The news that former Senator and 2008 Democratic Presidential wannabe John Edwards has now admitted that he lied about an affair means one of the few certainties you can now state in politics is this: Edwards’ career as a possible future Presidential candidate and major player on the national stage is now over.
Some pundits may finesse it and point to Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton still on the national stage, but Edwards is likely to be through as a major national political figure for several reasons:
1. His identity in 2008 was often tied to his role as a loyal husband, sticking with a terminally ill wife. No matter how he apologizes or what his wife Elizabeth says about how she forgives him, much of the American public will now consider him a slimeball.
2. He didn’t learn the damage-control lesson of former President Bill Clinton or former Colorado Senator Gary Hart which means he wasn’t/isn’t as smart as some/he thought he was. If you deny press reports about a scandal and just keep hoping it’ll go away, it often doesn’t. And the repeated denials are covered so much that if proof later comes out that you lied it is one big, fat legitimate story.
3. Obama can’t have him speak at the convention with there being some political fallout. GOPers will jump all over Obama and say he lacks judgment. Perhaps the only way for Edwards to have a speaking role at the convention (his wife will be speaking) is for him to be put on a time when there is minimal coverage. Most likely, Edwards is no dummy so he’ll probably not even want to address the convention.
4. Edwards’ persona had been that of a politician who was loyal to his wife, really cared about the common man and who constantly battled questions from Republicans about whether or not he was for real. Was he authentic or was he not? And Edwards knew this was an issue, since he sometimes addressed the issue of whether he was sincere. He didn’t get the nomination, but he left the race with a reservoir of credibility. More people than ever will now question his veracity on policy because he a)lied b) proved not to be the loyal husband c)repeatedly lied, d)lied to the end on the story until with the (tabloid) press breathing down his neck he could lie no more, and e)is a former Senator.
Why does that matter? No matter what, many voters will give even a tiny bit of the benefit of the doubt to someone encased in the aura of the Oval Office, or from a famous family that suffered the loss of two beloved brothers. Edwards has none of that. IN fact, what set him apart from others in terms of narrative was the incredible tragedy he and his family has suffered over the years and how he has stood by his family and his wife. Meanwhile, he will be accused of hypocrisy due to this 1999 interview.
5. It shows a dangerous impulsive streak. Like Hart who basically dared the media to follow him and see that he wasn’t cheating on his wife, Edwards’ persona as the handsome, slick, lawyer husband who stuck with his wife even though his heart was suggests he had developed a Superman-like attitude and that he could secretly do what he felt like doing and no one would ever catch him.
As of today, John Edwards is a tarnished brand.
Wendy’s restaurants recovered from the case of the scamming customer who “found” in her chile a finger.
But John Edwards is unlikely to recover from the case of giving his ailing wife and his loyal, trusting followers the finger.
UPDATE: Edwards is insisting the child pictured in the tabloid report is not his. However, this is already raising eyebrows in the “new media,” and the tabloids and mainstream media are most likely trying to find out for themselves right now whether that is an inaccurate claim as well.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.