"Elizabeth Edwards' agenda is being held hostage by her husband John"

Chip Franklin and I had an extended and, listening to it again, very interesting discussion on San Diego's news-talk giant KOGO-AM this morning about the John Edwards "semi-confession" of his extramarital affair with filmmaking neophyte Rielle Hunter on "Nightline." The audio is below and if you've got 13 minutes to spare, I highly encourage you to listen to it.

I argued, as I have done elsewhere on TV Barn, that Elizabeth Edwards' own health-care agenda is being held hostage by her husband dalliances; that John Edwards needs to stop denying and claiming private privilege when, as his own wife has stated in the past — including as recently as May 22 on NPR — that when you are in the public eye you should not only NOT expect privacy but use your loss of privacy as a "teachable moment" to talk about things, like breast cancer, you might otherwise keep private. Chip and I disagreed sharply over whether the issue of men abandoning women suffering from cancer is a big issue (I think it is, he thinks that's a "stretch"). And we broke down Bob Woodruff's interview with the former presidential contender and talked about the unanswered questions left behind after the ABC interview.

Here's our conversation:

Download kogo_20080811.mp3

Don't forget, you'll get these edited, right-to-the-point audio programs 2-3 times a week automatically if you subscribe to TV Barn Podcasts.

Now, on to the reaction. Deceiver, which has been leading the web coverage of l'affaire Huntress — it seems even the NY Times is cribbing off its term paper — checked in with a laundry list of unanswered questions left behind in the wake of the ABC interview. Like: Why is someone going to so much trouble to scrub any memory of Rielle Hunter's new-age nutsite from online archives? And: Why was Edwards still making payments to her in April 2007 if the affair was, as Edwards put it, so 2006?

Let me say, though, that the latter matter moved a lot closer to a non-resolution resolution when the alleged father of Hunter's love baby offered to take part in a paternity test ... and Hunter said Saturday she would not. If Hunter wanted to hurt Edwards, I can't imagine anything more damaging than refusing to settle this matter. I mean, the money's hers regardless ... right? So why not just step forward and resolve this thing? Because it's worse to be a politician who admits to fathering an out-of-wedlock child than it is to have the rumor hovering over your head? I dunno, coming clean seemed to work out well for this guy.

Here's my question: In an attempt to boost her sagging TV ratings, will Oprah have John and Elizabeth on her show this fall to talk about men who cheat on their wives with cancer? I know I'd tune in for that.

Comments

[Patty PV]

When I have 15 minutes to spare I will listen to the conversation. Until then, I am curious about your theory, as my experience has been with women who have had cancer using and/or dumping men.

One college friend who did not survive breast cancer had a number of "flings" with unavailable men (either commitment-phobic men or married men.) I don't know if she sought out these guys because she had no interest in a long-term relationship. She did feel deformed after her mastectomy, and was convinced no man would ever find her attractive. Yet she had no shortage of male companionship.

Another relative went through treatment for cancer, and her husband stepped up to the plate as caregiver. When she got the all-clear, she abruptly divorced her husband. The experience taught her that she needed to live life to the fullest, and she realized that being married to him was not what she wanted.

This is all anecdotal evidence of course. I'm interested in the basis of your theory.

[Rose]

John Edwards is not stopping Elizabeth from talking. Elizabeth allowed John to lie to voters and misrepresent himself as a family man when she knew in 2006 that he was a cheater.

Elizabeth, thanks for the enabling your cheatin husband John Edwards to hide his girlfriend with baby from the voters. That stuff wouldn't have gone down very well in Iowa. It made it easy to steal Hillary's votes!!! I'll bet Elizabeth would not have supported her husband if she knew that Rielle Hunter was trashing her in front of John. Now, go buy some diapers.

Hillary Clinton should take on Obama in Denver on the convention floor. What's she got to lose? Nada!

[terry]

Sorry. But this is pure bull. The health care agenda is being held up by a rich cabal of trial lawyers controlling the senate..... one prominent example is Fred Baron, friend to both Edwards, a big Democratic fundraiser, the man "behind" the Edwards campaign, the man now paying out thousands to Rielle Hunter and Andrew Young. He represents the hope that John Edwards would have been president, and if not, would have been VP, and if not, the Attorney General in a possible Obama administration. We will NEVER have universal health care until the astronomical settlements demanded by liability lawyers is reigned in... extravagant settlements make people like Fred Baron and John Edwards rich, very rich, but they also keep the cost of health care high.

As for St. Elizabeth. She knows Fred Baron, she knows how the trial lawyers are controlling much of the senate, she knows all of this from her $6 million, 28,000 sq. ft house. Anyone can use feel good words to promote themselves, certainly heath care is a noble aim.... but you can't be in the pocket of trial lawyers and spout these claims in any realistic way.

[v racer]

Intially I was sympathetic to his wife. Since then I've changed my mind when it occured to me that she facilitiated her husband's lying to the American public and all so that "they" might be president. She's is complicit in an attempt to defraud the public.

[NC Citizen]

I have no pity for Elizabeth. She is completely complicit. She knew about this yet not only agreed to his presidential bid, but willingly put their marriage, their family and her illness on public display, in hopes that they would help win support. She put political ambitions ahead of the Democratic party, the American people, and worst of all, her own children, whom she should have been home with, spending her last earthly minutes with them so that they might remember her when she's gone. I despise her for complicity, arrogance, and deceit as much as he. They are both fakes.

[Kenton]

I think the greatest argument for "the public's right to know" about the affair is that John Edwards offered up no shortage scathing attacks of Bill Clinton's morals, while secretly doing the same thing. He couldn't be more of a hypocrite if he started hanging out in men's rooms at the Minneapolis Airport...

Yeah, Elizabeth helped him keep it secret, but it's not like she gave him the OK to do it in the first place. To hold her equally responsible is, I think, a mistake.

On an unrelated note, I'm surprised this radio personality has never heard of "Jokerman" (and, one supposes, "Neighborhood Bully") and gets the title of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" wrong. Reminds me of a friend who thinks "Like a Rolling Stone" is called "How Does it Feel?" Sigh.

[Virginia Harris]

Politicians will be politicians!

This was a year when 7 out of 10 candidates had a known history of cheating on their spouses.

The voters were yawning about it.

But a love child is a whole different kettle of fish!

Betcha don't know which president had a love child while running for office, and that it actually helped women win the vote.

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[Mary]

Elizabeth Edwards forgot about her children when she allowed her cheater husband to run for president. Now, the little ones are forever scarred.

[RCook]

Maybe Elizabeth helped John campaign in order to keep him. He needed her and would cheat less when they were together in the public eye. I think she was denying their problems somewhat and trying to make their life together meaningful. But, she had a lot to gain, also, and had her own ambitions. I'm trying to be sympathetic, but I do agree this looks very bad. The American people have been duped and our Dem candidate has not been fairly chosen.

[J.]

At first I was greatly in sensed that John Edwards would do this to his wife who was supporting and campaigning for him, while she waged her own battle against the big C. Both of them presented a face of superiority and trustworthiness. Apparently Mrs. Edwards would have gone all the way to the White House with the deceit, too. I no longer see her as the injured wife. I wish her well with her cancer battle, but baaahhhh on them both for their deception!

[Timothy Horrigan]

I supported John Edwards in the NH Pirmary in 2004 and 2008 and spent quite a bit of time working for him. I am not pleased by what I happened, but I don't think Elizabeth did the wrong thing.

The American people have not been harmed in any way by this scandal. He hasn't really hurt anyone except his family and Rielle Hunter, both of whom will forgive him. He was a great candidate who said a lot of important things which no one else was saying. The American people were not harmed by the fact that he went around the country delivering his message. Quite the contrary.

We are supposed to be angry at Elizabeth Edwards for quite-unquote "lieing" to us, even though she didn't lie to us. We are supposed to hate this extrairdinarily brave and gracious woman for doing something which is alien to her basic nature, which would have been to humiliate her husband, to humiliate the father of her children--- and even to humiliate Rielle Hunter (who appears to be a well-meaning person who thoughtlessly put herself in an awkward position.)

[toreyray]

I think the person that has really brought light to this sex scandal was Pigeon O'Brien, a friend to Rielle Hunter which stated that John Edwards is still lying about the affair.

http://www.webcastr.com/videos/news/Edwards-Account-Challanged-Webcastr.html

I also found the missing John Edward videos that were Produced by Rielle Hunter

Edwards Webisode 1: Plane Truths
http://www.webcastr.com/videos/politics/edwards-webisode-1-plane-truths.html