Nearly 40 years in journalism, and he still
accepts Democrats at face value?
Five days after Edwards flat-lined on "Nightline," I am
still embarrassed by how badly I misjudged him both in print and in
my personal feelings. . . .
My wife (a magazine writer who developed her own friendship with
Elizabeth) and I had several off-the-record dinners with the
Edwardses. . . .
I naively believed that I knew Edwards as well as I understood
anyone in the political center ring. Yet I never saw this sex
scandal coming -- partly because I accepted the mythology that
surrounded the Edwards' marriage and partly because I assumed that
any hint of a wandering eye would have come out during the 2004
campaign.
Shapiro then draws this "moral to the story":
If we stopped expecting would-be presidents to be
paragons of marital fidelity and shining examples of religious
faith in the public sphere, we would not set ourselves up for
constant disappointment at human frailty.
No, the real lesson is far more simple: Don't trust
politicians . . . especially millionaire lawyer
politicians.
(Cross-posted at The Other
McCain.)
topics:
Law
