Down On His Tar Heels

I don't want to write about John Edwards, but it's either that or Anthony Weiner. (Are these the only choices I get??)

Edwards had it all only a few years ago. He was a viable candidate for the Presidency of the United States. He crusaded to help the poor. Everyone stood by him and his wife Elizabeth as she battled cancer. Now Edwards has been exposed as the father of a love child, he was cheating with his mistress while his wife was ill, Elizabeth is gone, and Edwards is a disgraced phony.

Now it's getting worse for Edwards. The two-timing - er, two-time presidential candidate and former North Carolina senator has been indicted on six felony charges that he violated campaign laws by using $925,000 in illegal contributions to cover up his affair with Rielle Hunter. The charges stem from the reasoning that the money came from two donors restricted to contributing $2300 each, even though Edwards says the money was given as a gift specifically to keep the Hunter affair hidden from public view and so did not count toward his campaign account balance. The government charges that because the money was used to keep something that would affect the campaign from going public, it was thus campaign-related and so violated campaign finance laws. Edwards admits to doing wrong in his personal life, but insists he did nothing illegal. If convicted, he could go to jail and lose his law license.

Edwards may have a case. The government can't tell a presidential candidate what to do with a privately given money not meant for advertising and travel expenses. That doesn't make Edwards any less repugnant as a human being, though.

As I was watching Edwards profess his (legal) innocence on TV, I was reminded by how young he still looks in his late fifties. He's like Dorian Gray. He stays the same, but his picture gets sleazier.