If You Didn’t Think John Edwards Was Done, You Will Now
Can we ever trust John Edwards again?
My answer? Ummm…no.
Well, at least with anything political. I’d trust him to borrow a garden hose, but that’s about it.
Because if even one tenth of what’s in the new book ‘Game Change’ is true about Edwards (and his wife) it would be enough. The book paints Edwards as a reckless opportunist, an ego monster, a guy who’s so blinded by the need for power that he would do nearly anything to get it.
For instance, after it was well established inside the Edwards camp that he was having an affair, it didn’t stop him. Not for a moment. In fact, he became even more brazen. So much so that he proposed the following deal to Obama after Iowa…
Yet Edwards had no intention of going quietly into any good night. He had a contingency plan. Two months earlier, he had asked Leo Hindery, a New York media investor who was one of his closest confidants, to convey an audacious proposal to Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader and a mentor to Obama: If Edwards won the caucuses, Obama would immediately drop out of the race and become his running mate; if Obama won, Edwards would do the converse. Wounding though a loss in Iowa would be to Hillary, she might be strong enough to bounce back. The only way to guarantee her elimination would be to take the extraordinary step of uniting against her.
Hindery had presented the proposal to Daschle, with whom he’d long been friends. Daschle brought it to the Obama campaign. The talks were tentative; nothing had been decided.
Now, with the results of Iowa in, Edwards determined it was time to make the deal. A little while before taking the stage to deliver his concession speech, he summoned Hindery to his hotel suite and issued a directive: “Get ahold of Tom.”
Hindery considered the timing miserable. Obama just frickin’ won Iowa, he thought. Give him a chance to savor it. But Edwards wanted to set the wheels in motion—immediately.
Edwards knew that the Rielle Hunter affair could explode at any moment, but his ego was willing to pull the entire Democratic party down with him. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s world class douchebaggery at its very douchbaggiest.
Thankfully Obama rejected the offer. After all, he was on a roll and Edwards didn’t bring a lot to the table. Also, it’s not like he added very much to Kerry’s ticket in 2004. The deal made no sense.
Oh, but that didn’t stop John…
Clinton’s astonishing comeback in New Hampshire put an end to Obama’s hopes of a quick finish to the nomination contest—and led Edwards to believe that there was still an opening to strike a bargain. On the eve of the South Carolina primary two weeks later, he again dispatched Hindery to make a revised offer, this time a trade for Edwards’s endorsement.
“John will settle for attorney general,” Hindery e-mailed Daschle.
Daschle shook his head. How desperate is this guy?
“Leo, this isn’t good for John,” Daschle replied. “This is ridiculous. It’s going to be ambassador to Zimbabwe next.”
When Obama heard about the suggested quid pro quo, he was incredulous. That’s crazy, he told Axelrod. If I were willing to make a deal like that, I shouldn’t be president!
Indeed.
By the way, the entire excerpt about Edwards is well worth the read over at New York Magazine. Because it’s not just about the the affair. Lots of behind the scenes revelations, including the difference between the public Elizabeth Edwards and the private one…who appears to be just as egomaniacal and power hungry as her husband.
Here’s the question: He’s done, right?
(Cartoon: New York Magazine)
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Yes. It certainly looks that way. I really feel sorry for his wife with being ill and having to put up with his crap.
“When Obama heard about the suggested quid pro quo, he was incredulous. That’s crazy, he told Axelrod. If I were willing to make a deal like that, I shouldn’t be president!”
Now THAT is fucking funny!
I’m not the biggest fan of Edwards ever, but this entire attack by Mark Halperin — I’d love to see him try to beat up someone who wasn’t already on the ground this way. Although he wouldn’t, he doesn’t have the guts.
I feel the same way about Edwards as I do about Eliot Spitzer: an amazingly talented guy who let his ego get in the way of the good he might have actually done for the country. I think the word “trust” and the word “politician” should never be used in the same sentence. Let’s not kid ourselves that there isn’t a lot of dirty dealing going on even among the candidates we like. Had Edwards not had a baby with Hunter this book would probably not have gone to press, and you can bet your boots he’d be back in the political saddle after the dust settled, just like Spitzer’s doing now. As it is, he’s toast.
Folks,
This book isn’t JUST about Edwards. He’s only one part. I’m not sure if it came through in the post, but it follows all of the candidates.
So while I understand that everybody thinks this is Halperin kicking a man when he’s down, it’s more like a couple reporters (John Heilemann co-authored) telling everybody about what happened behind the scenes of every campaign. In that sense, it’s fair.
He is done. Some people could maybe come back from something like this, but Edwards has always had that “blow-dried but oily” aura around him. His skeevy behavior was confirmation of everyone’s gut instincts. They won’t forget.
I haven’t read the article/book yet, but I happened to see Elizabeth Edwards at a local book-signing/fair type of thing. Seemed like a very interesting and engaging woman. This was pre-affair revelations, and her ongoing cancer battle was foremost in everyone’s mind. What surprised me was how popular she was. The line for her to sign a book was (I’m not kidding) ten times longer than any of the other nationally known (but second-tier) media figures/authors.
I’ll be interested to see her “dark side”.
Just read the article.
Wow. He’s a worse guy than I thought he was. And she may not be winning any Miss Congeniality contests but I think I see someone unbalanced by crippling disappointments and illness more than a bad person. Who knows?
I generally hate to buy political “tell-all” books like this, because I can get them at the library and they rarely bear a second reading, but this one might be an exception.
I have to admit, I want to read the book. As much as I say I hate gossip, this sort of stuff is way too juicy to pass up.