The John Edwards Apology
The American public owes John Edwards a “thank you”. The people were spared the “stand-by-your-man” moment. It is the scene where the dutiful wife stands by the husband’s side while he delivers a heartfelt public apology. Perhaps, Senator Edwards recognized that having an ill wife, who is battling cancer, by his side would not help the situation.
Then, the scenario is almost text book:
- a contrite public statement
- the obligatory television interview
- the scripted phrases for television
- the promise of working to be a better person
It is a familiar play, with only the cast of characters changed. However, there are the inevitable slip-ups. For example, there is the statement that the liaison happened while Elizabeth Edwards’ cancer was in remission. Huh? Does that make a difference?
There is so much involved in that statement. It delivers a message of ‘I-am-not-totally-a-bad-guy’. - There is a slickness to such statements. It is exploitative. It lacks candor. It echoes of the “same old / same old”.
Is John Edwards’ political career finished? - It is doubtful. The public loves the story of redemption. Even the most egregious acts can find redemption. For example, Jane Fonda went from American traitor to international exercise guru. In the process, she made millions of dollars. And John Edwards is following the apology formula almost perfectly. Besides, Senator Edwards knows are no high expectation of politicians anyway.
Catherine Forsythe
Tags: apology, expectations, formula, John Edwards, politics
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August 9th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
So, Elizabeth Edwards knew about her husband’s sexual affair with Rielle Hunter in 2006 and fully supported his run for the White House ??? Is she nuts?? No wonder the media tried to cover up John Edwards’ affair. Exposing John’s sex romp makes Elizabeth look just as stupid as him. Of course the infidelity would come out for two reasons: Rielle Hunter told all her family and friends, and the National Enquirer has the cold hard cash!
John really blew it from the start. He should have claimed the baby was his from artificial insemination and the Rielle was a paid surrogate. When Rielle refused to give up the child, John wanted to talk to her alone. Elizabeth could have claimed full knowledge.
If Obama didn’t know what John Edwards was doing with his spare time (even though the Enquirer told him) and still had him as a VP candidate, then how is Obama going to figure the Iranians out? The answer: Obama knew.