(Updated) John Edwards, Larry Craig & Sex: The News Media’s Double Standard
It is a story with three of America’s favorite subjects — celebrity, sex and hypocrisy — but you’ll have to look awfully hard to find it.
When Senator Larry Craig was arrested for allegedly playing footsie with an undercover cop in a Minneapolis-St. Paul airport men’s room stall, the mainstream media was all over it like a bad suit. After Roll Call broke the story last summer, it appeared in thousands of print and TV outlets and was the butt of many a late-night comedian’s jokes.
But when the National Enquirer breathlessly reported that former presidential candidate John Edwards had visited an alleged mistress and their love child at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on Monday night you could have heard a pin drop.
As of this morning, only the Los Angeles Times among mainstream media outlets has picked up the Enquirer story, according to a Google News search.(UPDATE: The by now familiar percolation from blogs like The Moderate Voice that are not ignoring the story is underway.)
It is possible that the Enquirer story about Edwards’ alleged linkup with Reille Hunter is false, based as it is on circumstantial evidence and unnamed sources. (And maybe Edward just likes to hang out in hotel stairwells in the wee hours.) Edwards has vehemently denied any relationship with Hunter in the past, nor is it alleged that he has committed any crime.
But my gut tells me that there is something to the Enquirer story and sooner or later that will be confirmed. The real crime here is the double standard that the mainstream media is using in an era when the lines between tabloid journalism and traditional journalism have become blurred.
That process began in earnest with the O.J. Simpson double murder case in 1995 when The New York Times and yes, the Enquirer, committed substantial resources and did a better job, by my lights, of covering this unparalleled story of celebrity, sex and crime than anyone else.
The obvious double standard here is that Craig is an unapologetic and snarky conservative Republican who shamelessly continues to beat the family values drum despite his own dirty laundry while Edwards is a pretty boy moderate-liberal Democrat who is said to be on The Messiah’s short list as a running mate.
But there is more to it than that because sex-scandal reprobates from both parties have had tons of ink spilled on their account. Indeed, there is a second double standard here as well that Jack Shafer confronts in an article at Slate: Craig is perceived as a creepy homo and Edwards as a red-blooded hetero.
The polar opposite media response to the Craig and Edwards stories is even more glaring when you consider that political sex scandals occur with reliable frequency, although Republicans seem to have an edge for sheer tawdriness because of their holier-than-thou-ness.
To name but a few, there was Eliot Spitzer, David Vitter, James McGreevey, Jesse Jackson, Gary Hart, Wilbur Mills, Bob Packwood, Gary Condit, Mel Reynolds, Neil Goldschmidt, Brock Adams, and of course the granddaddy of all sex scandals — Grover Cleveland . . . er, Bill Clinton.
Then there is the poor besmirched wife aspect. It so happens that Edwards’ wife, Elizabeth, has incurable cancer which calls to mind Newt Gingrich, who was cheating on his cancer-stricken and about-to-be-dumped wife while he was helping bring the impeachment hammer down on Clinton.
The news media dutifully steered clear of longtime rumors about the Newtster’s dalliance much as it has been chary to address similar rumors about John McCain, including the well-documented messiness of the end of his first marriage and simultaneous affair with his present wife.
Gingrich himself finally offered a choreographed “confession” about his own indiscretions to conservative Republican televangelist James Dobson last year when he was contemplating a presidential bid. This just may have been the perfect way to close the door on a good old fashioned political sex scandal.
24 Responses to “(Updated) John Edwards, Larry Craig & Sex: The News Media’s Double Standard”
[...] Edwards, Larry Craig & Sex: The Hypocritical News Media’s … saaiiaa wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt… rumors about the Newtster’s [...]
[...] Original post by The Moderate Voice – Domestic and international news analysis, irreverent comments, original reporti… [...]
Still amazes me to this day , in this age of 24/7 news coverage that famous people SITLL do stupid sex stuff & STILL get caught doing it. Lesson not learned , apparently.
And Shaun I agree…why isn't the MSM all over this story like a cheap suit? He's being mentioned as a possible VP candidate for Obama, recently ran to be the Dem Nom.
The Enquirer does their usual dirty work, but this story seems to have some meat on it's bones.
Dumb,dumb,dumb. And my heart goes out to his wife, who has quite enough to worry about already.
Sincere question: does hypocrisy make it more of a news story? I don't see it but maybe the newsfolk do.
Dave:
Good question. I think that hypocrisy is an element, especially in contemporary cases like those of Craig and Vitter, who have been foot soldiers in the culture wars.
Shaun — I don't think the Edwards story carries anywhere near the newsworthiness of the Craig story.
On the one hand, you have an active senator, who was arrested. On the other you have a former senator (and also-ran) who has been accused by the most notorious tabloid in the country of having an affair.
I think the Edwards story is, if true, terribly sad for his wife. But unless Barack Obama names him as VP or to a position in his administration, it's just gossip. And that very gossip is likely to keep him out of an incoming administration.
Polimon:
Your overall point is valid, but times have changed and so has the Enquirer.
It still is a tabloid for sure and still is available in supermarket checkout lines with the News of the World and its ilk, but the Enquirer engages in real reporting these days and not merely gossip mongering, which is one reason why I suspect the Edwards story is true.
Breaking: John Edwards has dropped any and all vice presidential aspirations and will now devote all of his time to finding the real adulterers.
This article is remarkable in its lack of partisan vitriol. Congratulations.
(Are you sure Dick Cheney didn’t set this whole thing up?)
lol@ Jazz.
Larry Craig is a sitting Senator. Rumors about his activity were in circulation for a long time before there was proof. He got arrested for committing a crime. He attempted to throw his weight around to avoid arrest. Then he plead guilty. It was only after all that happened that his story became news. The news was reported by a reputable media outlet. Add to that his terrible record on gay rights–his bone-deep hypocrisy.
David Vitter is a sitting Senator. Patronizing prostitutes is also a crime, and although Vitter was never charged with any crime, someone else involved was charged with a crime. I presume reputable media outlets checked the records for themselves before they published this information rather than just take the word of Larry Flynt. Vitter was subject to rumors, prior to his election, about infidelity and he denied them vigorously. He is also a tedious moralizer on sexual matters, so there is also a hypocrisy angle for him.
I'm not saying the National Enquirer is wrong about Edwards. I am, however, saying that reputable media outlets need to look at the evidence against Edwards for themselves, and they will be report what can be supported.
Also, Edwards is not currently serving in any elected office. He did very poorly in his effort to seek the Democratic nomination for President. It is possible that in the news judgement of editors of reputible media outlets, this is nothing but salacious gossip about a private citizen and isn't worthy of a spot on page A-7, let alone on the front page above the fold.
If I were a reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper, seeking to uphold truth, justice, and the American way (I got that from the intro to the old Superman TV show, lol!) I wouldn't be inclined to run with this Edwards story until I had solid evidence and verification independent of the Enquirer. The NYT ran a piece about an alleged tryst between McCain and an aide and got roasted for it.
If it so happens that someone comes up with DNA evidence that Edwards is the father of Hunter's child, then it would be a story. Right now all we have is accusations (by what is essentially a single source) of an early morning meeting between Edwards and a friend — a friend who was the subject of past allegations that didn't pan out (which made those involved in breaking the story look foolish). It does look bad, but sometimes appearances deceive.
Edwards is ALLEGED to be one of the millions of people who break the rule of marital fidelity. In complete opposition to Shaun, I think we need less media attention to these stories, far less.
Pandering to the public's obsessive wish to snoop, gossip and judge others is one of the lowest forms of media activities I can think of.
This has absolutely nothing to do with Edwards's signature policy effforts regarding poverty. It has nothing to do with whether or not Edwards cares for his wife and family. It has nothing to do with broken laws, corruption or the public good.
MYOB
It would be different only if Edwards were discovered taking money from the poor box, stiffing emoloyees on their wages or kickiing a homeless person.
And what of Mrs. Edwards? True hypocrisy lies in expressing sympathy for a cancer stricken wife whose husband may have been unfaithful and then calling for splashing her predicament across the media. thus making her life more miserable.
Hypocrisy, indeed.
For gosisip and fits of judgmentalism, try the back fence.
Leave the poor man alone, for God's sake! After all, he is a Democrat. Save your outrage at moral failings for when it is appropriate, like when it is a Republican.
“Save your outrage at moral failings for when it is appropriate, like when it is a Republican.”
No. Save your outrage for when it has anything to do with you.
Republicans get the worst of it because of the irony: The Family Values and Restoring Morality Party threw too many stones while living in glass houses, so their chickens came home to roost.
It is awful that it is so partisam. One way to call a halt would be to stop claiming that every defencse of a person's privacy is a display of partisanship.
i don't remember anyone defending Spitzer's breaking of a law., and that's the proper angle from which to approach these subjects.
Discussing the role of prostitution or marital infedility in our society is a whole other subject on which this country is not united.. The discusssion should not take place on the backs of individul, private lives.
Tarring and feathering should be soooooo passe.
One hair from a former Senator and Presidential candidate's haircut – $400
One soiled diaper – momentary loss of dignity for trash picking
One DNA/paternity test – $100
Finding out if the proof is in the pudding? – Priceless…
“One hair from a former Senator and Presidential candidate's haircut – $400″
What has this to do with poverty? Did the poor get poorer because Edwards is extravaant about haircuts?
Is the Gates Foundation any less effective in its work to combat disease because the Gates family enjoys good health?
Are doctors required to be sick before they can treat patiients?
No logic. Plenty of spite.
John Edwards you sugar daddy or something runi? You sure seem to have a hard-on for him.
Well, Austin, John Edwards is kinda cute! He could be my sugar-daddy any day! LOL
The thing with the Senator Craig story was that he was in public homophobic hard line republican who had plenty of “Outrage(TM)” about the Clinton thing in 1998 but was in private “toe tapping” for probably years.
Sean, that's the hypocrisy that made that story live longer than it deserved.
If there is enough evidence to prove this then you'll see this story get more air/print time. I agree, there must be enough there for the Enquirer to print it since they are subject to the same laws as other publishers.
But the public image of the Enquirer hasn't changed. No one wants to get burned by jumping into something that they are claiming unless there is some kind of proof. Are there pictures that they can prove aren't rigged? Was there some kind of a stake out? How solid is this story? I don't blame anyone in the mainstream media for not jumping right on the story.
Jim is right!
The MSM is much too cautious and professional, having those journalistic standards and such, to ever run with anything less than a fully vetted and confirmed story.
No, AR, it's just that they've been burned too often too recently. Their memories aren't quite that short.
Jim, I'm glad you detected Austin's sarcasm there.
I'll one up Austin:
Just have the VP's chief of staff leak it to some reporter. Now if we just find conservative reporter in the “liberal” MSM…
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