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John Edwards indicted by grand jury

Erod said:
Yes, people cheat. But it's hugely different for elected officials, especially powerful Washington officials. It should be a high priority among voters to elect people of the utmost character in this regard.

Here's why.

Let's say President X has a thing for young interns. Lots of them. And let's say he's a bit kinky at that, and his re-election campaign is around the corner. Now let's say China knows about it and has proof, and it has means to get that information into the media. China needs some key information in the development of their nuclear tracking systems......

You see, integrity means everything when you have that kind of consequential power. It matters TREMENDOUSLY, even moreso than anything else. Those skeletons in the closet had better be out there already, or you could be compromised.

And believe it or not, lots of people have character. Lots of people stay true to their commitments and vows. Not most, but certainly there are people who adhere to their word.

We've just got to make sure not to give the keys to the wrong people.
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you make a good case.....you DO mean all cheaters, right?
 
Don't see why this has to become a discussion about "what men think". This is about ONE man who made a series of very bad choices and is now paying the price for it.
 
lovetosing4678 said:
I have been cheated on by a long time partner who I loved and trusted with my life and it sucked. But I don't want to send him to court or ruin his life/career for it.

Also, try spell a little better that was somewhat difficult to read.
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This is about Edwards being indicted for breaking the law and it's poetic justice that what I see here.
 
liblady said:
you make a good case.....you DO mean all cheaters, right?
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Yes I do, which is why Newt is out for me. I love his love of history, and he's an extremely bright man, but I don't trust his personal judgments in terms of what they could do to his presidential judgments.

Consider this. If you were in sixth grade in 1998, you had to hear about cum on a blue dress involving your president. If you were a teacher, how would you handle those questions from class? THAT was the supposedly highest example of leadership in your country.

It shouldn't be that hard to find good people. My dad's never cheated on my mom. I'd bet my life on it. I've never cheated on my wife of 13 years either. That doesn't make us mutants; there are lots of people who don't live wrecklessly. We just have to elect leaders that AT LEAST follow basic principles, and stop voting for American Idol contestants.

Now, that doesn't mean "cheaters" are useless. They're just not to be trusted with highly sensitive national security information, and they shouldn't be held up as the leaders of what we represent as a nation.
 
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Erod said:
Yes I do, which is why Newt is out for me. I love his love of history, and he's an extremely bright man, but I don't trust his personal judgments in terms of what they could do to his presidential judgments.

Consider this. If you were in sixth grade in 1998, you had to hear about cum on a blue dress involving your president. If you were a teacher, how would you handle those questions from class? THAT was the supposedly highest example of leadership in your country.

It shouldn't be that hard to find good people. My dad's never cheated on my mom. I'd bet my life on it. I've never cheated on my wife of 13 years either. That doesn't make us mutants; there are lots of people who don't live wrecklessly. We just have to elect leaders that AT LEAST follow basic principles, and stop voting for American Idol contestants.

Now, that doesn't mean "cheaters" are useless. They're just not to be trusted with highly sensitive national security information, and they shouldn't be held up as the leaders of what we represent as a nation.
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Right, because an unrealistic scenario like that would most assuredly happen. People are going to screw up. There are always skeletons in the closet. Nobody is a paradigm of virtue and we certainly won't elect somebody who is. To think our national security is in severe jeopardy because some guy likes to pork interns in latex, hanging from nipple hooks? A bit of a stretch.
 
tessaesque said:
Right, because an unrealistic scenario like that would most assuredly happen. People are going to screw up. There are always skeletons in the closet. Nobody is a paradigm of virtue and we certainly won't elect somebody who is. To think our national security is in severe jeopardy because some guy likes to pork interns in latex, hanging from nipple hooks? A bit of a stretch.
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I thought this clip was relevant :mrgreen:

 
Good, theres being unfaithful then theres being a scumbag....edwards fits the latter category imo
 
Deuce said:
Or they can run for president. Aint our sytem grand?
Newt Gingrich 2012 | Winning the Future Together
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At least, he had the decency to leave his wives, and not keep using them as a political prop for votes. Oh, and he didn't break the law spending money from his political donations to cover up his affairs.

However, on the douchebag meter Newt's a solid 8.5
 
Erod said:
Yes, people cheat. But it's hugely different for elected officials, especially powerful Washington officials. It should be a high priority among voters to elect people of the utmost character in this regard.

Here's why.

Let's say President X has a thing for young interns. Lots of them. And let's say he's a bit kinky at that, and his re-election campaign is around the corner. Now let's say China knows about it and has proof, and it has means to get that information into the media. China needs some key information in the development of their nuclear tracking systems......

You see, integrity means everything when you have that kind of consequential power. It matters TREMENDOUSLY, even moreso than anything else. Those skeletons in the closet had better be out there already, or you could be compromised.

And believe it or not, lots of people have character. Lots of people stay true to their commitments and vows. Not most, but certainly there are people who adhere to their word.

We've just got to make sure not to give the keys to the wrong people.
Click to expand...

So it would be fine if he cheats as long as he tells everyone? You want people who are "perfect"! NO ONE is perfect! There will ALWAYS be something wrong with a person. As long as someone can do their job fine, there is nothing wrong with that they do outside of that.


Also, to the person who asked if it was a hyperbole, yes it was. It was to prove a point but it seems to not to have helped anyone.
 
This is actually kind of an interesting case right?

I mean, what happened here is that two people associated with Edwards, gave money to a woman.
Defense claims it was only a gift.
Prosecutors claim it was actually a campaign donation since it was done by donor/supporters, and because it was inarguably to keep the woman out of the campaign, which is not disputed to be a help, to the campaign. And since it wasn't reported as such, it was an illegal "campaign contribution", not simply a gift from two other people, to this woman.

Will the arm of the law reach that far and yank him in? Seems like a stretch, but still a possibility.

ecofarm said:
What would have happened if Bush lied to a grand jury. You think people would be all, "oh well, he's not perfect"?
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The Clinton hearing was about character assassination, not lying. It was allowed to occur due to the lying, but lying about something legally irrelevant (his personal life) is in any reasonable context also irrelevant. If a political candidate's personal life was that important, we'd get them giving us a summary of their life and behavior under oath. We don't do that, because it's inappropriate. Same applies above.

Depends on what Bush lied about. If it was about boinking Condi, it's the same....irrelevant. If it was about bringing the nation to war...I think obviously it would have far different implications :)
 
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Mach said:
This is actually kind of an interesting case right?

I mean, what happened here is that two people associated with Edwards, gave money to a woman.
Defense claims it was only a gift.
Prosecutors claim it was actually a campaign donation since it was done by donor/supporters, and because it was inarguably to keep the woman out of the campaign, which is not disputed to be a help, to the campaign. And since it wasn't reported as such, it was an illegal "campaign contribution", not simply a gift from two other people, to this woman.

Will the arm of the law reach that far and yank him in? Seems like a stretch, but still a possibility.



The Clinton hearing was about character assassination, not lying. It was allowed to occur due to the lying, but lying about something legally irrelevant (his personal life) is in any reasonable context also irrelevant. If a political candidate's personal life was that important, we'd get them giving us a summary of their life and behavior under oath. We don't do that, because it's inappropriate. Same applies above.

Depends on what Bush lied about. If it was about boinking Condi, it's the same....irrelevant. If it was about bringing the nation to war...I think obviously it would have far different implications :)
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I think I read that the key factor is that the money ran through campaign accounts. The rest (gift vs. donation), while significant, is probably less incriminating than the money's trail to Rielle's hands.
 
tessaesque said:
I can't watch videos!! I'll listen when I get home.
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See that's BS, because I can, and I HAD to watch it (Chapel), so I lost 8 minutes. I don't know where StillBallin gets off thinking me missing work is RELEVANT to the topic, he's so unreasonable.
 
tessaesque said:
I think I read that the key factor is that the money ran through campaign accounts. The rest (gift vs. donation), while significant, is probably less incriminating than the money's trail to Rielle's hands.
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If it ran through campaign accounts, what the hell were they thinking? Seems like the bigger issue is that they are idiots? :) That makes it hard, I mean, yeah it was a gift, but it was from our campain account...dur?
 
Mach said:
See that's BS, because I can, and I HAD to watch it (Chapel), so I lost 8 minutes. I don't know where StillBallin gets off thinking me missing work is RELEVANT to the topic, he's so unreasonable.
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LOL! My phone battery drains like an SOB if I watch videos. I always forget my charger, too...so no videos for me.
 
Mach said:
If it ran through campaign accounts, what the hell were they thinking? Seems like the bigger issue is that they are idiots? :) That makes it hard, I mean, yeah it was a gift, but it was from our campain account...dur?
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Yeah, that's what I was thinking. How can you deny the illegal activity there, if the money really did move through campaign accounts, ya know?
 
Mach said:
See that's BS, because I can, and I HAD to watch it (Chapel), so I lost 8 minutes. I don't know where StillBallin gets off thinking me missing work is RELEVANT to the topic, he's so unreasonable.
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Watching chappelle is never a loss.
 
lovetosing4678 said:
So it would be fine if he cheats as long as he tells everyone? You want people who are "perfect"! NO ONE is perfect! There will ALWAYS be something wrong with a person. As long as someone can do their job fine, there is nothing wrong with that they do outside of that.


Also, to the person who asked if it was a hyperbole, yes it was. It was to prove a point but it seems to not to have helped anyone.
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Integrity hardly requires perfection. We've just gone so overboard and making "normal" out of deviant behavior, it just seems like it.
 
tessaesque said:
Right, because an unrealistic scenario like that would most assuredly happen. People are going to screw up. There are always skeletons in the closet. Nobody is a paradigm of virtue and we certainly won't elect somebody who is. To think our national security is in severe jeopardy because some guy likes to pork interns in latex, hanging from nipple hooks? A bit of a stretch.
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Such a fetish known to the public would ruin chances for re-election.

Why do you think Edwards was paying this gal off?
 
i say edwards beats this
whose willing to bet?

the couple who made the loan have testified that it was a loan
$ were NOT run thru campaign fund ... which causes me to wonder why o'donnell, ensign and palin are not being prosecuted for personally spending their donated campaign funds for personal purposes. but i digress

will never be able to prove my belief that this is a political hit ...
leave cheney, rumsfeld, junior, and the above named rogues alone, despite the massive evidence available to prosecute each of them
and go after edwards, who accepted a loan to keep his girlfriend a secret from his spouse
yep it's political

but i am glad that this case is being brought
because a light needs to be brightly cast upon our campaign finance system, so that its abuses will become known
as will happen during this case

take no prisoners, john
 
I cannot stand populist pettifogger Edwards but to me prison should be reserved for those whose freedom poses a danger for other citizens. Its a waste of tax dollars to put the slimebag in prison. Fine him and ridicule him for the slug he is
 
StillBallin75 said:
Man wants to run for President but can't keep his pants up. Don't men ever think with their mind before thinking with their dick?
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When a man IS A DICK, it really gets all confusing and hard to keep straight.

<pun>
 
I will say the same thing I say every time a politician gets into legal trouble: prosecute him, convict him if he is guilty, and nail him with the full penalty of law. If there is one thing I expect from politicians it is respect for the law.
 
StillBallin75 said:
I thought this clip was relevant :mrgreen:

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Chappelle talks a bit about character in that thread.

Edwards trotted out his wife, in front of all the cameras, to announce both the cancer, and that they were going to persevere through it.

Then he went back to doinking his blonde bimbo.

Here's a video for you:

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kCAFkfFLQQ

John Edwards. "I feel pretty".
 
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