Willa Paskin, in Slate:
The excerpts [in the Daily News] seem... to be a kind of correction to the Stepford, "stand by your man" approach so often taken by political wives (and Elizabeth Edwards did, at least, refuse to physically stand next to her man while he made his confession and apology)—but only kind of. Edwards tells her side of the story and publicly chastises her husband ("He should not have run," she writes) but he's still her husband. Her critique has a narrow outer limit. Is writing about this better than keeping mum? Or, in a way, is it exactly the same? Is telling us all the true, clichéd things about why a person might decide to stand by her jerk that different from, or that much more informative than, silently standing by said jerk?Ugh! Why wish to be nicer? I don't understand that. The Edwardses outrageously wasted our time and distorted the presidential selection process. I assume they did it because they both lusted for political power. Let's trash them mercilessly. They need to get off the public stage. If gazing into her husband's insipid mug comforts a gravely ill woman, that's fine, but when you write a memoir, you are trying to drag us into it. Keep your intimate moments intimate or they cease to be intimate. Don't think you can command niceness from us because of your troubles. Be gone!
The News does pull out one genuinely heartbreaking quote from the book: "I lie in bed, circles under my eyes, my sparse hair sticking in too many directions, and he looks at me as if I am the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. It matters." And I'm sure it does matter, and yet, I can't help but wonder if the look she's describing resembles the supposedly earnest, empathetic stare Edwards utilized on the campaign trail, which some people, myself included, always found to be so disingenuous (and that turned out to be, to the extent that Edwards' ambition did trump his judgment, truly disingenuous). And then I wish I could un-think that thought, because it would be nicer to believe Elizabeth Edwards' version of things.
Posts
58 comments:
Ugh is absolutely right.
Hillary Clinton will not read this book.
"Kerry talked with several potential picks, including Gephardt and Edwards. He was comfortable after his conversations with Gephardt, but even queasier about Edwards after they met. Edwards had told Kerry he was going to share a story with him that he'd never told anyone else—that after his son Wade had been killed, he climbed onto the slab at the funeral home, laid there and hugged his body, and promised that he'd do all he could to make life better for people, to live up to Wade's ideals of service. Kerry was stunned, not moved, because, as he told me later, Edwards had recounted the same exact story to him, almost in the exact same words, a year or two before—and with the same preface, that he'd never shared the memory with anyone else. Kerry said he found it chilling...."
Kerry's Regrets About John Edwards
From NY Daily News article the other day...
"Her own life may be tragic, she concludes, but Hunter's is "pathetic." ".
Then Elizabeth's life is the most pathetic, as she continues to glomb to a man in love with himself and views those around him as his jewelery and adornments. Yes, if Rielle is pathetic, what pray are you, Elizabeth?
Women will read it, that's who.
Not all women, just 40% of them.
Ya don't have to read it, you know. A lot of books out there not to read.
It is very rude to make fun of the gravely ill. However, I find much more distasteful that she's trying to cash in on her tragedies. Of course, many others have done so, but we are discussing her here and now.
Because Elizabeth Edwards wrote this memoir just for you Ann!
Montagne, who are you to tell me what I can read and what can't I read?
The Ministry of Culture and the Patriotic Socialist Associations of Artists and Writers have not come into existence yet. Hold your horses, comrade.
Elizabeth Edawards is in the same low class as Hillary Clinton; stand by your trailer park trash man. What good is it to be a door mat, if you can't be a famous door mat.
Gutless! Absolutely gutless.
There is a huge audience for this. Not just those who like the "he done her wrong" memoir, but also those who are desperate that John Edwards becomes rehabilitated. They could care less about Elizabeth but will buy her book for evidence that he is on a comeback.
Why do people put their family traumas out on the front lawn for everybody to look at? I'm trying to give Elizabeth Edwards her dignity back by ignoring her, and she's jumping up and down and yelling "Look at me! I got pissed on!"
"He should not have run," she writesWhy didn't she stop him from doing what she knew he shouldn't have done?
She is a disgusting human being who knew he husband was a low-life cheater and baby-daddy while he was accepting campaign contributions and running for president.
Hope she is well taken care of in her 35,000 square foot mansion in one of the two Americas.
At least she isn't fat now.
The people who will read this book are the same people who watch Oprah.
Some things are best ignored. "Be gone" for sure, but quietly all around. And far preferable, I think, if that happens without a screed about the awfulness of "nice."
Why does anyone write a memoir? In hopes that someone buys it and reads it, would be my guess. It's pretty simple - don't read it.
BTW, if she's renting space in your head, it's not her fault.
So she calls the other woman "pathetic". Nice.
I am reminded of John Ford, of the formerly politically powerful Ford family of Memphis, whose wife Tamara drove her car into his girlfriend's house, into her house causing structural damage, and then referred to the girlfriend as a "homewrecker".
Laura:
That is really funny.
- I'd probably rather sit on a cactus
John Edwards was a great personal injury trial lawyer. The skill he used to win fame and fortune is a winner take all moment in time only requiring that you fool 12 persons for a few days or weeks. There is no accountability in the system for lying sincerely about the issues in court. They can even claim Robin Hood's mantle of robbing the rich for the poor, less their 50% cut. The Edward's family still wants John's one magnficent trick to work after truth has exposed their valiant pretenses as lies. They both remain spoiled children pretending to be valiant. That is the Boomer personality model. They just want to have it all for themselves and pretend that it's for rescuing helpless people. She was Shocked to find that her husband had such a self-centered personality. Yeah, sure. It's Hillary Clintons story done over, except for the tragic cancer.
Keep your intimate moments intimate or they cease to be intimate. Couldn't agree more! Say you are trying on wedding rings....for the love of God, don't blog it.
"He should not have run," she writesYet she ran right along with him, and even wrote a Daily Kos diary to defend him the day he was caught.
She is a disgusting human being who knew he husband was a low-life cheater and baby-daddy while he was accepting campaign contributions and running for president..
If only John Edwards were a conservative he could fail upwards and be a true star like so many fellow conservatives who have assorted moral and legal problems like Gordon Liddy, Ollie North, Karl Rove who get cable pundit gigs and their radio shows -- but only after divorcing Elizabeth, getting married and divorced a few more times, and get caught sending his maid out on illegal drug runs. Then he would be an inspiration to millions of loyal dittohead followers!
Can't speak for ditto heads - I don't listen to obese drug addicts on the radio.
I just speak as a constituent of Senator John Edwards, retired, who was a flaming douche, a liberal, borderline communist and low-life cheater. He and his lying running mate (where are John Kerry's service records, by the way?) deserved to lose. Their hatred of America is surpassed only by the pussy who is currently president and his ugly c*nt of a wife.
What's the over under for number of days after his sick wife dies until Reille moves into the mansion?
I normally fall on the side of disliking the "stand by your man" shtick, but I think Elizabeth Edwards is right to do it. Or would you have a dying woman subject her children to a divorce before they lose their mother?
As for who will buy the book, same people who buy tabloids. They'll scour it for the juicy bits.
Gordon Liddy, Ollie North, Karl RoveI think Ollie might have run for office once but otherwise your comment makes no sense.
Garage,
I seem to have missed the part where Liddy, North, and Rove were at the Republican convention accepting their party's vice presidential nomination. I guess I also missed the part where Liddy, North and Rove later accepted millions in donations for their presidential campaigns.
Thanks for filling me in.
"Be Gone!"
Kind of harsh. She probably will be soon.
As for John, Be Gone!
Edwards is out of a job. If he were a conservative, he would have the world at his fingertips. That was my point.
What part of a multi-million dollar ill-gotten bank account, a 35,000 square foot house, a dying wife and silky hair is not "having the world at his fingertips"?
garage mahal said...
Edwards is out of a job. If he were a conservative, he would have the world at his fingertips. That was my point.
10:07 AM.
Do Bill and Hillary Clinton count as conservative now?
Who knew...
Two despicably annoying people who deserve each other. So self-indulgent and yet so maudlin all at the same time. Nausea ensues.
Geez. Harsh. I have a lot of sympathy and admiration for Elizabeth Edwards. Could her reason for writing this not have been about money? Don't read it if you are not interested.
John Edwards is a weak man. But he chose a truly amazing woman as a partner, I think.
She knew he was a cheater and had fathered an illegitimate child and yet she stood by him as he continued to raise campaign funds. How is that in any way honorable or decent? She was a partner in his dishonesty. She is as tainted as he is.
Folks having trouble with Blogger eating newlines after italicized quoted text…
Might try putting a blank character after the end-italics </i> tag. Works for me.
Well, she's not perfect either, NKVD. I haven't read the book, so I don't know her thoughts during that time. But I imagine that she believed in him despite what he'd done. Isn't that possible? And she was fighting cancer (and probably knowing she was dying, wasn't she.
And Freeman, bless you for your 9:51. Yes.
Edwards told his wife Elizabeth about his affair with Rielle Hunter, whose name Elizabeth never uses in print, just days after he announced his candidacy.
By that she knew pretty much from jump.
And remember the way her and her lifelong cancer diagnosis were used as a tool to jumpstart his candidacy with the sympathy factor? That was after she knew about the other woman too.
She is as big a whore as her husband. Neither one of those two immoral democrats deserves as much attention as we have been giving them.
Freeman Hunt said...
I normally fall on the side of disliking the "stand by your man" shtick, but I think Elizabeth Edwards is right to do it. Or would you have a dying woman subject her children to a divorce before they lose their mother?.
All that may be true, but what is revolting is this attention-starved, media whore wants to bath in the spotlight, suck up the love and sympathy of susceptable women who worship female victimhood so much - she had to trot out with all the slime and shovel it at the public.
NOW she is being truthful, vs. lying her ass off on the campaign trail for almost 9 months.
She knew he cheated and was unfit to be President, yet she joined in the deception so she could bask in all the sympathy and "admiration" of poor brave Elisabeth, sacrificing her remaining months to be away from her children and in front of rally after rally and TV studio after studio because:
"She believed in JOHN and how the country neeeeds him! So much! So much!"
IMO, she's every bit the self-centered, money-grubbing, narcissitic sleazy lying lawyer her husband is. Two peas in a pod. They DESERVE each other.
"What's the over under for number of days after his sick wife dies until Reille moves into the mansion?"
-Um, never? She was a campaign cumrag and is in her 40s. Edwards will have a hot 20-something piece of ass into the mansion before Elizabeth's body hits room temperature.
Whatever - she's just another hyper-lefty Kos-Kid who cared more about becoming co-president than she cared about her family and decency in general.
is this working?
Do not know.
SPACE! The FINAL frontier!
The best thing about her book coming out is that, while few people will read it, the excerpts and articles will serve as a reminder that Edwards must not be allowed back on the national stage. I think he's been waiting, expecting things to blow over and allow him to come back as an advisor, a pundit - anything to feed his ego. This timely reminder should end those hopes, for now.
At least she isn't fat now.Oh, right! Because she has cancer!
You're a turd, NKVD. Just a disgusting piece of human shit.
Well, thank you Beth. You are clearly stepping into the niche left by Titus. Your kindness is a breath of fresh air.
Agree with @freemanhunt. What's she going to do under the circumstances? It's not like she's going to get a fresh start if she musters the inner resolve to kick him to the curb.
I know some good people that bought into Edward's shtick - really invested their hearts and souls. The sellpoint was always Elizabeth - they would never have believed Edwards on his own - too fluffy, but if "grounded" Elizabeth believed in him, then they did, too.
Are the Edwards' capable of feeling shame? I think not.
Two narcissists who are still in denial.
Had Edwards been a Republican, the news of the affair would have been public much earlier.
And Hillary or McCain would be POTUS
If her stunt were solely to earn money for her children after her death (like U.S. Grant did), I would have much more sympathy for EE than I would if she were in any way trying to garner sympathy for herself and her scumbag husband. If the latter, she has reached a pathetic stage in her life.
Unfortunately from reading this post and the comments, it appears the latter is her more likely motive.
Wow, I completely agree with Cedarford. What is the world coming to?
Elizabeth Edwards:
"I lie in bed, circles under my eyes, my sparse hair sticking in too many directions, and he looks at me as if I am the most beautiful woman he has ever seen.
Shorter Elizabeth Edwards:
"I lie in bed. He lies in bed."
Yet more evidence that chemo really does mess with your brain.
I am not being mean. I have chemobrain too.
Who would believe Edwards' craptastic story that he would want to run for office in his dead son's memory?! It's bad enough Edwards would even say it, but that Kerry or anyone else could believe it...?
Both the Edwards should just go live their lives and try to restore some measure of dignity.
And for all we know Elizabeth has many years to go, and I hope she does. My dear cousin has been living for a decade with the same diagnosis. Get a grip, E.
Elizabeth Edwards has been a nasty piece of work for a while:
Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards, said in an ABC radio interview that Lynne Cheney had ``overreacted.'' John Edwards mentioned Mary Cheney in last week's vice presidential debate with no criticism from the Cheneys.
``I think that it indicates a certain degree of shame with respect to her daughter's sexual preferences,'' Elizabeth Edwards said. `It makes me really sad that that's Lynne's response.''
=========
She had no business going there.
She is also supposed to have been the force behind John hiring whats her Pandagon to blog for his campaign.
I admire how gracefully she has handled the tragedies in her life, but that doesn't make her a good person or a person to emulate.
I remember that even before he'd entered the Senate, he'd paid people to tout him as 2000 VP material.
What's she going to do under the circumstances? It's not like she's going to get a fresh start if she musters the inner resolve to kick him to the curb.
What's she going to do? How bout not write an exploitative book about her personal life.
Post a Comment