Elizabeth & John Edwards’ Separation
Read the news yesterday on msnbc.com. Saw their interview with Oprah a few months back. At the time I thought, “Why does she stay with him?” Yesterday, as I read the article about their separation, I said to myself, “It’s about time.”
(John Gress/Reuters)
Yes, I know people stray in their marriages. Yes, I know they make foolish, reckless decisions during times of turmoil that hurt their spouses and children.
However, this case of infidelity really got to me.
1. She was ill with cancer when he cheated. OMG, how could any man do that to his wife? How dare he. If there is any one time a person needs their spouse’s support, it’s during a life-threatening illness. While she was going through surgery, chemo, and god knows what else to save her life – or to prolong it for a little while longer – he was chasing skirt? Makes my blood boil.
2. He was running for the presidency. Frankly, I don’t care what the man does in his free time. But if he’s running for the highest office in this land, I want the truth when he’s asked a direct question about whether he had an affair or not. Years ago, many took Bill Clinton to task for his infidelity and lying. I didn’t sense the same outrage about Edwards until now.
3. He has a child he refused to acknowledge. A little girl who went through her first step, first smile, first tooth without him acknowledging her. What will that child think when she’s old enough to use the internet and looks up articles on her father’s affair with her mother and his refusal to claim her as his own?
4. If what his former aid Andrew Young says is true, Edwards tried to get Young to claim paternity. My God, does Edwards have no shame? He was more concerned about seeking the presidency than about his wife, who is dying; his mistress that he has a child with; and the child herself?
There have been many failings by politicians in the past. However, what Edwards did to his wife, mistress, and child cuts to the core of what we like to believe in this country – the sanctity of the family. That when you love and trust a person, they will be there for you when you’re ill – when you need them.
From all accounts, it doesn’t sound as if Elizabeth Edwards will survive her cancer. However, with this separation she has retained her dignity. And may her last days on this earth be ones of peace, not turmoil. Truth, not lies.
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