Obama: Edwards family indicated that they probably wouldn't be attending the convention

[rainbow4321]

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151779

Without confirmation, the allegations were not widely reported by national media but still were damaging to Edwards. He was not being invited to speak at this month's Democratic National Convention, out of fear that the rumors could become a distraction at the carefully orchestrated gathering.

Barack Obama's campaign is preparing to announce the list of convention speakers in the coming days, and the fact that Edwards wasn't going to be included forced his hand. If he didn't tell the story first, it threatened to blow open as reporters explained why the party's last vice presidential nominee and third-place finisher in the primary was being snubbed.

Obama, asked about how the scandal could affect Edwards' role in his campaign and the convention, said the former North Carolina senator's focus on working people will be amplified by the party as a whole.

"If I'm not mistaken I think that they already indicated, the Edwards family indicated, that they probably wouldn't be attending the convention," Obama said as he landed in Hawaii on Friday for a weeklong vacation. "I understand that. This is a difficult and painful time to them. And I think they need to work through that process of healing. My sense is that that's going to be their top priority."