In the Arena

A Note on Edwards

  • Share
  • Read Later

I was never a big John Edwards fan. He seemed an “ice skater”–as Mario Cuomo used to say. He skimmed the surface, without ever really exploring or grasping the issues. It seemed that he became a politician because he thought he looked like a politician. But I think his indictment  today is a big waste of time and money. If he did break the law, it was a one-time, unique situation, an act of stupidity ruled by panic and passion. His penalty for that act was to become a public joke, cad and a pariah. He will have to live the rest of his life knowing that every time he shakes someone’s hand there’s a high probability that person will be thinking: you slimy, disgusting jerk. There are other criminals out there whom the government should be pursuing. The bankers who caused the crash, for example. There, the shame of an indictment or three would be a very necessary warning against the blithe arrogance and greed that continues to blind the practitioners and endanger the rest of us.