CBS Early Show co-host Maggie Rodriguez wondered on Friday: "Lots of politicians get caught having affairs, as you know. The trick, though, is making a comeback. It’s happened before, but the question is does John Edwards have a political future?"
Rodriguez later introduced the segment by citing Edwards’ recent comments about his political future in a Washington Post interview: "Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton, just two of the high profile politicians who’ve survived the scandal of having an extramarital affair. Now John Edwards is speaking out for the first time, since his affair, about testing the waters for a possible political comeback. But is it too late? Is the damage done?"
In the report that followed, correspondent Nancy Cordes quoted Kenneth Vogel of Politico on the topic: "His cancer-stricken wife knew about the affair, asked him not to run for president. He did anyway. He kept it from his staffers. His political committees may have paid hush money. All of these things put together just make it that much more difficult for him to find a way to rehabilitate himself in the public eye." Cordes responded to that seeming political obituary by declaring: "Not so fast. Lots of politicians, after all, have had affairs and gone on to successful careers. Crisis management experts say Edwards may be testing the waters and could still have a political future."
What Cordes failed to mention was the fact that since the scandal broke, Edwards has turned his back on a number of charitable causes that he once championed. Writing for Newsweek’s ‘The Gaggle’ blog, Holly Bailey pointed out: "Edwards has stopped helping a lot of the people he trotted out when he was running for president. That program he set up to pay for the first year of college tuition for students at a high school in North Carolina? Over. Edwards also pledged to help several families in New Orleans whose homes were in foreclosure but that assistance has dried up." Abandoning the very people he claimed to be fighting for during his presidential bid hardly seems to be a good strategy for making a political comeback.
Cordes went on to cite crisis management expert Gene Grabowski, who said of Edwards’ affair: "It will never be forgotten, but it can be forgiven." Cordes then suggested a possible first step toward rehabilitation: "More than anything, he [Grabowski] says, Edwards needs time and to make a high profile apology, maybe on Oprah, where his wife recently discussed the affair he had with Rielle Hunter."
Here is the full transcript of the Friday Early Show segment:
7:01AM TEASE:
MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: Also ahead this morning, lots of politicians get caught having affairs, as you know. The trick, though, is making a comeback. It’s happened before, but the question is does John Edwards have a political future? This morning we're going to talk about it because he has spoken out about it for the first time.
7:12AM TEASE:
CHRIS WRAGGE: Coming up next, John Edwards' fall from grace. Does he have a political future, or is it dead in the water?
7:15AM SEGMENT:
MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton, just two of the high profile politicians who’ve survived the scandal of having an extramarital affair. Now John Edwards is speaking out for the first time, since his affair, about testing the waters for a possible political comeback. But is it too late? Is the damage done? CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes reports.
NANCY CORDES: John Edwards is hardly the first public figure to face a sex scandal.
BILL CLINTON: I did not have sexual relations with that woman.
JOHN ENSIGN: Absolutely the worst thing that I've ever done in my life.
CORDES: But in Edwards' case, it's more than just an affair.
KENNETH VOGEL [SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, POLITICO.COM]: His cancer-stricken wife knew about the affair, asked him not to run for president. He did anyway. He kept it from his staffers. His political committees may have paid hush money. All of these things put together just make it that much more difficult for him to find a way to rehabilitate himself in the public eye.
CORDES: Not so fast. Lots of politicians, after all, have had affairs and gone on to successful careers. Crisis management experts say Edwards may be testing the waters and could still have a political future.
GENE GRABOWSKI [SENIOR VP, LEVICK STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS]: It will never be forgotten, but it can be forgiven.
CORDES: More than anything, he says, Edwards needs time and to make a high profile apology, maybe on Oprah, where his wife recently discussed the affair he had with Rielle Hunter.
OPRAH WINFREY: Did you believe it was the only time ever?
ELIZABETH EDWARDS: Yeah, I mean, I believe that. I want to believe that.
CORDES: For now it seems not even Edwards knows what to expect. He told the Post, quote, ‘sometimes you just keep your head down and work hard and see what happens.’ Nancy Cordes, CBS News, Washington.
—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.




















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Stranger things have
June 19, 2009 - 10:18 ET by Chris NormanStranger things have happened (like Barak Obama's cult following), but I think even most liberals have had it with John Edwards. His shelf life is expired, his show cancelled...
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Edwards is no Ensign
June 19, 2009 - 10:31 ET by allanfLot's of politicians get caught having affairs but few are as smarmy as John Edwards. The story had traction because it confirmed what people suspected under their breath about the man -- he was a sleaze.
Edwards constant and false denials of the affair also did not help. That sets him apart from say John Ensign.
His sleazy affair was just
June 19, 2009 - 10:46 ET by Chris NormanHis sleazy affair was just the turbo charger on his flight into political oblivion. He's a two-time loser. I doubt that even his one time supporters would want to see him run again - they all went on to Obama. He was a golden boy for some for a time, but now, he's yesterday's news and destined to be an answer in Trivial Pursuit around 2050.
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Sleazy
June 19, 2009 - 10:57 ET by BlondeEdwards' sleaze factor is about the same as that of Gary Condit.
Didn't work out too well for him, did it?
I hope he fails, too.
Gradations of sleaze
June 19, 2009 - 18:27 ET by needleI don’t think that Gary Condit lied about his affair for two years, and in any case he did not father a baby (and then lied about that too). While Condit’s sleaze factor is in the red zone, I would say that Edwards' sleaze factor is definitely worse than Gary Condit’s.
And yes, it did not work out well at all for Gary Condit.
The only thing that makes this topic interesting is the double – or should I say “multiple” – standard of the MSM. The fact that they seem to care so little about adultery among their own, firms up in my mind that they are all lying ho’s and philanders, or at least potentially so.
It is a disgrace that they are the ones serving us the news. It is like having an embezzler managing my portfolio.
Impunitas semper ad deteriora invitat.
entirely plausable
June 19, 2009 - 10:27 ET by i was just thinkingGiven the low standards and high tolerance of almost any behavior, then the answer must be... of course, the Silky Pony will ride again! (ummmm... no pun intended. really.)
Wait....
June 19, 2009 - 10:54 ET by Paul Atreidesthis is the network, among others, devoted to taking down Palin.
A woman whose child had a baby out of wedlock prevents her from ever holding another office, yet, a preening Kennedy-wannabe has an affair and he gets to have a comeback.
Edwards
June 19, 2009 - 11:15 ET by SemusSadly nothing would surprise me, the Democrats have no honor or shame. When he makes his come back he'll be lauded for his courage. His wife will be standing next to him. They'll appear together on the Today show or something, it will be very heart warming, and all will be forgiven, the little scamp. What I would love to see is Edwards get the crap beat out of him again as he did by Cheney.
I don't know what it is, deliberate obtuseness, suspension of disbelief, why aren't more people sick of this on going scam against them the culprits being MSM and the Democrats?
Sounds reasonable. First
June 19, 2009 - 11:28 ET by fitzfongSounds reasonable. First Elliot Spitzer, now John Edwards. While we're at it, why don't we bring back the entire Lazarus Brigade of failed "Legend in His Own Mind" Democrat politicians...Jim McGreevey, Kwame Kilpatrick, Rod Blagojevich, Marion Berry, Gray Davis, Bob Torricelli, Gary Hart, Jerry Springer...
"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered." -George Best
I don't believe that he
June 19, 2009 - 11:58 ET by ricklailI don't believe that he could be elected dog catcher in Orange County NC. The towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro love him but the folks out in the rurals areas see what he did to the tax appraisal of their land when he built the mansion.
Semper suprene nitens
Haven't we suffered enough?
June 19, 2009 - 11:59 ET by RoloTTo call Edwards unctuous and smarmy is to insult the truly unctuous and smarmy. To paraphrase Nick Nolte near the end of "48 hours": "You're done. End of story."
Please bring that dirty
June 19, 2009 - 12:07 ET by pwozPlease bring that dirty trial lawyer back!
No universal health care then! woohoO!
"The Golden Boy" is made of
June 19, 2009 - 12:12 ET by totsotvaitn"The Golden Boy" is made of tarnished brass
lied through his teeth to protect his ass
Now he is finished and out of sight
But wants to start the comeback fight
People can be fooled and forgive it's true
But the plain fact is We don't want you
Whats The Point?
June 19, 2009 - 12:25 ET by aeroveloEdwards is just another liberal politician bent on making this world better for himself and worse for everyone else.
My favorite line about him from Dennis Miller..."Edwards is just a vehicle for a hair cut to get around town."
He can stay gone, he can try again, either way he wont make a damned bit of positive difference in the world.
---
Ask yourself: Do I want a good paying job, or do I want a government hand out. Its that simple!
The real
June 19, 2009 - 12:35 ET by bigtimerThe real Edwards.
h/t Jack Bauer
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
It's not just the affair
June 19, 2009 - 12:39 ET by suzycreamcheeseIt's not just the affair with this guy. He's an all-around sleaze, and even lefty loons can see that.
"Comeback" requires a past
June 19, 2009 - 13:05 ET by Edhenry"Comeback" requires a past comprising of a significant skill or a worthy accomplishment, accompanied by a modicum of respect.
Liberal media, please articulate this for us.
.....crickets
→ Edhenry
June 19, 2009 - 17:24 ET by Cool ArrowA "comeback" might refer to the liberal practice of "unscrewing"
see also abortion/infanticide.
♣
Give me the good ol' days...
June 19, 2009 - 17:21 ET by greggywhen the liberal media would at least wait until the criminal investigations were complete before they started rehabilitating these people. There is weighty circumstantial evidence that hush-money was paid, with fraud involved, and Rielle Hunter the last I heard was going to have a DNA test done. Chances seem pretty good she wouldn't be planning to do that as a response to Elizabeth Edwards' insults, if it wasn't John's baby. So even after John finally quit lying to the public about the affair, when he no longer had plausible deniability - but the other shoe may yet drop showing he lied about whether he could be the father. Total disgrace.
Oh yeah, bring it on.
June 19, 2009 - 19:33 ET by needleConsidering that for Liberals ethics and morality do not matter, except in the service of bashing conservatives and Republicans, it would probably not be any problem to rehabilitate John Edwards as far as Liberals are concerned. After all they were not the least bit concerned about his integrity until the National Enquirer forced them acknowledge that maybe something was not on the level with him.
But for the rest of the nation, for which ethics and morality do matter, John Edwards is dead meat.
For me and many others adultery is an irrefutable and incandescent litmus test for integrity. It would be hilarious to watch the Libs run Edwards, and in effect advertise at the top of their voices that they are all lying scum.
Oh yeah, bring it on.
The fact that the MSM would even consider Edwards as a viable national candidate proves with precision that the lying scum bags of the MSM do not really care about ethics and morality. The real message is the Libs simply cannot offer up a candidate with any integrity.
Impunitas semper ad deteriora invitat.