POLITICAL SCANDALS: THE POWER OF HINDSIGHT

You may recall when the webisodes Rielle Hunter shot of John Edwards campaign became public. If you have not seen them, now is the time to watch them. Now that we are on the entire other end of John Edwards’ distasteful journey, it is fascinating to listen to the now-broken man speak when he was at the height of his personal and political power. Edwards will long be remembered as a sleaze monger disguised a do-gooder.

Hunter’s brief glimpses into Edwards’ life are ironically set to a background of Boyd Tinsley’s song, “True Reflections.” The lyrics:

“When you look into a mirror
Do you like what‘s looking at you?
Now that you see your true reflection
What on earth are you gonna do?”

Here is Webisode #1:

You can see the other webisodes on Youtube. The running themes seem to be Edward’s dedication to the common man and his efforts at international humanitarianism. You will see him in Uganda deep into a refugee camp. And all of it is delivered with his trademark Southern charm and great hair. Now that we are able to see Edwards for the person he really is, these videos, shot by the woman who would ultimately bear his child while he was still married to Elizabeth Edwards, are revelatory in the extreme.

Edwards was more actor than public servant, and certainly more manipulative than authentic in his quest for the Presidency. It is probably his adept approach to deception in his public and private life that made him such a skilled trial lawyer back in the day. In 2007, for example, he renewed his wedding vows with Elizabeth, at the same time he was carrying on his affair with Hunter. Sociopath? Watch the webisodes and you be the judge.

Listen, if you’re a writer/reporter like me, John Edwards is the gift that just keeps giving. Just in the past couple of weeks, all of the following reports have surfaced: that the FBI has a copy of the alleged sex tape between Edwards and hunter – for what, nobody knows; that Elizabeth Edwards (left) is threatening to sue Edwards’ former assistant, Andrew Young, for “alienation of affection,” claiming he contributed to the problems in her marriage to John; that John allegedly struck Elizabeth in the final argument that led to their legal separation; that John has allegedly proposed to Rielle Hunter; that Rielle Hunter allegedly had an affair with actor Jeff Goldblum while she was having an affair with Edwards, and told Goldblum the baby could be his. Oy.

So, as I’ve written here in the past, we voters need to know more about our candidates’ personal lives. Edwards' proclivity for dishonesty, deception and manipulation certainly would have come into play in his presidency, had things gone that far. Elizabeth Edwards reported temper would certainly have affected staffers in the White House, had she become first lady. Edwards’ arrogance in believing he could carry on the affair with Hunter (right) right under the collective nose of the American people would not bode well for other self-serving scams he may have pulled at our expense.

I have heard enough about how media pries too deeply into the personal lives of political candidates and elected officials. If you still believe that, let me just present the following words for your consideration: Eliot Spitzer, Mark Sanford, John Ensign, William Jefferson, David Vitter, David Paterson, Newt Gingrich.

I rest my case.