John Edwards' Affair Also Brings John McCain's Marital Split to the Surface

[DeepModem Mom]

Editor&Publisher: John Edwards' Affair Also Brings John McCain's Marital Split to the Surface
By E&P STaff
Published: August 08, 2008

NEW YORK Reaction from across the political spectrum has been strong to the news of John Edwards admitting he had an affair in 2006, with many condemning Edwards' actions and denials. But it may also produce an unwanted aftershock for John McCain, reviving references to his own extramarital affairs back in the 1970s.

Steve Chapman, the generally conservative Chicago Tribune columnist observed today, "Not that Republicans would be able to make full use of this exposure had Edwards been the nominee. Their prospective nominee, after all, was guilty of the same sin during his first marriage...." Edwards himself, in his interview on ABC's Nightline, referred to McCain admitting that he had made many mistakes in his first marriage....

Tod Roberson, an editorial writer at the Dallas Morning News, blogs at the paper's site that while what Edwards did was wrong, voters should not express selective outrage -- and recall what McCain did back in the 1970s.

An excerpt follows:

"And while we're all feeling holier than thou, maybe we should use this occasion to re-examine the past behavior of John McCain: His first wife, Carol, was beautiful enough to be a swimwear model when he married her in 1965. He went off to fight in the Vietnam war while she stayed home to raise their three children. He was captured and spent five years as a prisoner of war. When he was freed in 1973, he came home to find that his wife had been disfigured in a car wreck three years earlier. So he dumped her and married a much younger woman (who might be our next first lady).

'My accident is well recorded. I had 23 operations, I am five inches shorter than I used to be and I was in hospital for six months. It was just awful, but it wasn't the reason for my divorce,' Carol McCain told the UK's Daily Mail in June. 'My marriage ended because John McCain didn't want to be 40, he wanted to be 25. You know that happens...it just does.'

There are people who knew John McCain back then who felt so betrayed and disappointed by him that they won't speak to him today. Maybe that'll happen to John Edwards too. It just amazes me that people can reach such incredibly high ranks in American politics and somehow think their past (or present) misbehavior won't come back to haunt them. It absolutely goes to the character issue. So if we're going to go down that road, let's do it on both sides of the political fence...."

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003837486

[JDPriestly]

1. A Slip Under the Microscope is a story by H.G. Wells.

It is about class and cheating. If you are lower or middle class, you will suffer horribly if you are caught cheating. But, if you are upper class -- or part of the elite as McCain is, your cheating will probably be tolerated.

I recommend reading that story, A Slip Under the Microscope by H.G. Wells.

[Festivito]

12. McCain has lots of class ... shame it's all low.

Let's hope the sycophantic press steps in it and smells bad enough to the public while they report.

Thanks for the post JDP.

[David Zephyr]

2. Yes it does.

Thanks.

[RNdaSilva]

3. Yes, but will the MSM make the necessary comparative analysis?

And, McCain is a candidate, not Edwards...which should amplify the negativity. Should.

Keith Olbermann, we need you...now. Rachel?

[WinkyDink]

4. A 28 years ago affair is not the same as a recent lie to the public. SORRY.

[ray of light]

5. What McCain did to his wife was worse. He actually dumped her.

However, recent history and the fact the Edwards has a "Democratic" following his name....well that makes the biggest difference.

[Tesla]

6. Can you imagine how it hurt to see him take off with Cindy?

After she cried for years for him while he was POW and then had to have him in her thoughts as she was clinging to life....

[mod mom]

7. It is very relevant as it is an indication of his morals & ethics. Why should the media

target in on Dems ( Edwards & Clinton) without exposing the background on McCain?

[B Calm]

8. Very telling of the corporate owned media to ignore cons while

focusing on a non candidate!

[UpInArms]

9. McCain Obtained Marriage License To Marry Cindy While He Was Still Legally Married To His First Wife

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/07/mccain-obtained-marriage-licen-1.php

McCain, who is about to become the GOP nominee, has made severalstatements about how he divorced Carol and married Hensley that conflict with the public record.

In his 2002 memoir, "Worth the Fighting For," McCain wrote that he had separated from Carol before he began dating Hensley.

"I spent as much time with Cindy in Washington and Arizona as our jobs would allow," McCain wrote. "I was separated from Carol, but our divorce would not become final until February of 1980."

An examination of court documents tells a different story. McCain did not sue his wife for divorce until Feb. 19, 1980, and he wrote in his court petition that he and his wife had "cohabited" until Jan. 7 of that year -- or for the first nine months of his relationship with Hensley.

Although McCain suggested in his autobiography that months passed between his divorce and remarriage, the divorce was granted April 2, 1980, and he wed Hensley in a private ceremony five weeks later. McCain obtained an Arizona marriage license on March 6, 1980, while still legally married to his first wife.

When you get a marriage license, don't you have swear an oath that you are eligible to get married?

[FrenchieCat]

10. Kicking this!

[alstephenson]

11. k & r