"But do we agree he is a scumbag?"

Well, I suppose that's up to the person passing judgement on Mr. Edwards. I do not feel qualified to do so and so I would hesitate to judge him or call him names. Also does having consensual sex with another person qualify you as a "scumbag", Pat? I suppose what many people will say makes it "scummy" is the fact that his wife has cancer. She certainly has the right to judge him if the facts are that he "cheated" on her without her knowing. If she comes out and says he's a "scumbag" then scumbag it is. I do not know either of them nor do I know anything about the details of their relationship. So, I am not in any way qualified to call Edwards a "scumbag" or pass judgement on him in any way. Edwards sleeping with another woman is not a crime and what he did is between him, his wife, the other woman and his family...and maybe some of his friends. He will answer to them. What went on could be called a lot of things, it seems like a fairly sad situation, but other than the people I just mentioned it has no effect on the rest of us. He gets his photo stuck in the scrapbook next to Gary Hart, Bill Clinton, JFK, RFK and many others as one of the many politicians that have slept around. Did these guys "ruin the world" or "destroy marriage" though these acts?

You probably don't remember but I was, I think, the first person to post something about this topic on this board. I brought it up because I knew Edwards would have to deal with it and Peter is right, if he had been the nominee rather than Obama this would likely be quite a circus. Perhaps it is part of why Edwards made such a rapid departure from the race. I'm sure the opposition had the goods on him at that point as the rumors have been that members of the media knew he was having an affair but most people didn't want to touch it because they did not want to report something that may devastate a woman with cancer.