The Book of Bastards

by Brian Thornton

  After his Senate term, Edwards was tapped by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry to be his running mate in the 2004 presidential election. The day after the election, Edwards announced that his wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer during the campaign.

  He had been hailed by some as “the future of the Democratic party.” He even ran a credible campaign for his party's presidential nomination, but could place no better than third in the crucial early primaries. During this time, his wife's cancer had spread to her lungs and bones.

  And while his wife was battling terminal cancer, Edwards had an affair with one of his staffers, Rielle Hunter. It lasted for months. He and Hunter eventually had a daughter.

  In late 2007, the National Enquirer began running reports that Edwards had cheated on his wife. While initially dismissing the reports, he admitted in late 2008 that he had indeed carried on an affair. Besides destroying him politically, Edwards's affair may land him in bigger trouble. He is currently being investigated by a federal grand jury on charges that he violated campaign finance laws by failing to disclose payments of hush money to Hunter.

  BASTARD AND SAINT

  So you're Elizabeth Edwards. You're a successful lawyer, smart as a whip, married to a flourishing, handsome politician, and you've been diagnosed with potentially terminal cancer. Talk about a mixed bag of outcomes. To top off the cocktail, your famous spouse knocks up a campaign worker, supposedly having agreed to marry her once you've died! What woman doesn't throw a louse like that one out?

  “As we speak, [John]'s in El Salvador helping to build homes with the Fuller Center and Homes from the Heart. He cares about these issues, things that I care about. He's been a marvelous father. He really cared for me when I was sick, and really for the last thirty years. He made this one mistake. So do I throw out all the good stuff and say, ‘That doesn't matter; only this matters’?”

  — Elizabeth Edwards

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Brian Thornton earned his BA in History from Gonzaga University and both his BAE (English) and MA (History) from Eastern Washington University. Since entering the teaching profession in 1993, he has taught at every level from sixth grade through college, serving on a variety of committees at both the middle and high school levels, working on numerous teaching teams, and mentoring countless junior and student teachers. He is the author of The Everything® Kids' States Book, The Everything® Kids' Presidents Book, Teacher Miracles, and coauthor of 101 Things You Didn't Know about Lincoln. He lives in Kent, WA.