Elizabeth Edwards statement on DailyKos

[darius15]

Elizabeth Edwards posted a statement on the Daily Kos Web site Friday about her husband's confession that he had had an extramarital affair.

FULL STATEMENT FOLLOWS:



Our family has been through a lot. Some caused by nature, some caused by human weakness, and some – most recently – caused by the desire for sensationalism and profit without any regard for the human consequences. None of these has been easy. But we have stood with one another through them all. Although John believes he should stand alone and take the consequences of his action now, when the door closes behind him, he has his family waiting for him.

John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well. Because of a recent string of hurtful and absurd lies in a tabloid publication, because of a picture falsely suggesting that John was spending time with a child it wrongly alleged he had fathered outside our marriage, our private matter could no longer be wholly private.

The pain of the long journey since 2006 was about to be renewed.

John has spoken in a long on-camera interview I hope you watch. Admitting one’s mistakes is a hard thing for anyone to do, and I am proud of the courage John showed by his honesty in the face of shame. The toll on our family of news helicopters over our house and reporters in our driveway is yet unknown. But now the truth is out, and the repair work that began in 2006 will continue. I ask that the public, who expressed concern about the harm John’s conduct has done to us, think also about the real harm that the present voyeurism does and give me and my family the privacy we need at this time.

[kirby]

1. Let hope this gets K&R as much as the other posts. n/t

[Major Hogwash]

2. Didn't they think this would come out when they started running for President?!

It was bad before, but finding out that even Elisabeth knew about this affair, and yet they both were quiet as a mouse about it is even worse.

[PresidentObama]

3. It's a personal issue. Affair doesn't disqualify you from running.

If it did, Clinton would have never gotten two terms.

[WillyT]

6. Just Ask President Gary Hart !!!

And for the record, I personally couldn't give one good goddamn!

The low information voters... OTOH...

With Democracy, you get what you deserve.

:shrug:

[PresidentObama]

11. No, ask President Clinton...

[LittleClarkie]

8. No, but it makes getting elected a toughy, at the least

Esp. if the timing had been the same re: when this was revealed.

[PresidentObama]

12. Tell that to Bill Clinton about tabloids and affairs. Did it disqualify him?

If I'm not mistaken, he was VERY popular.

And the only Democrat with two terms in quite some time.

[ProSense]

14. He was impeached, and the Democrats lost a lot of seats at every level of gov't as a result

Edwards on Clinton:

I think this President has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter. It is breathtaking to me the level to which that disrespect has risen.

link

What the hell was Edwards thinking?

[PresidentObama]

21. He had an affair before 1998. Revealed by a surprise--tabloid.

And this is Edwards business, not yours.

[ProSense]

25. Edwards lying to the public is not a private matter.

It's arrogant and selfish.

His own statement acknowledges that he crossed the line for personal ambition:

It is inadequate to say to the people who believed in me that I am sorry, as it is inadequate to say to the people who love me that I am sorry. In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up -- feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help.

link

[Th1onein]

31. And McCain wouldn't be the Republican nominee.

I guess it's only a PRIVATE matter when Republicans do it, huh?

[redstate_democrat]

4. Can you imagine if he had been elected our nominee?

That would have put all of us in a pretty bad situation right now. I'm disappointed in him.

[darius15]

5. Yeah it would have

I just hope that the Repubs aren't successful in tying Obama to Edwards.

[LBJDemocrat]

7. I don't think it would've

The only people swayed by this sort of thing probably wouldn't have voted for him anyway. I don't think it's anything shocking at all. It's not like Edwards was particularly holier-than-thou or had a weird fetish.

[avaistheone1]

13. Much ado about nothing.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. Woe, I wonder what every president since Washington would have to say about this

something in the realm of GROW THE FUCK UP... serious folks

This is truly a non-scandal

And you are eating the chum

[Egnever]

9. Agreed

When did they think they would tell us?

[dansolo]

20. Can you imagine if he was selected as AG

If the story hadn't come out now, he could have possibly been selected as Attorney General, and then blackmailed into not fully investigating the crimes of the current administration.

[femmocrat]

10. That bothers me, too.

What were they thinking!

And what does she mean by: "the desire for sensationalism and profit"? The Enquirer, loathesome as the are, is not to blame for publishing the story. That is what they do.

With this huge secret looming out there, the Edwards team never should have made another run for the WH.

[darius15]

17. Agree

[Evergreen Emerald]

15. Poor Elizabeth

I never did like her husband. She is too good for him. What a shame.

[ronnykmarshall]

16. Bravo Elizabeth!!!

[Egnever]

18. Someone is still lying

This statement sucks. Its not the enquirers fault you chose to knowingly tried to hide this from the American people.

Sorry John cheated on you but your indigence is misplaced.

[liberal1973]

19. Good luck and best wishes

Hopefully they can continue to put their lives back together.

Now lets get back to kicking john mcbush's ass.

[Teaser]

22. More class than most people deserve

.

[stranger81]

23. Very brave and well-written statement -- Liz is a class act [n/t]

[Fleshdancer]

24. I honor her wishes.

I'm done ranting about it and soon I'll erase my sig line and change my avatar back to Obama.

[Marrah_G]

26. She is by far my favorite female Democrat- She has more class the all of DC combined

[UTUSN]

28. Delete me: Elizabeth, YOU lied, TOO!1 n/t

[Neshanic]

29. "John has spoken in a long on-camera interview I hope you watch."

Frankly I would rather watch our simian President pick lice out of his ass at the opening ceremonies.

[GeorgeGist]

30. Elizabeth had the audacity to believe ...

in ignorance. She was wrong.

[Dreamer Tatum]

32. If you want it private, don't run for POTUS.

I hate to sound like that, but it's true.

My personal belief is that she found out MUCH later than 2006. Like, say, February 2008.