John Edward’s Admits To Affair
John Edwards’ career was on a high rise when he became Senator Vice presidential nominee. However, things began to spiral downward after he admitted over the weekend that he had an affair outside his marriage. His reputation was shot in the two seconds that it took him to confess.
Over the past year or so he had built up an image of being the perfect family man and had even garnered sympathy from many supporters because his wife Elizabeth had been diagnosed with cancer. Yet, what has been done can not be taken back. Edwards will feel the ripples of his mistake and has already backed out of attending the Democratic convention this month.
John Edwards admitted to the affair that he had back in 2006 with a videographer right when he was launching his White House campaign. It was only last month that the rumors of the affair began to reach the press - but at that time Edwards said that it was ‘tabloid trash’. Edwards said he had told his wife and family long ago, but “I had hoped that it would never become public.”
“I am and have been willing to take any test necessary to establish the fact that I am not the father of any baby, and I am truly hopeful that a test will be done so this fact can be definitively established,” Edwards said. The former North Carolina senator, who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2004, confessed to ABC News that he had lied repeatedly about the affair with Rielle Hunter, then 42. Hunter’s daughter, Frances Quinn Hunter, was born on Feb. 27 this year, and no father’s name is given on the birth certificate filed in California.
A former Edwards campaign staff member professes to be the father. In a statement provided to The Associated Press, Elizabeth Edwards confirmed that her husband had confessed the extramarital affair to her in 2006 but that after a “long and painful process” she was now standing by him. After the story broke Friday, Edwards released a statement that said, “In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake, and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with my family, I did not tell the public.”
Edwards declared his presidential candidacy in December 2006. His wife campaigned enthusiastically with him and by herself in the months that followed. She announced in March 2007 that her cancer, formerly in remission, had returned and there apparently was no cure. Edwards dropped out midway through this year’s primaries after it became apparent he could not keep up with front-runners Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. He recently endorsed Obama.
Speaking to reporters Friday in Honolulu, Obama praised Edwards as a “great champion of working people” during the campaign and said the couple probably would not attend the party’s convention in Denver. “I think they need to work through that process of healing,” Obama said.