The Silent Sex Scandal
Photo by Alex De Carvalho
At 2:40 am this last Tuesday, the National Enquirer “caught” John Edwards at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Allegedly, he was there meeting his alleged mistress, Rielle Hunter, as well as the baby that they allegedly had together. Allegedly.
But the strange thing is how reluctant the mainstream media has been to pick up the story. Wednesday and Thursday brought nary a mention in the major newspapers or networks. Finally, on Friday, the Philadelphia Daily News picked up on the story, as did Fox News, who confirmed it by talking to a hotel security guard. Meanwhile, as Mickey Kaus reported, the LA Times ordered its bloggers not to mention it.
You would think this was the kind of story that 24-hour cable news was born to cover. A seemingly virtuous (one might say self-righteous) politician. A long-term lover affair. A possible cover-up. A “love child.” This has scandal written all over it. By all rights, we should be so saturated in news coverage of this so as to be sick of it. What gives? Is there some sort of double standard at work? Does the liberal media only pay attention to scandals when they involve Republicans?
Here are the possible excuses:
Unreliable sources
Some of the skepticism for the story might be due to the source. To many, the words National and Enquirer, when placed together, are synonymous with stories about UFOs and Elvis. This isn’t exactly fair. While the publication certainly gravitates toward salacious stories involving public figures, the Enquirer has provided information on a number of notable stories in the last 20 years, including the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair, the news of Jesse Jackson’s illegitimate child, and details on the O.J. Simpson trial. (It has also gotten some stories wrong and is always being sued by someone.) Say what you will about these stories, but people pay attention to them.
(Sidebar: there’s been a bit of an edit war on John Edwards’ Wikipedia page about whether or not it should mention the scandal; the National Enquirer does not, apparently, meet Wikipedia’s standard for reliable sources.)
Also, since Fox confirmed the story on Friday, the “unreliable source” excuse has pretty much expired, anyway.
No proof
Granted, there are other explanations for what Edwards was doing in that hotel at 2:40 am. Edwards’ friend Andrew Young (himself a husband and father of three) has claimed to be the father of the Hunter’s child. And we all remember (okay, I remember) the West Wing episode where we thought that Congressman Santos had an illegitimate child but really was just covering for his brother.
On the other hand, when someone from the Enquirer confronted Edwards, he ran away. That in and of itself seems like news to me. And it’s not like The New York Times gave John McCain the benefit of the doubt when it published rumors of his affair.
Edwards is a private citizen
True, Edwards is not a sitting Senator and not exactly running for office, although he may have been under consideration for Vice President, Attorney General, or some kind of Poverty Czar. Even if he wasn’t, though, Edwards is far from a private citizen. He wants to be part of the public discourse and to have an influence on certain issues –especially poverty and health care.
He never broke any laws
Edwards never lied under oath or paid for a prostitute. But this argument misses the point. To print a story about a man having an affair isn’t necessarily a moral judgment. It’s just reporting facts. The media wasted no time in reporting LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s affair.
The media is more hypocritical than the politicians it covers
In past scandals, some rationalized the intense media coverage by saying that it was more about hypocrisy than sex. This always seemed like complete hogwash. The Larry Craig’s story would have been worth reading about even if he had been a Democrat. The fact that he supported a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage was just an extra bit of irony. Hypocrisy doesn’t make for a scandal; it’s just icing on the cake.
It’s private
No one cries foul when a reporter writes where Barack Obama vacationed, if he wore shorts, or if he talked on his cell phone. Why is it that it’s only private if it’s something bad? Granted, the reporting of an affair can potentially hurt other people — i.e., Elizabeth Edwards — but isn’t that her husband’s fault? And isn’t holding the media responsible simply shooting the messenger?
Now you could make an argument that the media should never report about people’s sex lives. I’m not sure how you would enforce that without violating the constitution, but you could make the argument that it’s not right. But the media should be consistent. If we’re going to read about the scandals of Larry Craig, Elliot Spitzer, and Bill Clinton, we should be privy to the affairs of all politicians.
I don’t think Edwards’ affair (if it happened) would disqualify him for public office. But it would change my opinion of him, just like if I found out he was caught shoplifting or lying about his IQ. But that’s not the point. The point is that it’s news.
Good thing everyone reads blogs now anyways.
WORLD’S GREATEST ANAGRAMS OR PROOF THERE IS A GOD
1- .GEORGE BUSH rearranged is HE BUGS GORE
2- AL GORE is LA (Spanish for “THE”) OGRE( a monster who eats people.)
3- GEORGE SOROS translates to SOS OGRE GORE
4- DORMITORY becomes DIRTY ROOM
5- EVANGELIST is EVIL’S AGENT
6- PRESBYTERIAN turns to BEST IN PRAYER
7- DESPERATION is A ROPE ENDS IT
8- THE MORSE CODE rearranged is HERE COME DOTS
9- SENATOR TED KENNEDY turns out to DONKEY RAT NEEDS NET
10- SLOT MACHINES becomes CASH LOST IN ME.
11- ANIMOSITY turns to IS NO AMITY
12- MOTHER-IN-LAW (This one is good) WOMAN HITLER
13- SNOOZE ALARMS becomes ALAS! NO MORE Z”S
14- A DECIMAL POINT turns to I’M A DOT IN PLACE
15- NANCY PELOSI is A CO-LENIN SPY
16- SEN. HARRY REID becomes A DINER SHERRY(yuck)
17- THE EARTHQUAKES is THAT QUEER SHAKE
18– ELEVEN PLUS TWO becomes TWELVE PLUS ONE
19- PRINCESS DIANA changes to ENDS IN CAR SPIN
20- JOHN KERRY becomes HORNY JERK
21- SEN. JOHN EDWARDS is WE- DR. DEAN’S “JOHNS”
AND NOW FOR THE TWO GRAND FINALS
22- WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON
becomes
JAIL MRS CLINTON:FELON WIFE
THE GRAND FINALE
23- PRESIDENT CLINTON OF THE USA
becomes
TO COPULATE HE FINDS INTERNS
The MSM would not think twice if a Repub was carrying on and fathering a child with someone other than his wife, especially if the wife had terminal cancer. Privacy? Forget it. Can’t confirm sources? So what? Never stopped them before when it involves Repubs (that ol’ ‘public’s gotta right to know’ excuse). Their only regret is that Edwards is a Dem. They’re probably lamenting over the papers they could sell if this were McCain instead of pretty boy.
i agree with you. i frankly do not care if edwards pumped out a kid with some woman. it speaks to his character, but i never cared for his pretty words or hair anyway.
the thing that troubles me is the obvious bias in the msm. if these allegations - with the very same “fact” base - were applied to a republican of similar position then it would be wall-to-wall coverage. i remember the impressions i had of newspapers growing up in the 1960s. i felt, probably naively, that the news was all the information they could get, and that the opinions were left to the page marked “op-ed.” it seems so blatant now that the entire industry is driven by opinion.
i haven’t purchased a newspaper in over a decade. i cancelled my subscription to the local rag in the 1990s because i read an article on page 3 that began as fact and then so clearly became opinion. sad state of affairs. it is not surprising that ad revenue is down, newsroom employment is down, and the reaction is to try to pass legislation to force radio stations to give equal time to “all points of view.”
we are not a liberal country, but we are influenced by what we are told.
If, as the Enquirer alleged, an Edwards campaign donor is funneling money to Hunter at Edwards’s request, that does violate laws if the contribution is not disclosed–which it wouldn’t be, because it’s over the $2300 limit.
If the MSM needs a more reliable source than the National Enquirer they can do their own follow up investigation and get information on the event at the hotel and then report that. They don’t need to speculate if Edwards was having an affair or if he fathered a child with the woman but a late night event did occur with suspicious reactions to reporters and photographers–this alone is news.
The LAT wasted plenty of time with Mayor Tony. He had to practically make out with her in a city council meeting before they’d cover the story. And yet, Arnold’s alleged misbehavior was rushed to print.
Yeah, the NYT published a front page 2,000-word story on the fact that McCain’s aides were once worried that it looked as if he might be having an affair, which none of them thought he was. Meanwhile, this isn’t news to the NYT, right?
At least we have the clearest test case for media bias ever.
You say that NE has been sued many times.(Which paper hasn’t been?) However, NE has lost only one suit in over 20 years. They are one of the most reliable papers. I wonder why you failed to mention that. Hmmmm.
Another possibility: people have grown tired of infotainment and media’s focus on celebrities.
Could it be? Of course not.
But I for one am far more interested in coverage of more important national and international topics than the private lives of politicians and celebrities.
“The media is more hypocritical than the politicians it covers…”
Replace “John Edwards” in this story with the name “Newt Gingrich” and how do you think the MSM would react?
You do the math.
I wonder if the journalists who are failing to report on this simply feel bad for Edwards’s wife. It’s just too grotesque to think someone has to end their days knowing their husband would subject them to this– as they are battling cancer. Worst person in the world: J. Edwards.
Who knew pretty boy was straight?
Now why would the NE run with a story against a famously successful trial lawyer, unless it was true? You don’t hear little Johnny crying “Lawsuit” - and I don’t think you’re gonna.
Media silence? They’re just following the rule that says ALL Democrats are innocent until…period.
The Enquirer is the most carefully fact-checked of all American newspapers and magazines. It’s also very well copy-edited, being notably free of typos and grammatical errors. This work is done by editors and lawyers who are paid more than their equivalents at other publications. All in all, it’s a far more reliable source than the New York Times or Wikipedia. The only thing questionable about it as regards this story is something you haven’t mentioned, which is its ownership by Clinton buddy and contributor Ron Burkle.
Edwards has being trying hard to stay active in politics — very active. If you doubt it, click here:
John Edwards’ War on Poverty
Media bias towards Democrats may not be hot news, but the Edwards affair moves into new territory. Edwards is now politically dead, possibly as a result of a hit job by the Clintons. However, no mainstream media have ever mentioned why (and of course no link to the Clintons has ever been postulated there either). The 2004 vice-presidential nominee will probably just fade out of politics, and 90 percent plus of the electorate will have no idea why.
Regard for his wife is the reason, a good enough reason to be under your list of reasons. If we just liked her but she were healthy, it wouldn’t be a reason, but she has metastatic cancer, she’s dying, AND she’s well-regarded for her work on politics as well as her handling of her health crisis. She speaks to the media regularly about her journey with cancer. The first journalist to ask her about this, even in a pretend concern way, (’has the enquirer and blog stories about your husband been difficult for your family?”), should be damned.
If they wanted to go to heaven, they wouldn’t have become journalists.
After the Hollywood haircut I suspected Edward’s ego and vanity might eventually become his Achilles heel. He talks a good game but underneath his surface he is rotten and disgusting. To subject his sick wife, his most loyal supporter, and his children to this self absorbed alleged behavior is cruelty of the acutest nature. Even Edwards, the slick attorney, cannot deny his 2:00 a.m. caught on camera hook-up. This double standard in the media just highlights the tip of the iceberg in bias reporting. It is obvious the integrity of main stream media is unreliable in covering newsworthy events / issues. The good, the bad, and the ugly should be put out there without SPIN. Transgressions and honorable actions are a part of one’s character. Are conservatives immune from this immoral exposure? No, nor should they be. Thank goodness for independent reporting and the blogs.
We have found our voice, and in talking about issues important to us, we represent the pulse of this great nation.
What a suprise! MSM covering for a dem, a tradition that began under FDR. My oh My.
So if the MSM only covers scandals involving Repubs, why did Spitzer and McGreevey get taken down by MSM coverage?
Never stup a pretty boy , but on 2nd thought I might get taken care of for the rest of my life if I have his baby…