‘Two Americas,’ one big ego

The “two Americas “ that John Edwards refers to — one where you do what is right, and the other where you do what you want — point out the basic flaws with any politician.

Firstly, they tell you that you live in the greatest country in the world but want you to change it with them. That is basically flawed.

Then they tell you that this is how you should live your life, meaning you, not them. That is basically scary.

Bill Inghram
Kansas City

Now I know why John Edwards spoke of “two Americas.” He wanted a wife in each America.

Bob Underwood
Raytown

Thanks to The Star for printing Maureen Dowd’s piece “A narcissist confesses, but he’s still plastic” (8/14, Local).

John Edwards made a terrible mistake. In effect, he continues his trend of narcissism by explaining “why” he did it — getting caught up in the whole election process.

He could have said: “I did a bad thing that I deeply regret. I hurt my wife and my children and acted selfishly. I was only looking out for myself, especially during a time when my wife was ill and needed me.” Nothing more, nothing less. Period.

Who cares why he did it? I think it speaks volumes when people have the humility to acknowledge and admit their mistakes and not make excuses.

Why can’t he do it? Because humility and narcissism cannot be used in the same sentence.

Karen E. Turner
Overland Park

Comments

[Engineer]

Jim
I can understand your angst on this matter. After all, it's just accepted behavior for Democratic Presidents, starting with FDR and excepting only HST. But you can excuse that, ole Harry was a kind of an unintended happenstance
.

[Kate]

Jim, I apparently had you confused with another member(s?) of the Collective. I’m sorry for the unjust accusation. In the future, I’ll make reference to the “left” or, better yet, the “nutroots” - where you most likely picked up on the rumor.

[Marctnts]

Jim,

Are you actually arguing that "I lied, but not as many times as you say I lied, so that means you're a liar, which by my tone, makes me think you're worse than me."

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

NO Jim - McCain is as guilty as anyone for his behavior, the difference is Edwards has professed he is so much better than everyone else yet LIED straight up about his actions. McCain stated his greatest moral downfall was his first marriage, no excuses.

[Jim]

"Jim’s said many times that McCain left his wife while she was in the hospital recovering from her accident. "

Really? How many times? When and where, outside of this thread, have I said this?

Please provide proof of this false charge or admit that you are (once again) lying through your teeth.

[Tracee]

Q2D2, your post was thought-provoking, for sure!
and you're apt with the "thuglican" too!
Thanks.

[solomon]

My dear friend Kate,

Going by the the splash coverage from the info-news outlets and the hard hitting condemnation his detractors I'd say it will be more like 28 weeks, rather than years. If I were at all a cynic I'd say 28 days. I think I was only interestedin hearing about it the first 28 minutes.

The guy was not going to be Pres. or VP ever. If he has an applicable skill and his guy wins he should be allowed to serve his country. I do not know what skill he might have, but if he's useful don't waste him for doing something going on everywhere.

I do feel sorry for the attention his wife has had to bare, but I blame the insensitive media for that. I don't condone affairs, if my wife were to have one it would crush me. It would be no one elses business though, even if she were a politician.

[Kate]

Jim’s said many times that McCain left his wife while she was in the hospital recovering from her accident. That’s simply not true. As I said, what he did was wrong – there’s no need to lie to make it sound even worse.

As to the breakup, Carol McCain said: "The breakup of our marriage was not caused by my accident or Vietnam or any of those things. I don't know that it might not have happened if John had never been gone. I attribute it more to John turning 40 and wanting to be 25 again than I do to anything else." I don’t think I would have been as generous ...

Many other politicians have salvaged their careers after affairs. Maybe 28 years from now the public will have forgiven Edwards for his philandering. A lot of it will have to do with how he behaves the next few months, and what he does with his life. As to McCain, what the voters have to ask themselves is whether they think he is the same person he was 30 years ago when he was cheating on his first wife.

[solomon]

If you don't like someone and they have an affair, they're scum. If it is a homosexual or kinda lewd act you get to feel superior. If the spouse has an illness you get to display moral outrage.

People of all walks of life get some on the side. I don't think it would make someone more likely to bomb someone or raise our taxes, and I care about those thngs.

[Tom]

That doesn't seem like embellishment to me, Kate. John McCain did cheat on his wife because of her condition after the car accident. He's admitted that. If we're looking for a better example of a Republican/conservative politician's callousness toward a wife with cancer Newt Gingrich fits alot better I suppose. The bottom line is that politicians of all stripes do this stuff, and it's usually the ones who scream the loudest about so-called moral values that are the prime offenders.

[Kate]

“McCain's wife was in the hospital recovering from a horrible car accident, but for what it's worth she didn't have cancer.”
From Wikipedia:

“While visiting her family in Philadelphia on Christmas Eve 1969, Carol McCain was driving alone in snowy, icy conditions. Approaching an intersection on an isolated country road, she skidded and collided with a telephone pole, was thrown from the car into the snow, and went into shock. Some time later she was found and taken to Bryn Mawr Hospital; she had two smashed legs, a broken pelvis, broken arm, and ruptured spleen. She spent six months in the hospital, and over the course of the next two years had 23 operations as well as extensive physical therapy. She did not tell her husband about the accident in her letters to him, believing he already had enough to worry about, and the U.S. State Department told a surgeon who operated upon her not to mention anything to the press, lest it worsen the treatment for John McCain.”
“The McCains were reunited upon his release from captivity on March 14, 1973. She was now four inches shorter, on crutches, and substantially heavier than when he had last seen her; he was also visibly hampered by his injuries and the mistreatment he had endured from the North Vietnamese.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_McCain

Their marriage ended in 1980. He didn’t leave her while she was in the hospital recovering from a horrible accident. What he did was very wrong on its own. There’s no need to embellish.

[Jim]

"I don't think McCain's wife has cancer."

So that makes it okay?

McCain's wife was in the hospital recovering from a horrible car accident, but for what it's worth she didn't have cancer.

If you're going to rake one person over the coals for cheating and lying and betraying his vows, shouldn't you apply the same standard to everyone?

Or is this another case of IOIYR?

(It's Okay If You're a Republican)

[kcstar_is_one_sided]

Mmmmm... smell that? It's more thuglican duplicity.

I don't think McCain's wife has cancer. Also, time has a way of changing one's attitude.

[Q2D2]

John Edwards cheats on his wife and his political career is over.

John McCain cheats on his wife, divorces her, marries the one he cheated with and he's running for president.

Mmmmm... smell that? It's more thuglican duplicity.

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

Well Edwards is a typical ambulance chaser politician, we shold expect no less than this type of hypocritical behavior from him. Afterall, he has tens of millions invested in hedge funds while claiming the want to shutdown EVERY corporation in America. I suppose so everyone can live in tents and work at government run slave camps for their daily bowl of ramen and (free) universal clininc card.