Who would have thought...

[Keystone Phil]

I don't see why people think Gennifer Flowers Rielle Hunter is fatal.

He cheated on his cancer patient wife, was rumored to have fathered her child and there was talk that he had the campaign pay her off to be quiet. Even if the two latter points are totally untrue, perception is reality in this game. You know that.

Didn't Newt Gingrich's wife have cancer or some such?

Uh...ok?

A main reason why I am not a huge Newt fan. Plus, how does this compare? He isn't running for President and if he was, it would be a negative. I'm not saying that it wouldn't be. Plus, didn't the guy resign when that story broke? I don't understand what you're trying to prove.

 

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And the media didn't cover it. They went wild over Edwards because it was a breaking story. It doesn't compare.

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And the child and the alleged coverup...

You are kidding yourself if you don't think that that would have destroyed him as the nominee.

[Beet]

I don't see why people think Gennifer Flowers Rielle Hunter is fatal.

He cheated on his cancer patient wife, was rumored to have fathered her child and there was talk that he had the campaign pay her off to be quiet. Even if the two latter points are totally untrue, perception is reality in this game. You know that.

Didn't Newt Gingrich's wife have cancer or some such?

Uh...ok?

A main reason why I am not a huge Newt fan. Plus, how does this compare? He isn't running for President and if he was, it would be a negative. I'm not saying that it wouldn't be. Plus, didn't the guy resign when that story broke? I don't understand what you're trying to prove.

Gingrich has been mentioned as a possible Presidential contender. His past would be a negative, but it wouldn't by itself be fatal. Also, IIRC he resigned after the 1998 Congressional elections, after the GOP was expected to make big gains and ended up losing 5.

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And the media didn't cover it. They went wild over Edwards because it was a breaking story. It doesn't compare.[/quote]

Just saying that if they had tried to over-cover it, it would have provoked a backlash.

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And the child and the alleged coverup...

You are kidding yourself if you don't think that that would have destroyed him as the nominee.
[/quote]

Has it been proven that he had a child? No doubt there would be allegations. There were even more toxic allegations about Obama (socialist, friend of terrorists, constitutionally ineligible, etc. etc.)

[TomC]

Ugh! Another "feel your pain" Southern white boy who needs his ego intimately stroked. In hindsight, real glad we chose otherwise.

I agree.  The Democrats had been waxing nostalgic for the "Solid South" for far too long IMO.  The elections of Carter and Clinton only exasperated the problem.  Hopefully Obama has broken the South from its lockstep voting on social issues and both parties will abandon the "Southern Strategy."

Let's hope to God you are right.

Amen.

[Keystone Phil]

Gingrich has been mentioned as a possible Presidential contender. His past would be a negative, but it wouldn't by itself be fatal. Also, IIRC he resigned after the 1998 Congressional elections, after the GOP was expected to make big gains and ended up losing 5.

Ok, you are still failing to prove anything. Gingrich's story happened years ago. Now I'm in no way excusing it. It's a main reason why I'm not a big Newt fan. However, it doesn't match the Edwards story. That's why it wouldn't be fatal.

He resigned after the scandal broke.

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When someone admits to cheating on his cancer patient wife and his mistress recently had a child, they're more willing to believe that he's the father. The "friend of terrorists" accusation for Obama was always seen as far-fetched. The Edwards story already received tons of coverage (it totally dwarfed the occassional "Obama isn't eligible to be President! He's a terrorist lover!" stories). It would have been even bigger if he was the nominee.

[Beet]

Gingrich has been mentioned as a possible Presidential contender. His past would be a negative, but it wouldn't by itself be fatal. Also, IIRC he resigned after the 1998 Congressional elections, after the GOP was expected to make big gains and ended up losing 5.

Ok, you are still failing to prove anything. Gingrich's story happened years ago. Now I'm in no way excusing it. It's a main reason why I'm not a big Newt fan. However, it doesn't match the Edwards story. That's why it wouldn't be fatal.

He resigned after the scandal broke.

I'm pretty sure this is false; the events took place in 1981.

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When someone admits to cheating on his cancer patient wife and his mistress recently had a child, they're more willing to believe that he's the father. The "friend of terrorists" accusation for Obama was always seen as far-fetched. The Edwards story already received tons of coverage (it totally dwarfed the occassional "Obama isn't eligible to be President! He's a terrorist lover!" stories). It would have been even bigger if he was the nominee.
[/quote]

I would agree with you if this was 1987-1992, between Monkey Business and the Gennifer Flowers tapes. But you have to look at past precedent in these cases, since that's all the evidence we really have. Since 1992, marital and sex scandals have generally not destroyed politicians, unless they were doing something illegal.

[Keystone Phil]

I'm pretty sure this is false; the events took place in 1981.

I'm pretty sure the story broke in 1998. Newt resigned and Livingston went to run for Speaker until stories about his own affair broke.

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...

Again, you're missing the obvious differences. Edwards was rumored to have fathered the mistress' child. Edwards' campaign staff was rumored to have been involved in a coverup. Edwards wife was suffering from cancer. John Edwards was basically tagged as the worst kind of scumbag.

[Beet]

I'm pretty sure this is false; the events took place in 1981.

I'm pretty sure the story broke in 1998. Newt resigned and Livingston went to run for Speaker until stories about his own affair broke.

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...

Again, you're missing the obvious differences. Edwards was rumored to have fathered the mistress' child. Edwards' campaign staff was rumored to have been involved in a coverup. Edwards wife was suffering from cancer. John Edwards was basically tagged as the worst kind of scumbag.

And Hillary Clinton was rumored to be involved in the death of Vince Foster. And it was rumored that she was hoping Obama would be assassinated; and was trying to plant suggestions of that nature into the media. And it was rumored that there was a tape with Michelle Obama railing about "whitey".

Rumor this. Rumor that.

[Keystone Phil]

I'm pretty sure this is false; the events took place in 1981.

I'm pretty sure the story broke in 1998. Newt resigned and Livingston went to run for Speaker until stories about his own affair broke.

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...

Again, you're missing the obvious differences. Edwards was rumored to have fathered the mistress' child. Edwards' campaign staff was rumored to have been involved in a coverup. Edwards wife was suffering from cancer. John Edwards was basically tagged as the worst kind of scumbag.

And Hillary Clinton was rumored to be involved in the death of Vince Foster. And it was rumored that she was hoping Obama would be assassinated; and was trying to plant suggestions of that nature into the media. And it was rumored that there was a tape with Michelle Obama railing about "whitey".

Rumor this. Rumor that.

You're comparing apples and oranges, my friend. The rumors concerning Edwards fathering a child with his admitted mistress are far more believable and you know it. There were more pieces of the puzzle already put together with the Edwards story. There were far more question marks and stretches regarding every other story you mentioned.

[Beet]

Rumors are rumors, and while some may be 'more believable' than others, it is ultimately a matter of judgment. That is the problem. The Democrats would have defended him, McCain would have put himself at arms' length if he were smart, and given a few months, the campaign theme would have shifted to something else.

[platypeanArchcow]

Again, you're missing the obvious differences. Edwards was rumored to have fathered the mistress' child. Edwards' campaign staff was rumored to have been involved in a coverup. Edwards wife was suffering from cancer. John Edwards was basically tagged as the worst kind of scumbag.

I think, though, that if Edwards had been the nominee, the parallels with McCain's history would have been so glaring that the media would've had to cover that too, and the thing would be partially neutralized.

[© tweed]

Gore wins

[Keystone Phil]

Rumors are rumors, and while some may be 'more believable' than others, it is ultimately a matter of judgment. That is the problem. The Democrats would have defended him, McCain would have put himself at arms' length if he were smart, and given a few months, the campaign theme would have shifted to something else.

Eh...we're not going to see eye to eye on this so whatever.

Again, you're missing the obvious differences. Edwards was rumored to have fathered the mistress' child. Edwards' campaign staff was rumored to have been involved in a coverup. Edwards wife was suffering from cancer. John Edwards was basically tagged as the worst kind of scumbag.

I think, though, that if Edwards had been the nominee, the parallels with McCain's history would have been so glaring that the media would've had to cover that too, and the thing would be partially neutralized.

The coverage would have definitely been more about Edwards. Possible illegitimate child and possible campaign cover up are more interesting.