August 1st, 2008

Why the John Edwards’ Affair Should Encourage Us as Christians 

The National Enquirer (the standard for reliable journalism in America) recently reported that Presidential candidate John Edwards was confronted by reporters on July 22nd as he left the hotel room of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. He was allegedly there visiting a girlfriend named Rielle Hunter; the paper has been reporting for months that Ms. Hunter is also the mother of Mr. Edwards ‘love-baby’. The evidence does seem to be mounting in support of the truth of this extra-marital affair between Edwards and Hunter, and the entire country is familiar with the fact that Edwards is married to his wife, Elizabeth (a cancer survivor who is once again battling the disease). Throughout the reporting of this affair, John Edwards has denied that he has eyes for anyone other than Elizabeth, in spite of the growing evidence to the contrary.

Let’s assume the worst here, for the sake of argument; let’s assume that Edwards is having an affair with Hunter. Should it really matter to anyone that Edwards is having an affair with someone while his wife is struggling with cancer? After all, political candidates (and even Presidents) have been telling us for years that we ought not care about a leader’s private affairs, so long as this same leader is competent at the job we have elected him or her to do. Our culture seems to accept the separation of ‘private’ and ‘public’ behaviors. We are often willing to ignore what a person says or does in private so long as he or she watches what they say or do in public. Dennis Prager, for example, often argues that a person’s private statements should not be held against them as a public figure, and even early reports from the Edwards’ camp seem to confirm our natural tendency to ignore what happens in private. (read more)