact he welcomes a paternity test!
So moonbeam, his Liberal ex-hippy-looking GF, says no way, not no how, she won’t cooperate with any of that to “protect the privacy of the child”…
Is there anyone out there gullible enough to believe that this isn’t planned, and can’t see that she has likely been well paid to take that position?
The Democrites didn’t invent lying, but they sure have elevated it to a fine art…
My favorite parts?
1. Trying to bring McCain into it
2. Saying that Elizabeth is right here as he points to his heart
3. Saying it was during a period of remission..~ What John, you were so happy you went out and celebrated without Elizabeth?
4. This was just him involved, no one in the family was ~ Um, we kinda gathered that one!
I knew Edwards was a sleaze ball from the get-go! His two Americas’ banter and his arrogant, self-aggrandizing and cocky, good ol’ southern boy charmer tactics have parlayed him right where he belongs. He always displayed such an air of elitism, while claiming that he was the candidate for the “common” man. Re: $400 hair cuts, for example.
Now people see him for the superficial and lying politician he proved to be!
“I saw it coming.”
Very touching how I’ve been missed here; have been keeping busy with work and travel.
Soooo…Edwards…
SFL does indeed apologize to Pam for criticising her linking to the Natty Enq.
Turns out they broke a huge political scoop. Good for them.
However, in my defense, they have been and remain a fundamentally trashy tabloid rag…and For The Most Part cannot be trusted as a legitimate source of news and/or information.
That is, unless, you believe in Bat Boy and the like.
Also, for the record, I never denied that Edwards was having an affair…
…my focus was on the notoriously shady source.
Even the Natty Enq is entitled to a hit after all their misses, I suppose.
SFL I give you credit for coming back here and weighing in on the subject. I seldom agree with you but I believe you have character. If you ever get tired of the Liberal stuff there’s room for you on the correct (Right) side…
» Rielle Hunter’s sister: Hey, you know who the baby looks like? John Edwards
» Stunning Admission . . .
» Are They Overly Liberal?
» John Edwards Is Out Of The Race
» Edwards Ignorant Innuendo
» The $290,000 Question Is
» Edwards On Leno
» More Cheney vs. Edwards
» Is John Edwards Running As A Woman In One Of His Two America’s?
» Edwards: “Every dime of the money they gave to me has gone to charity,” Well Except For The $300,000 That Went To His Kid And an Advisor!
<< Take Me Back Home!