Elizabeth Edwards: 'Our family has been through a lot'
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/08/08/art.edwardsfamily.ap.jpg caption="Elizabeth Edwards: 'John made a terrible mistake in 2006.'"] 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.
God Bless the entire Edwards Family.
He can go to church and prey, and all of his sins will be washed away... as if it never happened.
I love America.
amen
While I do feel for Elizabeth Edwards, her statement...
"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."
Sorry... but you are either another delusional, enabling woman or a woman that likes the perks of a marriage to a senator... I am not sure...
BUT... evidently it was rumored, he was asked about it and Sen. Edwards lied over and over and over again. That loser deserves the heat and, sorry Elizabeth, so do you for backing a liar, cheater and self serving opportunist.
A MISTAKE IS NOT THE SUM TOTAL OF A HUMAN BEING.
WE MAKE THEM EVERY DAY. I HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF
RESPECT FOR JOHN EDWARD'S ABILITIES AND THIS
DOESN'T DIMINISH THEM IN ANY WAY. I SINCERELY HOPE
THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE START TO KEEP AN EYE ON
WHAT'S RELAY IMPORTANT, LIKE EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE
GAS, FOOD & SHELTER FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS & NOT THE
PRIVET AFFAIRS OF OTHER'S.
must be real hard. i feel for her.
McCain did the same to his first wife and i dont hear no alarms going off!
Is this surprising? Edwards is one of the biggest hypocrites in politics. He "cares" about the working poor yet lives in a 27,000 square foot mansion. He "cares" about the poor people in New Orleans yet the investment company that he works for foreclosed on 30 families. He made such a big deal about how good of a husband he was when he was sticking by his sick wife and yet he was fooling around with some bimbo on the side.
And yeah, I really believe he's not the father of her kid. Especially since his campaign aide claims to be the dad but she didn't list the father's name on the kids birth certificate. If he's not the father lets see a DNA test.
IT's between him and his family.
Leave the poor family alone. I beleive they have the right to keep it private same as those of you who will write about it, play sounds clips over and over again.....Mistakes happen and should stay within the family.
They have made their statements, now it's time to leave the family alone and let the renewed hurt heal.
It could be anyone of you...
Dear Liz:
Your Husband knew that when he entered the political arena he would always be a Public Figure and his conduct is no longer a private matter. The reason this is not a private matter is because it reflects on his character and many of us still believe that good character is still a prerequisite for public office and public trust.
It is a painful matter for you and your family and my sympathies are with you, just like they were with Hillary when her husband cheated on her with Monica.
If it makes you feel any better, it is not about sensationalism or profits it is about public trust and the Media has a duty to shed light on those that seek the highest office in the land.
The mainstream media in this case failed us and they are doing the same with Barak Obama by not telling us the truth about him either.
We don't care what he did or what he is all we want to know is the truth about him and why we should vote for him.
Did James Carville really say what I thought he said in Re: to John Edwards? ..."he didn't commit a crime, he didn't start a war, he didn't kill anyone."
No, he just VIOLATED one of the most sacred vows one can ever take with another human being and then lied about it afterwards. Adultery? And a wife with terminal cancer?
Carville, stop the political B.S. and have some huevos and stand up for what is right and what is wrong. Be willing to call someone out without defending your leftist political views and party.
THIS IS NONE OF MY BUSINESS EXCEPT TO SAY
THAT JOHN EDWARD IS A COMPETENT, INTELLIGENT,
& DRIVEN MAN THAT HAS SPENT HIS ENTIRE CAREER
COMING TO THE AID OF OTHERS & I EXPECT MORE OF IT.
BEST WISHES TO YOU & YOUR FAMILY.
Could he really have thought that if he won the Democratic nomination this wouldn't have come out? He certainly hit the nail on the head when he said he was egocentric and narcissistic.
That is in the face of every blogger trying to poopoo Edwards. He did not cheat on her while she had the cancer. For crying out loud HUMAN BEINGS ARE SEXUAL BEINGS. It's what makes the world go round. It is a constant, ever present, urge that we all carry around with us. People who judge people for sexual indescretions are really stupid. The only real judges that matter are the cheater and the cheatee. It's their business. If John Edwards has a bout with diarrhea are we going to publish that?! Will their be a detailed article about the bad refried beans that caused it? What people do with their bodies is their businesss. I would like all the people who want to judge Edwards think about the sexual discretions of their lives before weighing in so heavily on another's. Everyone is either imperfect or unable to get laid!!
Mrs. Edwards, I do feel for you but this is a personal thing and you should totally ignore the press. Do not give them the satisfaction of answering any questions or acknowledging them. Its not the end of the world and your husband is not the first and won't be the last to have an affair. I am not saying it was right but we sometimes make terrible mistakes in our lives but we can also learn to forgive our spouse or partner for their mistakes. I am sure everything will be okay for you and your family just believe in your marriage and your love for each other.
Absolutely......what a wonderful woman!
One is always torn by admissions of unbounded tackiness. Our hearts go out to Elizabeth Edwards, who has been running circles around this empty suit for years now. He should have stuck to $400 haircuts.
Perhaps this means we won't see any more of him for a very long time, this too-precious pretty boy. Like the candidate he chose to endorse, Edwards had little or nothing to offer other than tired platitudes and stern moralistic lectures about what the rest of us should be doing. He's got enough money to really change the lives of so many poor; maybe he will feel moved to do some sort of act of contrition and part with a little of it.
Edwards' self serving "confession": "It's all about ME!" Actually, it's all about your children and your wife and your mother and father and all the people who thought you weren't the sort of person to lie and hide in men's rooms, holding the door against an over enthusiastic reporter at 2:30 in the morning.
Unfortunately, "powerful men" succumb to the notion that they are somehow outside the normal scope of traditionally accepted "decent " boundaries. It's been that way for eons and will likely continue - AND on BOTH sides of our U.S. political aisles, as well.
In many ways, morality is relative, and I find it difficult to point fingers at anyone, knowing that I have also not been totally "moral" in my lifetime according to someone else's judgment.
But one thing that is NOT relative is STUPIDITY (aka ARROGANCE). I mean - do these people REALLY think they will NOT be found out? THAT kind of STUPIDITY is worse than plus-or-minus morality. THAT I find hard to excuse.
Nevertheless, this is now between John Edwards and his wife, just as it was between Bill and Hillary, JFK and Jackie, Roosevelt and Eleanor, etc., etc. If these couples decide/ed to "work it through" for whatever personal reasons, that's good enough for me on the "morality" level.
However, the factors of STUPIDITY and ARROGANCE linger!
And to think that guys with no brain would want to be president. Oh wait we got already one. But obviously lots of them out there. How could he be that stupid? Dont care about his affair, but actually running and having this not too far on his resume. What the hell was he thinking? That he would get away with it?
Seriously....I would like to think the "other woman" does not bed hop so fast from one married man to another! The timing is so close to the alleged 2006 affair with a nearly 6 month old child (do the math folks-the act had to occur 16-17 months ago!) that when the paternity test does find it is his child he can easily say "oops" my timing must have been off by a feww weeks...PLEASE! And-with the friend covering...politics as usual!
Here goes the VP job. Can we get these wife cheaters out of our national political arena? That of course includes McWhine. Shall one can't keep his/her pant up, how could he/she run this country honestly? Well, one recent exception is GW Bush. While he may not be a wife cheater yet, but he certainly invented the biggest lie of century by pushing us to high gas price, biggest deficit, and weakening our international reputation ever.
WE SHOULD VIEW POLITICIANS AS PEOPLE WE HIRE
TO DO A JOB FOR US, NOT AS SPIRITUAL ADVISORS.
FOR THAT WE SHOULD USE OUR OWN PREFERRED CLERGY.
ARE THEY COMPETENT ?
ARE THEY LAW ABIDING CITIZENS ?
THAT'S ALL I NEED TO KNOW. I AM NOT, NOR,
DO I WANT TO BECOME THE MORALITY POLICE.
How do you ever trust him again? She is sick with cancer he should be ashamed. That is Democrats for you, you can't trust them
Enough said. Now let's talk about John and Cindy McCain.
Elizabeth, don't give up on your husband, he loves you and he has been with you throughout the pain and difficulties, he stood right by your side, now I know it hurts, but just think about how many others have succumbed to some type of weakness in their life. Stick by your husband and don't let anybody interrupt your household. he belongs to you and you should make it clear that you and he will be together forever.