Gotcha

They finally beat it out of him.

Am I disappointed? Yes, a little--as with Bill Clinton and Gary Hart, I just want to ask: What the hell were you thinking? When you're in the media spotlight, it might be a good idea to at least try to make your personal life above reproach. Edwards was not out of the media spotlight in 2006, far from it; he was laying the groundwork for a 2008 presidential campaign. So no, this wasn't smart.

But who am I to judge? I'm not one of those people who is shocked at news of marital infidelity. This certainly isn't the first time a man cheated on his wife, or cheated on his wife when she had cancer. In the grand scheme of things, this one is pretty tame: there were no high-class hookers, gay sex, diaper fetishes or cross-dressing. It's all rather pedestrian. Maybe we can do better next time, spice it up a little, 'mmkay?

It's all very interesting to me. John Kennedy had his affair with Marilyn Monroe, George HW Bush had his longterm romance with Jennifer Fitzgerald, and the press politely ignored it all. But that was a different era. Times have changed, I get that.

I do have to question the media's double standard. It seems Democrats are always held to a higher standard of moral rectitude, even though Republicans are supposedly the "moral values party." David Vitter can prance around with hookers in a diaper, Larry Craig can plead guilty to soliciting sex in a public bathroom, and both men keep their Senate seats and the world continues to turn.

Remember Vicki Iseman? Boy, that story sure disappeared in a hurry.

Go figure. Guess it's just one of those things.