I will never, ever understand what someone in John Edwards’ position was thinking.
John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extra-marital affair with a novice film-maker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today.
In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 42-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her.
Edwards also denied he was the father of Hunter’s baby girl, Frances Quinn, although the one-time Democratic Presidential candidate said he has not taken a paternity test.
Edwards said he knew he was not the father based on timing of the baby’s birth on February 27, 2008. He said his affair ended too soon for him to have been the father.
According to the ABC News report, Edwards met Hunter at a New York city bar in 2006, after which his political action committee hired her, despite her lack of experience, to do filmmaking work for his campaign. Soon after, as the two traveled together, Edwards and Hunter began their affair.
For what it’s worth, Elizabeth Edwards apparently became aware of the relationship in 2006, and the affair went on while her cancer was in remission.
All of this is extremely unpleasant, and raises more than a few questions.
First, obviously, what on earth was Edwards thinking? He knew in 2006 that he was gearing up for a presidential campaign, which he knew would bring added scrutiny to every facet of his life. Putting morality and decency aside, why even take the chance?
Second, what if he’d won the nomination?
Third, in the future, this will only encourage media outlets to be more aggressive in looking into candidates’ personal lives, which is really a shame.
Fourth, I really don’t want to hear Mickey Kaus brag about this, but he did seem to take this tabloid story seriously from the start, even when the evidence was nothing more than some back-room whispering. (A broken clock is, apparently, right twice a day.)
Fifth, before Republicans pounce on this with too much glee, if, in the wake of Edwards’ confession, presidential-candidate adultery all of a sudden becomes an important campaign issue, let’s not forget that this is one subject John McCain and his supporters really don’t want to talk about.
And finally, there’s still some unresolved questions about Edwards’ conduct.
Since becoming pregnant, Hunter has lived under assumed names in a series of expensive homes in North Carolina and, more recently, in Santa Barbara, California.
Edwards denied paying any money to Hunter to keep her from going pubic [sic] but said it was possible some of his friends or supporters may have made payments without telling him.
He said he would ask questions about any possible arrangement.
What an embarrassment.
Update: I neglected to mention, Edwards had been rumored to be eyeing a key role in a possible Obama administration. Given today’s revelation, it’s probably safe to assume Edwards’ career in government is over.