As much as the media tried to cover up John Edwards' affair with Rielle Hunter, the National Enquirer and the internet wouldn't let them do so. And pushed to the wall, Edwards has finally admitted what we already knew -- he and Hunter had an affair.

John Edwards admitted to ABC News in an interview with Bob Woodruff Friday that he repeatedly lied about an extramarital affair with a 42-year old campaign employee, but strenuously denied being involved in paying the woman hush money or fathering her newborn child. The former Democratic U.S. senator from North Carolina said he would be willing to take a paternity test and divulge the results publicly.

"Two years ago I made a very serious mistake, a mistake that I am responsible for and no one else. In 2006, I told Elizabeth about the mistake, asked her for her forgiveness, asked God for his forgiveness. And we have kept this within our family since that time."

All well and good -- but he denied the affair this past October when confronted about it by the Enquirer and other media outlets. So not only did he cheat, but he lied about it, too.

Here's where it gets interesting -- he claims the affair happened in 2006, and that there is no way he is the father of the Hunter's child, born this past February. Hunter and a (married) former Edwards staffer CLAIM the baby is theirs -- but the former staffer (Andrew Young -- no relationship to the former UN ambassador and Atlanta mayor) is not on the birth certificate. Furthermore, Hunter lived in the home of Young, his wife and children during her pregnancy -- not the sort of thing a wronged woman usually does in such situations.

But that isn't the biggest question, in my book. To my way of thinking it is this -- why did he hire his (allegedly) former mistress to work for his campaign after the affair was over? Why put himself in that situation, in which he would have regular contact with his (allegedly) former floozie after his dying wife was informed about the affair? Set aside the insensitivity of the choice -- why bring her back into intimate contact when there could easily be other folks who could have filled her spot on the campaign?

And then there are other questions. Why visit the (allegedly) ex-mistress in a hotel in the middle of the night? Why doe he have no recollection of the baby being in the room (or of holding the kid)? And why did one of his close aides start funneling large amounts of cash to both the unemployed Hunter and unemployed Young once both were out of the campaign -- and are we really to believe that the money wasn't in some way authorized by John Edwards, either form his campaign or foundation funds? None of this passes the smell test.

And here's the kicker -- Edwards says he wants a paternity test. But lo and behold, Hunter says absolutely not -- she will never consent to allowing her (allegedly) ex-lover to clear his name, even if doing so would perhaps permit him to be considered for vice president or an early cabinet position in a future Obama administration. It seems strikingly convenient that the one thing that could mitigate most of the damage OR totally destroy him is being denied him -- all due to circumstances (allegedly) beyond his control. This enables him to eventually return to public life while claiming that there is no proof that he fathered the child.

Obvious answer -- John Edwards was doing the horizontal mambo with Rielle Hunter right up until the day that Elizabeth Edwards got her new cancer diagnosis. The baby is John Edwards illegitimate daughter -- and he is misappropriating funds to pay off both his baby-mama and the faux baby-daddy. After all -- John Edwards has already proven that he is more than willing to cheat on his sick wife and lie to cover his own well-coiffed ass. He's even prepared to send his dying wife out to attack columnists who dare write critically about him -- apparently while he is still shagging his mistress behind her back.

That makes John Edwards scum by any stretch of the imagination -- cheating, lying, stealing scum.

Posted by: Greg at 09:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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