I didn’t mean to inaugurate a wide-ranging debate over the virtues of the tabloid press, but I do note that this story about extramarital whoopie and the resultant love child — er, alleged — has generated as much discussion here as anything this side of McCain’s veepstakes. Sex and celebrities are an irresistible combination for the ordinary American, and big-time politicians are de facto celebrities.

Frankly, I suspect Team Hillary has been pushing this Edwards scandal from the get-go — first last fall, to damage him in family-values Iowa, and now again when his name has cropped up as a running-mate alternative to Clinton. Apparently, the National Enquirer serves a “vetting” function for the Democratic Party.