John Edwards

So, while driving back to Miami yesterday, I heard the news about John Edwards' admittance of his affair. Although I'd been hoping against hope that the tabloids had been false, running and hiding in the bathrooms is pretty much as good as throwing up a white flag as far as I'm concerned. I was in the mountains of Tennessee right near the Georgia border when I heard, I had just pulled up to Big Billy's Fireworks 'N More. Let me mention that the day could not have been more beautiful- bright blue skies, a smattering of brilliant, fluffy, white clouds across the enormous open sky. It was like the weather was mocking my sadness. It took me a while to comprehend why the news was so difficult for me to take, but further analysis lead me to the conclusion that a combination of two things made it so easy to rip his bumper sticker off the back of my car and stick it to Big Billy's trash can.

1. I really believed in John boy's ability to not only take the presidency (by taking Iowa and stealing the momentum), but thenceforth do extraordinary things in every facet of the job.

2. The reason I believed so strongly in his ability to do all of the above was because of what I perceived as him impeccable character and unquestionable integrity, most of which was rooted in his relationship with his family. Throughout my journey with the John Edwards campaign, I felt as though I, too, was part of the Edwards family, and that's what made his followers so powerful. Each one of us really felt as though we, too had been present when John and Liz made that fateful decision to put her health on the back burner and the future of this nation on the front. We wept along with them for Wade, and always had that lingering fear in the back of our minds that Liz's cancer would pop back up all of a sudden and ruin everything. So this comes as a crushing blow to every member of the Edwards family, of which I consider myself a member.

It's probably a very good thing that I was on the road yesterday and had twenty four hours to think over exactly what this entry should say. In that way, it involves much more perspective than my normal rants, but no one wants or needs to hear me use choice words for pages, so this is probably better. That said, as the anger fades, I have only disappointment in the man I once dreamed of calling my president. If you were married to anyone else, I might be okay with it, John. We let Bill slide in the end because we've all met Hillary, but I cannot let this slide, because I know Elizabeth. I hope you know how much you owe her, and whether or not she already knew about this, the fact is, everyone else knows now and will look at her differently. But in the end, she is the reason you were able to stick in the race for so long. I'm not discrediting your abilities or charm, but Elizabeth was the heart and soul of your campaign and you know it. I know not what else to say, other than that I now have to search for another photo to complete the gallery of heroes on my desktop, as you no longer deserve to be in the company of Carville and Thurgood Marshall. You let me down John boy, and I am not alone.