Results tagged “affair” from iVillage - Beehive

It's no secret that any news of a politician's infidelity is an instant scandal that almost everyone has an opinion on. We saw a tidal wave of reaction to the Eliot Spitzer prostitution story, and the news that former Senator John Edwards had an affair with a campaign aide has set the iVillage community ablaze with commentary, disgust and some really interesting angles on this story.

On the Betrayed Spouses Support board, member carpenchri shares what many of us are probably thinking:

"Well...front page news again. Another person trying to gain our trust comes out as cheating on his family.  Cheating on his wife — while she's busting her butt on the campaign trail for him — while battling cancer ... what could have been SO horrible that he had to do that to her?!?!"

For the most part, we often see some degree of distrust for political figures. But what is interesting about this case is that John Edwards, by most accounts (well, at least until now), was beyond that, with his clean image, his value-based talking points and, perhaps most notable, his wife's struggle with cancer, which has played out often on the campaign trail and in the news. It's exactly this, though, that has created such a stir in a wide variety of communities. While the outrage is predictable, some of the secondary conversations have taken a tone that is more considered and curious. Some are even questioning who knew what and when... and how much a person is responsible for their family when they're living their life so much in the public eye.

From the All Sides of an Affair board fallenstar2005 also wonders:

"I question whether Elizabeth Edwards knew about the affair in 2006. Would you agree to be part of a national presidential campaign knowing that there was someone out there who could publicly, on a whim, destroy you and your children's world? Not to mention the arrogance of John Edwards putting his political party at risk if he had actually won the nomination. Something just doesn't seem right..."