Edwards' trial delayed because of heart condition
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Two-time Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards wants to delay his trial on alleged campaign finance violations because of a heart condition, a federal judge said Friday.
U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles was meeting behind closed doors Friday afternoon with Edwards, his attorneys and federal prosecutors to determine whether to grant a two-month delay. The trial is currently set to begin on Jan. 30.
Before meeting with the prosecutors and defense, Eagles said in court that she has received letters from two cardiologists, stating that they have scheduled a medical procedure for Edwards in February and that a trial would "reduce the chance for success."
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http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/10594813/
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Warpy
(111,254 posts)to have it all resolved or still hanging over my head. I assume they mean they won't get paid if he loses the case and has to fork everything he's got over to the court.
And now I feel a bit sorry for him.
Snake Alchemist
(3,318 posts)
Ruby the Liberal
(26,219 posts)'Little health issues' like cancer didn't seem to bother him when he was screwing another woman behind Elizabeth's back.
He needs to step up to the plate and face the music.
Weasel.
Lifelong Protester
(8,421 posts)The kids don't need to lose two parents. Even a crummy cheater of a Dad is better than no parent.
Ruby the Liberal
(26,219 posts)inane lawyer-game excuses. This has got to be hard on those kids.
tpsbmam
(3,927 posts)Sadly, I find myself agreeing with you. What he did to Elizabeth, and thus his family, is horrifying. When I add in the fact that he was willing to run hard for the nomination when he had to know this would have inevitably come out if he was the nominee and thus his narcissistic willingness to screw the entire country by, at the very least, improving the chances of a McCain win......weasel is kinder than what I'm thinking.
The Green Manalishi
(1,054 posts)OK, cheating on your wife = scum, no argument, but if she would forgive him it's not my place to judge.
What is nearly unforgivable is running and running hard when the McCain/Palin camp very likely would have found out and broke the story at the most critical time. Putting your willie where it don't belong is one thing, putting the country a heartbeat away from President Palin is something else.
cstanleytech
(26,290 posts)on finding any at all for him.................its his deceased wife Elizabeth who deserves sympathy.
northoftheborder
(7,572 posts)BUT, in the large scheme of things, with massive schemes going on in this country that are unethical, illegal, unconstitutional, and that really are affecting all of us, and the country in whole in destructive ways, this trial seems trivial.
xxqqqzme
(14,887 posts)piles of money are being delivered by forklift to campaigns.
bathroommonkey76
(3,827 posts)the Supreme Court for that.
hyphenate
(12,496 posts)regardless of who got caught. Almost every single other person in politics has accepted money from and used money by people who donated it. Edwards isn't any different than everyone else.
I adored Elizabeth and I was quite angry at John for many reasons, but I think it's time for people to move on. We give ex-cons a second chance after they've done their time--it's been 4 years now for Edwards, and frankly his "crime" was certainly not as horrific as some of the crimes others who've served less time in prison. Michael Vick perpetrated horrible crimes and now he's back making millions in his new job.
This is probably not going to be a popular stance, I know. But it seems to me that Edwards did a lot of good things in his life, and that it is extremely wrong on the whole to make him into a complete pariah as a result of his cheating. Fuck it, there are people like Bush and Cheney and Rove and Norquist and the whole lot of the last administration who perpetrated terrible things while in office and beyond who have never paid for any of their crimes.
We negate Elezabeth's forgiveness of John by refusing to acknowledge his accomplishments.
karynnj
(59,503 posts)It is legal to accept money - within the limit - from people who donate it - and use it in campaigns. It is not ok to accept money - way over the limit - and later argue that it was not a campaign contribution, but a gift from someone whose ONLY connection is that she wanted him to be President. If you accept that as ok, you are saying that there are NO limits to contributions.
It is true that every campaign, if each and every contribution was examined closely would be found to have accepted some they shouldn't or misclassified on expense in some way. These are to be expected given that a campaign starts with nothing and in a short time is running something the size of a medium business. That is why all campaigns have money set aside to pay the fines they get from these mistakes. The difference is that in most, there is no pattern that indicates they were intentionally breaking the law or that there was any fraud by the candidate. Note that even with the Republicans wanting to take them down - there are no charges against Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry or Al Gore.
In addition, Edwards has no had his trial - they may be unable to find him guilty of breaking any law - or they may find that he deliberately broke the law to avoid using his own money to support Rielle Hunter. Had he used his own money, he would not be in trouble. As this happened AFTER Elizabeth knew of Rielle and they opted to continue the campaign, he likely could have used his own money. (I assume that he did not want to tell EE the truth - he continued the affair after confessing to her and got Rielle pregnant a few months after EE's awful diagnosis - but he could have suggested it was blackmail. Not to mention, as their was a baby, he could not hide it forever, denying his own child.)
I don't think anyone denies the good things Edwards did - in fact, he got copious amounts of praise for them given what they were. In addition, no one is equating what he did to what Bush and Cheney did or what Norquist is doing now.
hyphenate
(12,496 posts)has fucked things up royally, and I'm sure there is a lot of shit we will never know about campaign contributions for any candidate.
I do understand about the campaign funds, but I guess what I was reacting to was the continued hatred of John Edwards even knowing he did a lot of good before the presidential bid.
There are some people who are so very glad that he wasn't elected as VP in 2004 because they think he would have still cheated on Elizabeth if he was VP, and I say, there is no way to prive that, and no way to know what would have happened at all.
My brother has spent 6 years in frustration because of my SIL's cancer and eventual death. She often told him while she was ill that she couldn't have much of a physical relationship. I'm sure Elizabeth and John went through that as well. Any couple would have problems when their partner has a terminal illness. We're all flesh and bone, and we err--often. If we were perfect, the world would be a very different place. I don't condone Edwards cheating on Elizabeth, but I can understand in some part where it came from. If Edwards had become VP, perhaps things would have been very different, and there would not be a controversy. But it didn't happened, and other shit did.
I respect Edwards for his work for the Southern Poverty Law Center, and for all of his efforts on behalf of people who got raw deals, and the class action suits he litigated. But this outright hatred of him is disgusting, and I have gotten sick of people attacking him now, especially since he is now a private citizen, and deserves as much respect as any other private citizen in this country.
So I suppose to some people I'm an asshole for trying to regard John Edwards as a human being, not some god who defiled someone and got away with it. If it's not hypocrisy on the part of those who insist that he is the lowest sleazebag on planet earth, I can only point them to look at the politicians on the right side of the fence.
karynnj
(59,503 posts)You have to realize that I am definitely not one who is glad that Edwards did not become VP - that, if course, would have meant that that John Kerry would have become President. As to whether that would have made Edwards less likely to stray, I assume that it would have just because he would not have been in the same situation. (Both in terms of not being out on the road, but I suspect that losing and Elizabeth's diagnosis at the same time might have led him to be more susceptible to someone telling him he was special etc/) In addition, had done so, he likely would have been replaced for 2008 - as it would confirm the misgivings Kerry had about him.
I respect the people associated with the SPLC, which has done excellent work since the 1970s. Is Edwards now working with them? (I did try to use google - and simply got RW hate sites when I tried John Edwards Southern Poverty Law Center.
I don't hate Edwards, but there are many reasons why I did not respect him much in 2004 (but it didn't matter because I was extremely happy with Kerry as the nominee), then I grew to respect him less in 2005 and 2006 as he lied about the 2004 campaign. I think of him as someone who got a number of very lucky breaks and was given the chance to be VP and a serious contender for President - even though he had an extremely short resume. His response was to become extremely arrogant. I don't think he is the biggest sleazebag on earth, but I do not think he ever was a genuine, good person with flaws, which is the best we can ask for.
itsrobert
(14,157 posts)to his penis.
bathroommonkey76
(3,827 posts)
HelenWheels
(2,284 posts)he broke my heart with his disgusting behavior. I really believed in his message but he is nothing but a fake.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Wonder what the "procedure" is? Angioplasty?
If it were actual surgery, you would think they would use that word.
This smells like "phlebitis" to me--a condition Nixon actually had, and used to good effect to avoid the stand. Thing is, though, Nixon was to testify at the trial of others, it wasn't his own butt that was on the line.
He can't kick the can down the road forever....unless he jumps on a Lear Jet and joins Ken Lay on that remote island...?
Edited to add this link: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/13/us/john-edwards-heart-condition/index.html
The criminal trial has been delayed until at least March 26, according to the court source. Judge Catherine Eagles said she has been in contact with Edwards' cardiologist, who recommended a postponement, saying Edwards is scheduled to undergo surgery next month.
Peregrine Took
(7,413 posts)I read that all details about his medical condition have been sealed.
It should not be anything he is ashamed to talk about.
Maybe a valve replacement?
MADem
(135,425 posts)All he's doing is kicking the can down the road.
If it's not something VERY serious, he's risking looking like a bullshit artist, and it could make it worse for him.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,339 posts)That ship has sailed.
MADem
(135,425 posts)alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)
itsrobert
(14,157 posts)Your cheatin' heart,
Will make you weep,
You'll cry and cry,
And try to sleep,
But sleep won't come,
The whole night through,
Your cheatin heart, will tell on you...
MADem
(135,425 posts)Whose heart is achin' for breakin' each vow
Who's sad and blue, who's cryin' too
Just like I cried over you
Right to the end just like a friend
I tried to warn you somehow
You had your way, now you must pay
I'm glad that you're sorry now
pengillian101
(2,351 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)pengillian101
(2,351 posts)Oops, posted wrong again in a thread. 
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Last edited Fri Jan 13, 2012, 05:58 PM - Edit history (1)
have to come from such a sleazebag?? 
MaineDem
(18,161 posts)I supported him and I will never forgive him for what he's done to Elizabeth and their children. As well as running knowing full well this would come out. Scumbag!
I don't care what happens to him. Trust has been broken on so many fronts.
truthisfreedom
(23,146 posts)I find it difficult to hold any human being to a standard higher than I'd hold one of my own friends. My friends have done it, they're still my friends, and I still like Edwards. He's payed dearly for this action.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)
1monster
(11,012 posts)the harshest puritan chuch that ever existed in history here on DU when it comes to Edwards. Hawthorne's SCARLET LETTER character's had nothing on the "DU Never, ever sinnin' Saints High Judicial Panel."
As one of the more ignored teachings of one of the acclaimed religions in this country, a teaching I agree with, "Let he without sin cast the first stone."
(PS: It doesn't say, let he without the same sin cast the first stone." People are tempted by different things.)
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)He was weak. He was never my choice because he supported the war. He apologized for that when he saw it as a disadvantage in the election.
I find his support for that War to be far more egregious than his personal behavior, bad as it was.
Ironically people who are outraged over him, will willingly support warmongers who kill other people's wives and children with impunity. And some of them are actually supporting Newt Gingrich who is worse as far as ethics go, imho, or at least as bad.
But to me their warmongering is their greatest crime. The rest is bad but not my business.
Ruby the Liberal
(26,219 posts)it is because he could have easily been our candidate in 2008. If one knowingly has those kinds of not-yet-dead-enough-to-even-be-skeletons in the closet, they need to stay the hell away from a national campaign.
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)I still think his support for Bush's war was much more serious an offense, and against so many people. That act helped take the lives of over one million people and maimed so many more plus guaranteed that future generations will suffer the results for who knows how long. That was a crime against humanity, imho. I remember the night of that vote. It was devastating.
I doubt he had a chance at the nomination, maybe VP, but the worst that would have happened would have been to find another VP. Compare that to the results of the wars he supported. Just my opinion. And of course he supported and then didn't support the wars for political reasons because he is a very weak character. I'm thinking many of them are though.
peacebird
(14,195 posts)Snake Alchemist
(3,318 posts)I would look for new friends.
MADem
(135,425 posts)all the time, though. If your friends stole your money to perpetuate their lies, would you feel the same way?
That's the big diff, here. We're not talking about a little cheatin', a little foolin' around--we're talking about his repetitive denying of a child he knew he fathered (what will that poor kid think when she googles her daddy years from now, I wonder), and his persistent lying, even when caught, about his conduct.
He wasn't just one of those hard dogs to keep on the porch; he was a thief and a liar, and someone who used those closest and most loyal to him to take the blame for him, to help him cover up his bad behavior and perpetuate a lie to his wife. That's not a nice guy.
He didn't pay dearly--everyone who gave him cash in good faith did. Everyone who invested their hopes in him, and who worked for him tirelessly, and who defended him when it all started to go wobbly, did.
He won't be paying until the judge bangs the gavel. And the one who will really pay is his oldest daughter--you know she'll end up doing the heavy lifting when it comes to raising her little brother and sister.
TheWraith
(24,331 posts)He didn't just cheat on his wife. He fathered a child on his mistress, while his wife was dying of incurable cancer.
He repeatedly denied and lied about said child, trying to make one of his loyal staffers take the fall.
He ran for President while knowing that all of this was out there, ready to come out on a moment's notice.
And he defrauded his supporters for north of a million dollars in order to cover all this up.
That's rather a bit different from just "cheating on your wife."
undeterred
(34,658 posts)campaign money. It takes two cardiologists to do it. 
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)The nastiness, meanness of the comments on this thread reflect more negatively on the people posting them than on Edwards.
If you think that Edwards' conduct was at all unusual, you are wrong. Gingrich is on his third marriage. He cheated on wife one with wife two and on wife two with wife three. This does not seem to bother Evangelical Christians. Democrats laugh at him but do not pounce on Gingrich with the soul-destroying hatred with which they attack John Edwards.
Is cheating on your spouse despicable? Yes. Is it unusual? No. While infidelity may not occur in the majority of marriages, it is far more common than some on DU seem to realize. Only the naive, the very naive, are unaware of this fact.
It's called mid-life crisis. It takes a different form in different people.
One set of rules for all. Bill Clinton had his little amour in the White House.
If you condemn Edwards and wish ill on him, how do you feel about Bill Clinton? Or was that "different" because Hillary was not ill? Or was it "different" because no child was conceived? Did those facts make it less of a problem? How about the fact that Bill Clinton fooled around in the White House? Does that make it better or worse? Face it. Two men, similar conduct, how can one be condemned in the vitriolic manner of these posts while the other is viewed as a hero? Are moral rules to be applied differently for your heroes than for the opponents of your heroes?
To me, both Clinton and Edwards are human beings with failings and strengths. Neither of them deserves the kinds of comments being made about Edwards on this thread.
In spite of all his problems and all his mistakes, I still have a great deal of respect for John Edwards, for his accomplishments as a person who rose from the lower middle-class via state schools (no Ivy League for him) to become a very successful plaintiff's attorney. I respect him for that.
I wish we had a successful plaintiff's attorney, a person who saw corporations for what they are and had practice in winning big settlements from them, in the White House today. Obama is a tool of the corporate elite. Edwards, in spite of his record in the Senate, showed in his policy proposals and his speeches in 2008 that he had wised up, that he understood how corporations wield their power.
Personally, I suspect that his current legal problems are once again due to corporate influence in our legal system. What he is accused of doing may be technically very wrong, but I suspect that it is done quite often and that the prosecutions for it are arbitrary and politically motivated.
Remember Don Siegelman in Alabama. The charges against Edwards are of the kind that are, like those against Siegelman, selectively enforced to achieve political ends.
I am not one to be silent in the face of such nastiness.
It is easy to pounce on and attack someone who is down. Doing that is a sign of bad character in my book.
Ms. Toad
(34,066 posts)is more than "technically very wrong" and a bit different in the eyes of the law than cheating on your wife. Some of that money came from corporations - but some also came from little people to whom it might really have mattered - and was not donated for the purpose of covering up his bad behavior.
I don't wish him ill (and I certainly don't wish another parental loss on his children), but he is being too secretive - and his doctors aren't helping any - about whether this is a serious illness or just an attempt to delay things. He already has a major credibility issue, and he is not doing himself any favors.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)I haven't heard the same information that you have heard.
MADem
(135,425 posts)being called out for not just cheating, but fathering a child, lying about that, denying the kid, blaming a staffer for the parentage, and stealing donor money to hand over to the baby's mother in order to keep her mouth shut. He ran for President knowing he had this Harding-sized elephant in the room, lied to his supporters, lied on TV, over and over and over again, and never gave a proper accounting for his actions, even when he was caught dead to rights in a hotel bathroom by a scandal sheet.
He put his wife through hell, too, after she supported him so ardently, believed him when he lied, lied, lied to her, and risked/gave her life getting pumped full of hormones to give him a son to carry on his precious family name. It would serve him right if the kid changed his name to his mother's maiden name when he reaches maturity.
It's not a question of "pouncing." No one is doing that. This guy is a serial bullshit artist. He's reaping precisely what he has sown with his dishonest, power-hungry conduct. Had he confessed to his wife, withdrawn from the Presidential race, not tried to play a bullshit "To Whom Will I Lend My Support" game between BHO and HRC, and used his own frigging money to support his latest child, he wouldn't be in this fix.
It's ALL on him. He did this to himself. He dug a hole so deep he couldn't pull himself out, and he did it all by himself. Poor judgment, and not-too-bright, IMO.
NobodyInParticular
(102 posts)Tell me please, what percentage of politicians in your opinion do not deserve to be called "serial bullshit artists?"
MADem
(135,425 posts)with a discussion about John Edwards' conduct, anyway?
Surely, you're not dragging out the "Well, everyone else is bad, too" excuse? Everyone gets a papal dispensation, then, or alternatively, everyone must line up for equal blame?
I can tell you this--I don't know of a lot of politicians who stole a million bucks of donor money to give to the "baby mama" of his secret, denied "love child," do you? I don't know a lot of politicians who bullied their loyal staffers into taking the rap as the child's father, do you? I don't know a lot of politicians who ran for the Presidency while knowing he was lying, cheating AND stealing in this fashion, do you?
This guy IS a serial bullshit artist, and this thread is about him, not others.
If you want to discuss other serial bullshit artists who are also politicians, you're more than welcome to start a thread on them, too!
NobodyInParticular
(102 posts)how much of what you are saying is established fact, and how much is allegation? Where is the proof that he has stolen? ... Lying? Did Clinton lie when he said, "I did not have sex with that woman?" When men get caught with their pants down, they are reputed to resort to lying. Please, before you respond to this particular post, read some new posts I made later in this blog.
BTW Re Lying, I strongly recommend the TV series "Lie to Me," where the protagonist resorts to lying so as to uncover the lies of the antagonist.
MADem
(135,425 posts)If I am wrong, I will say so. I don't think I'll have to say that, but who knows, I have been wrong before and don't have a problem admitting it when I am.
I think he'll be lucky if he gets less time than Blago got. There is a paper trail with regard to the money, after all. There are witnesses (including that baby mama, who probably will get immunity for her testimony) who will testify to who delivered what cash to whom, and where it came from. What, everyone's lying but him? Like I've said elsewhere, the only way he gets out of this mess is to take a Lear Jet to the same tropical island paradise where Ken Lay is hiding out.
As for Clinton, sorry to tell you, but most people -- particularly the young among us, the future of our nation--agree with him (and the defined definition in his depositions) when he says he didn't have "sexual relations" with Miss Lewinsky. What he had amounted to foreplay in most books, a little fooling around. It wasn't right, he was a total pig, but at least he did the damn TV interview of shame, and in it he didn't try to suggest that Monica "enticed" him with flattery. He took the hit, as he should have. We got to roar with laughter every time Hillary gave him the evil eye, and he did the "hang dog" thing. And it's not like Clinton presented himself to America as a paragon of fidelity, a family man who would NEVER do anything wrong, like Edwards did--Clinton was characterized as a "hard dog to keep on the porch" when he was GOVERNOR Clinton, CANDIDATE Clinton--no surprises there. Genifer Flowers, anyone? We knew about her--and his roving eye-- before we cast our votes.
And when it came to the Monica scandal, gee, who was not at all shy about piling on?
http://liberalvaluesblog.com/2008/08/08/john-edwards-on-bill-clinton-and-monica-lewinsky/I think this President has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter. It is breathtaking to me the level to which that disrespect has risen.
Hint: That's John Edwards, talking about Bill Clinton, back in February of 1999. Pretty breathtaking, I'll say. That's some excoriation and finger wagging, right there! Sounds a bit like "Pick MEEE, Al Gore! Pick MEEEEEE!"
Even when Edwards was finally, with his back against the wall, admitting what he did, he was still trying to justify and minimize his conduct. He just couldn't be real. It apparently is not in his nature.
I realize you are very vested in a defense of Edwards, for whatever reasons, judging by your comments on this thread, but I can't share your view. I think the guy is a liar, a thief, incredibly selfish and self-centered, pathologically so, in fact, and completely unrepentant. I think his only deep and abiding regret is that he got caught.
I could never figure out, before all this came out, just WHY I could never warm to him, why I could never see in him what some of his most fervent acolytes saw, and why, even though the words sounded real pretty, that I could just never make a "sincerity" connection between him and what he was saying.
I simply had a visceral feeling that he was a bullshitter. Turns out I was correct.
NobodyInParticular
(102 posts)Who knows what real repentance is? How do you tell the difference between genuine repentance or a superbly dramatized tearful statement deserving of an Oscar? Looking at the most striking examples of celebrated repentants, who is the most genuine? Is it Clinton or Eliot Spitzer, or do we need to look beyond politics to other celebreties like Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker or even Hugh Grant. Yes, they were all convincing, but how real was their act? Do you think that just because a politician convinces himself that he is what he displays, he actually is that person to the core? A superior performer can render a more believable character than the person who has had the actual experience.
All of the above share the hubris of thinking they are special in ways they are not. Clinton with his folksiness thinking he's the best thing that happened to ordinary Americans while selling out the middle class to bankers and Wall Street and giving the shaft to the poor on welfare. Or Spitzer tearfully admitting his caper with an escort after having gone after a prostitution ring. Edwards getting his comeuppance years after after joining the self-righteous mob in congress in condemning Clinton. Damage control consultants will always tell their clients to make the most convincingly possible display of remorse.
If you go by the visceral, there has been no one better at making people feel cherished by projecting warm-heartedness than Reagan. But what counts in the end is not the projection of charm, but the positions on policy. And this is where Edwards was way ahead of the rest.
MADem
(135,425 posts)I'll bet at his sentencing hearing, assuming cameras in the courtroom, we'll be treated to a "superbly dramatized tearful statement deserving of an Oscar." He's done it before, with his kitchen table speeches, and his finger wagging at Clinton.
Reagan was an even bigger bullshitter than Edwards--I could smell him coming a mile away and I never bought that "Aw, shucks" crap he shoveled. He was a great joke in our family, as we had a relative who used to pull the same sort of "Hail, fellow, well met" routine, with the smile, the eye twinkle, the folksy little joke or parable, and so on--biggest horseshitter on the planet, he was. My relative was an unreliable, though essentially harmless, schmuck, seeing the same song-and-dance coming out of the leader of the free world, though, made my skin crawl.
All that said, you keep pointing to others--to Reagan, to Spitzer, to Clinton. None of them were ever accused of stealing a million bucks from campaign donations to shut up a baby mama. None of them directed subordinates to lie and say "That's MY baby" to deflect questions about his pregnant paramour, and to shuffle cash between donors and girlfriend.
See--this isn't about those other people. Two, three, ten wrongs--they don't make a right. This imbroglio is all about Edwards. He's in hot water. I imagine he'll have lots of time in a Country Club prison to think about his life, his deception, his brutal, unconscionable treatment of his wife and "precious" children (to pull a word from his classic excoriation of Clinton). Will he come to any insight as a consequence? Who knows?
If I were placing a bet, I'd put down a wee bet that his heart problem is tachycardia. I'd bet it was brought on by those panic attacks he was having last month, panic attacks likely caused by a potential thirty year sentence. He needs to go get the paddles, take the drugs, endure the cardioablation procedure, or do what he has to do to get his heart banging along smartly, go to court, take his medicine, go to jail, do his sentence, and hopefully come out with an understanding as to why so many people are royally pissed off at him, and think he's a total shithead.
I don't hold out a lot of hope for any self-actualization from him. He's lucky that he has money, money makes life easier in jail, I am told. Like I said, I am sure he is sorry--sorry he got caught.
NobodyInParticular
(102 posts)have contempt for if not outright hatred of Edwards. There's only one problem: Your stance rests on the following assumption: allegations = facts. If you wish to stay comfortable in holding on to this, look no further...
MADem
(135,425 posts)trial, either before or after the sentencing.
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)for all but a very few politicians. They are all bullshit artists. Which is why we have to hold their feet to the fire and keep a close on them.
boppers
(16,588 posts)Uhm, "Frances Quinn Hunter". No Edwards in the name.
MADem
(135,425 posts)fan?
If that poor kid manages to grow up without issues it will be a miracle.
Snake Alchemist
(3,318 posts)for the affair while funneling campaign money to their mistree. And let's not forget denying fathering the child.
unapatriciated
(5,390 posts)I saw another thread where they posted comments about this at free-republic. Sadly, they look much the same.
lildreamer316
(14,803 posts)Thank you.
a2liberal
(1,524 posts)
louslobbs
(3,232 posts)Lou
Ms. Toad
(34,066 posts)That sounds to me like doctors who don't want to be on the hook for perjury when the problem turns out to be not as serious as it is being made out to be. (The assertions would likely need to have been made under oath, in order for the court to act on them.)
Taverner
(55,476 posts)yeah, he's a douche but I would feel bad for his kids if they had NO parents anymore
DFW
(54,369 posts)I've had both angioplasty and stent implants. In both cases, I was home in 3 days max, and, in the case of the stent implants, told to stay home for two weeks and not undertake anything strenuous for 6 weeks. In the case of the angioplasty, I was told basically the same thing, except that I could be back in action in 4 weeks.
In the case of my stent implants, I was on the verge of death--2 forward coronary arteries 99% blocked. I have low blood pressure and didn't feel any pain or chest pressure, so I would have had no warning when the imminent heart attack struck.
But here I am 8 years later, and alive and kicking. Edwards may be able to prolong the agony for 6 weeks or so, but unless they have to cut him open and do a bypass, he runs out of excuses 45 days after stent implantation, or 30 days after an angioplasty.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Thank you for that detailed explanation, and stay well.
DFW
(54,369 posts)I won.
So far.
MADem
(135,425 posts)It's not really funny, but the "Beat the Reaper" comment gave me a chuckle. I guess we all have to laugh at the reaper, or we'll cry!
I wish you brilliant health!
DFW
(54,369 posts)Genetics says I probably won't be here in 20 years, but we're all immortal until we find out otherwise, right?
MADem
(135,425 posts)That's how I extend my lifespan--after all, only the good die young!
sabbat hunter
(6,829 posts)why would they wait a month. both are usually considered fairly emergency situations.
MADem
(135,425 posts)It can be managed with meds and other little tricks until they have time to do one of those little cardioablations, which is an easy in-and-out procedure in most cases.
He was having panic attacks last month. I'm speculating, here, but I think that might be it.
DFW
(54,369 posts)With me they told me to rush to the emergency room, do not pass Go, do not collect $200, but
the cardiologist who checked me out the first time was very alert and noticed something drastically
wrong, even if I didn't. If Edwards has blockage that isn't too severe, and has other complications
that need to be stabilized before a procedure, then the cardiologists may have decided to delay his
procedure.
I don't know, as in both of my cases, they were indeed emergency procedures.
MADem
(135,425 posts)At least that's how I've been given to understand it--a nerve that is sending too many/the wrong signals, and the radiologist goes in and fries it, so it doesn't cause trouble anymore. Or arrhythmia, where they go in with the paddles or medications to get the heart in the right thumping pattern.
http://www.massgeneral.org/heartcenter/services/treatmentprograms.aspx?id=1001&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=heartppc&utm_content=Cardiac_Arrhythmia_Ablation&utm_term=ablation
That's a clumsy way of explaining it, but the general idea, I think...
NobodyInParticular
(102 posts)So Edwards had an affair--he couldn't say no to a woman eager to sleep with him. If you have never had an intense erotic attraction for anyone you would in no way be able to have compassion for someone who has. If you have and you managed to resist, be humble about the fact that you were given the strength to say no.
How can you judge what was in his heart. Did you know that he and Elizabeth lost a son in a car accident? It appears that couples who experience this kind of bereavement almost inevitably end up breaking up. More often than not, persons suffering such a loss will take flight into some other relationship. Right or wrong, the intoxication of the new affair makes it easier to suppress the pain.
Maybe if Edwards had convinced his new girlfriend to get an abortion, the potential scandal could have remained under wraps. Or if he had been a corporately connected politician he could have gotten away with it for years and years like Schwarzenegger.
Edwards and his girlfriend decided to keep the baby for whatever reasons, and Edwards ended up facing the music from the corporate media and their faithful believers.
So that's the past. What about the present? There is a father, a mother and a child. So you think you have every right to pillory and beat to a pulp the father. What about the mother? Thank you for not attacking the mother for having slept with a married man. Thanks for your compassion in sparing her from you attacks. I know there are some of you who would just love to see both parents locked up in jail with the key thrown away. But what about the little kid. Do you really think Edwards' little daughter would be better off being put up for adoption? Or do you think it is uncool to think about the effects of what your actions will have on all parties involved? Edwards obviously did not think about the consequences of what he did. Do you think it is right for you to avoid thinking about the consequences of your judgment regarding John Edwards?
Ms. Toad
(34,066 posts)are his own business.
His theft of around $1 million donated to support his bid for the Democratic nomination for president to cover his affair up is not. That is what he is on trial for.
NobodyInParticular
(102 posts)is an allegation. Unfortunately we live in a society where allegations are taken as facts again and again. And who's leading the drum and bugle corps of the allegators? None other than the corporate media who are owned by the one per centers that he fought as a trial lawyer.
Ms. Toad
(34,066 posts)what is a private matter from what is a legitimate public concern.
Your post focused on his affair, and said it was unfair to judge him for having an affair. While that behavior disturbs me - any "punishment" for that behavior was a matter that should be private between him and Elizabeth.
That was not the subject of the original post, nor is it anything that I have legitimate interest in.
Ruby the Liberal
(26,219 posts)He could have easily been our candidate in 2008, or even moreso, the VP nom.
THATS why I hold no quarter.
NobodyInParticular
(102 posts)I share your sentiments...
Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)Snake Alchemist
(3,318 posts)And his surviving children including the one he denied.
NobodyInParticular
(102 posts)feel sorry for his departed wife. When she was still alive I felt sorry for her as well as for all the other parties involved: John, the kids, Rielle, her baby and last but not least, myself and friends who had been walking the precinct for him. I thought of myself as the world's biggest idiot and Edwards as the world's greatest klutz. As for Elizabeth now gone, my philosophy of life says never feel sorry for the dead--may they all rest in peace.
As for John Edwards now, I see him as just another human being that I don't want to pass judgment on.
Snake Alchemist
(3,318 posts)So far he really hasn't suffered that much. I'll feel sorry for him after he's punished.
pengillian101
(2,351 posts)"I also feel sorry for the forest he clear cut to build his mansion."
It actually makes me feel ill.
Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)I feel horrible for his wife. Beautiful woman in every way. She was sick with cancer for many years before he went nuts and started having sex with that woman. She'd been sick many times.
However, there is a study that was done, that tracked the behaviors of spouses when one gets ill, and this is what it showed:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/men-more-likely-to-leave-spouse-with-cancer/
Snake Alchemist
(3,318 posts)Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)Also, although Rielle Hunter now has his money with which to clean up her past (from the Internet, where it once sat, photos and all), there are still remnants out there, among which are the fact that she was a chameleon, changing her identity constantly, was a drug addict, had a sex addiction, etc.
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2008-08-08/news/17903420_1_jay-mcinerney-rielle-hunter-party-girl
Snake Alchemist
(3,318 posts)No married man could resist her charms.
man4allcats
(4,026 posts)John Edwards is full of it. I'm really not interested in his cries of Wolf. After what he did to Elizabeth, he deserves whatever he gets.
NobodyInParticular
(102 posts)will you be content to join the ranks of the gleeful?
man4allcats
(4,026 posts)I am not vindictive, but I do believe in justice and John Edwards has it coming. I won't be broken-hearted if he gets it.
Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)and which they don't.
Apparently, there's a handful that really, really hate John Edwards more than any other adulterer.
Ruby the Liberal
(26,219 posts)but I don't give a shit about his sex life. My animosity comes from the fact that he well could have been our 2008 POTUS or VPOTUS candidate, and was willing to risk that and go there with this ONGOING activity on the side.
If you think a man who cares that little for this country and the citizens within deserves a generic "oh he just got laid" label, then there really isn't much to say about your priorities, is there?
craigmatic
(4,510 posts)
Wind Dancer
(3,618 posts)I remember when Elizabeth posted an inspirational quote by Thomas Jefferson immediately following the Kerry and Edward's presidential loss on DU.
My heart aches for the children.
inna
(8,809 posts)wow. I expected to come across *some* haters when I started reading this thread, but what I didn't expect was this uniform and surreal, almost, "two minutes of hate" of some sort.
unbelievable. is lack of empathy some kind of new posting requirement on DU3?
this whole trial is a sick joke, anyway. HELLO. how about prosecuting some criminal banksters who stole billions.
NobodyInParticular
(102 posts)Once convicted by the corporate media, the non-critical public, both on the right as well as on the left, wholeheartedly buys the verdict. And why do they hang on to the opinion fed to them by the media? For most quick believers there is no greater pain than to have to admit that they are wrong! What makes it possible for the true believers to be so adamant in hanging on to their beliefs? They neither see nor understand the difference between allegation and fact.
bitchkitty
(7,349 posts)I am also sorry that any news of Edwards, good or bad, brings out the sob sister contigent with their torches and pitchforks, ready to avenge Elizabeth Edwards, may she rest in peace. I'm sure she'd be delighted to hear of the sympathy shown to her children's only remaining parent.