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…

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.

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.

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.

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…

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.

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.

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.

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.

(Are you sure Dick Cheney didn’t set this whole thing up?)

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.

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.

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.