Politics | 07/24/2008 1:15 pm

Why Is the Mainstream Media Keeping John Edwards's Alleged Love Affair a Secret?

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

Over the past 24 hours, Internet news sites have been reporting on this week’s explosive National Enquirer story exposing a supposed John Edwards tryst in a Hollywood hotel.

However, with the exception of the Los Angeles Times, a blog from The Washington Post online and cable TV’s Headline News’s Glenn Beck, few of the mainstream media outlets are touching this story.

One Internet outlet, Slate Magazine is also asking the question, poking fun at the media for not covering it and making a direct comparison to the mainstream media frenzy around Senator Larry Craig’s bathroom antics of a couple of months ago. Slate writes:

"So why hasn’t the press commented on the story yet? Is it because it broke too late yesterday afternoon, and news organizations want to investigate it for themselves before writing about it? Or are they observing a double standard that says homo-hypocrisy is indefensible but that hetero-hypocrisy deserves an automatic bye?"

The Huffington Post thinks that Edwards just isn’t prominent enough of a figure anymore for the public to care:

"It sure looks like Edwards is a hypocrite who misrepresented himself by showcasing his wife and kids so prominently in the campaign. But his campaign was unsuccessful. Voters didn’t buy his arguments or his life story as reasons to elect him. In short, nobody cares about this now, except as celebrity gossip. And that’s how it’s going to play when the media picks it up, as it probably will.

"The better question is, should the media have gone after this story more aggressively back during the campaign? Sounds like the answer is yes."

Tell us: Do you feel cheated by the mainstream media for keeping the alleged John Edwards affair a secret?

194 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Beth …. well said! Yes, there are genuine cases. I believe the statistic reported in the Corpus Christi Caller Times stated that genuine cases are less than 12 percent of the total filed. Sad, isn’t it?

By Linda Clark on 07/24/2008 6:00 pm

e-mail alert

I think Houston has wonder medical care but I can’t believe the quantity of legal and medical commercials on TV. It makes me wonder if the Doctors and medical facilities that advertise are the ones that keep the lawyers in business.

By Sandbee (FB) 54 on 07/24/2008 6:23 pm

e-mail alert

Linda, that is sad. My personal experience with the situation involved my dad being hit by a car while crossing the street in a small town. Lack of due diligence on law enforcement had us turn to a lawyer friend. We paid for an investigation, but to take the individual to court, we would have to pay all the court time, investigation, deposition, etc. The lawyer was quite upfront that we could be responsible for big costs. We did what we could, and what we knew our dad would want us to do. I share this with you because the experience forever taught me that so often we don’t know individual experience and its influence on perception…………..like that ‘satirical’New Yorker Cover. Anyway, I very much enjoy your posts and hope Dolly has not done you damage. Peace and grace

By beth willis on 07/24/2008 7:22 pm

e-mail alert

Hi Beth ……… your point is well noted. We experienced difficulty in getting information regarding my hubby and three co-workers at a local refinery when the crane basket they were in dropped 50ft and then abruptly stopped when the crane operator awoke from his nap (really, he was taking a nap at the controls!). The refinery was less than helpful. This occurred in 1982, and we were poop out of luck until OSHA stepped in (I think it was called something else back then). Needless to say, his medical was taken care of as was his recovery time pay. We were fortunate. As for Dolly, we were again fortunate. We got a lot of rain, the gage says 5+ inches. The wind is still being pissy, but is expected to check out of town tonight. The folks in the Port Isabel, So Padre, Rio Grande Valley and Northern Mexico are hurting. I talked to hubby around 5:30pm …. he said it’s pretty bad. Flooding, downed power lines, fragile homes destroyed. The shelters have been a Godsend. There has been one very good piece of news though … the damage at the sea turtle rescue and preserve on so Padre is evident but ALL of the turtles are unharmed!

By Linda Clark on 07/24/2008 8:08 pm

e-mail alert

Opportunists ( Lawyers) that help protect the private citizen from corruption by punishing the corporations and medicial professionals that are not so professional. When is the last time a relative of yours died in a hospital emergency room of neglect after sitting and waiting for help for over 24 hours.?

By Alessan O on 07/25/2008 12:19 am

e-mail alert

Allessan O ………… I am indeed fortunate that my husband survived that drop in a crane while the operator was napping; that my father survived the stroke he suffered at the hands of incompetent surgeons during Stint surgery in February 2001. Yes, we could have sued for damages. My father has less than 30 percent use of his right arm and leg. I also know that we could have sued the pants off the individual responsible for the fire that my mother was burned in. My mother is still in the healing process after nearly 17 years. She is 100 percent disabled due to the fire. The profession of Personal Injury Lawyers set the precedent (opportunity) to sue anyone and everyone simply based on a loophole in the law. It became the mentality of “just because they could …. they did”. They “seek out” individuals and inflate the expenses incurred in hopes of larger settlements, and they do so with intent. That form of “malice” is in many ways far more damaging to a society than that of the “initial act” for which a claim against a company or individual is established. This is not done out of the kindness in their hearts, nor is it from the desire to seek justice. These (PIL’s) are doing so out of greed because they can get away with it. These (PIL’s) are doing so for the notoriety. These (PIL’s) are doing so for their own personal gain. I have known tragedy in my life, and I’m a compassionate individual. I never meant to imply that Corporate America or Physicians were above reproach. And I meant no disrespect.

By Linda Clark on 07/25/2008 5:03 pm

e-mail alert

John Edwards is not greedy, and his cases were just luck, I think. He is the first man in his family to attend college and law school, he formed his own law firm after dabbling in other types of law and small jobs right after school. He is not the persons you describe. If you don’t what you are talking about you should not talk, you sound like the enquirer and very mean spirited.

By Alessan O on 07/25/2008 9:20 pm

e-mail alert

Alessan O …… Respectfully we will have to agree to disagree. I thank you for the dialog.

By Linda Clark on 07/25/2008 9:44 pm

e-mail alert

As I understand it, there is nothing conclusive about this as yet. All the links cited merely quote the National Enquirer and provide nothing more substantial. Perhaps if we look closer, we’ll see the greasy paw print of Karl Rove at work in this? This is his specialty, after all, and heaven knows what he will be cooking up in his evil lab over the next few months.

By Tick Pyne on 07/24/2008 5:17 pm

e-mail alert

Erica Rove is certainly manipulative, but if it were Rove wouldn’t he have waited on the info until Edwards (if he was the pick) became Vice Pres nominee? Because at that time, it wouldn’t only hurt Edwards, it would hurt Obama, and that is who they really want to hinder?

By Frannie Em on 07/28/2008 2:09 am

e-mail alert

National Enquirer? National Enquirer!!? And they haven’t said the love child was born with 2 heads and the mistress is from another planet?? Really, Wow, I thought you had more class than that. If it’s printed in the National Enquirer, most likely there’s little truth to it-it’s a trashy tabloid for sale at every supermarket check out stand, so why would you even pass that kind of stuff along. Who will benefit by it and who will be hurt by it and what will be gained? Will it help or hurt his family? Will it help or hurt America to spread such garbage? You should be ashamed.

By JJ GB on 07/24/2008 5:21 pm

e-mail alert

“Over the past 24 hours, Internet news sites have been reporting on this week’s explosive National Enquirer story exposing a supposed John Edwards tryst in a Hollywood hotel.” And you need to ask why MSM isn’t touching this story? Let’s begin with the word “alleged.” The National Enquirer didn’t prove anything. No photos of Edwards getting out of the car at the hotel? No video? No proof at all. Why would the Enquirer hold that back? If the story is true and that explosive, put all the evidence out on the table.

By Corinne M. on 07/24/2008 6:33 pm

e-mail alert

Until I hear it from a reputable news source—I’ll withhold any further comments—the National Enquirer—I wouldn’t wrap week-old fish in that for the garbgae.

By Frank Peterson on 07/24/2008 6:43 pm