Many folks having been wondering why the "mainstream media," as we'll affectionately refer to the news organizations slashing their budgets, haven't picked up on the John Edwards-mistress-love child story, which the National Enquirer has been pursuing for months. A handful of media operatives (who are in the business of reporting this sort of thing) we spoke to about the situation believe the Enquirer's reports, but won't be writing about it anytime soon.
If you ask NBC political director Chuck Todd, he'll tell you: "I think a lot of news organizations are reminding themselves that Edwards is a private citizen and no longer running for any office. Should he end up being nominated for some public position, many news organizations may start looking into these allegations. But for now, he's a private citizen."
Is that really good enough? Had Larry Craig no longer been serving as a senator, would we really have not seen that story overwhelm the cable news cycle? Doubtful.
Also: Edwards is still in the news cycle, as a vice presidential candidate. Todd's own employer has reported on the possibility Barack Obama will choose Edwards as his running mate. The media, including NBC, has used a much lower standard for deciding what's news than the possibility of who might be second in command. (Isn't the Edwards scandal enough for news networks to debate the idea that maybe he won't be selected as VP?)
So we went to the one guy who might have an inkling as to why the Enquirer is running with the story when nobody else is: David Perel.
I’m not a big believer in conspiracy theories, so I don’t believe there’s a protect Edwards conspiracy. I think there’s a combination of laziness and lack of investigative muscle by many in the so-called MSM and this is unfortunate. I also KNOW that’s it’s an extremely difficult story to crack. Movements of the main characters are secretive, shrouded and hidden. Cover-ups abound. It’s tough to break through all this. I wanted to get a smoking gun on this story. I wanted day and date, time and place. The Enquirer got it. He was there. So was Rielle and the baby. They met secretly. He can’t deny it (without lying).
And it’s an IMPORTANT story. The man is a leading vice presidential contender. The implication of him lying about all this and covering it up creates a character issue that is directly relevant to the post he could hold. Frankly, I find his words and actions scary, even for a politician!
Further, Perel tells us "at least one [other news] organizations has made great progress on the story." So perhaps it won't be the Enquirer's monopoly for much longer.
Editorial Director
One stray hair from a $400 haircut - free
One messy diaper - free
One DNA/Paternity Test - $100
Finding out if the proof is in the pudding - Priceless
The American public never gave him a second look, he is very sleazy. Then he withheld his endorsement of Hillary or Barack like he was giving away his virginity, you had to know he had a body in the closet, it's a shame a woman like his wife who is bright and sensitive is subjected to a pig like this guy. I can' wait to see/hear his apology like Clinton had to do and then have it replayed over and over for the next 10 years People in glass houses . . . . .
Chuck Todd and the mainstream media folk remind me of goldfish desperately gulping for air.
Since Todd knows the Obama organization is now saying "John who?" there's a pretty good chance John Edwards will remain a private citizen for the foreseeable future.
What a pity Chuck can't just say: "Look, you can't work for NBC News unless you're a shill for the Democratic Party. That's why we can't ask Barack Obama any tough questions."
Why do I have a feeling that Hil was in the bushes with a cell phone that had The National Enquirer on speed dial?
Hilarious! You KNOW that if this was Huckabee or Romney, they would have the woman lined up for Good Morning America already!
Religious phony…..
One of the problems is the general dumbing down of "news coverage". These days the emphasis seems to be on personality-driven "journalism" whereby it's more important - even for newspaper reporters - to be able to provide a good soundbite on TV than actually do some proper investigative reporting.
Then, of course, there is the rise in popularity of websites like this, Gawker, Radar etc, where everyone can pretend that they are journalists, but very few have any actual ability. Any vague, half-assed rumor gets out on the internet and is presented as fact.
99.9 percent of "news" websites don't do any original reporting. They simply feed off each other and think that adding a snarky comment makes them a proper journalist. The other day, Gawker (for feck's sake) and Radar (Zzzzz)even published stories about some pale, skinny girl they were fighting over to employ. Who cares?
But if you were to tip off any of these websites about a top politician having an affair, they would completely ignore the story because they simply wouldn't have the ability to do any reporting or investigating.
It's karaoke journalism.
Alan Butterfield is the Enquirer reporter claiming to have witnessed Edwards in the hotel for a rendezvous with his alleged mistress.
"For those unfamiliar, Butterfield is a reporter for the National Enquirer-yes, the supermarket tabloid-and is the one who "broke" the gay sex-ring story about Ed Smart and several of his brothers. The story was based on information obtained from unnamed sources. Later it became known that some unnamed sources were paid $10,000 each. In the end, the information proved to be false and two reporters, Kevin Cantera and Michael Vigh of The Salt Lake Tribune, were fired due to their involvement in the fiasco."
'Academic freedom, The National Enquirer and U'
from The Daily Utah Chronicle, 10/23/03
This is crazy, the videos she made are all on YouTube
They're both clearly in love with each other.
He looks so besotted with "camera girl"
You can see that she gave an interview to EXTRA on their website when this first came out. She has a very colorful history and likes the attention.
All of the information is coming from a "source" close to Rielle.
She wants this to come out, she wants John to admit to the relationship. I don't blame her. I'm sorry for Elizabeth. She was the brain behind the man. Elizabeth got sick and had to focus on herself rather than him. She lost his attention and he is an insensitive narcissist who is incapable of understanding how to use a condom.
Where are the pictures from the hotel?
I, John Edwards, banged this whore without a condom while my dumb wife was sick with cancer. I should sue myself for being a douchebag.
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No. 4 Val says:
"Why do I have a feeling that Hil was in the bushes with a cell phone that had The National Enquirer on speed dial?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Palace Security Guard, speaking anonymously while feeding fattened Republican Investment Bankers to the moat serpents outside Kastle Klynton, confirmed "H. was not in the bushes with a cell phone at the time of the bimbo eruption. That's what the flying monkeys do. They were the ones in the bushes at the hotel. One of them got too excited calling in 'The John' sighting and accidently hit the speakerphone button — all those tiny-little keys and whatnot in the dark. The result was Herself's shrill, cackling laugh being emitted from the cell phone and hideously piercing the early morning calm."
Within the hour, an unconfirmed, retaliatory counter-strike of elite, 'Bamabot freedom-fighters was launched. In an apparent attempt to keep a comrade from being torched, Strike-Force Leader Mo'Bama - wearing a black tank-top, camoflauge pants, her mother's army boots and an orange "Wendy's wig" - apparently jumped out of the shadows of a Kastle Klynton dungeon corridor, grabbed a wooden bucket full of water from a palace guard waterboarding a suspected Femi-Nazi traitor, and doused both the fabulous, flaming, freedom-fighter and H. thoroughly. After shrieking, "Look what you've done now, you little fool, you've ruined my chances on the VP short-list!", H. melted away under her apparel. The freedom-fighters fled to fight another day!
A NY Crime Scene Investigative Unit was later dispatched to Kastle Klynton and reported retrieving the following items from the crime scene: a wooden bucket; a tall, pointy black hat; a damp, wrinkled, black pantsuit; and an "icky, smelly puddle." A special, two-part, cliff-hanger showing of the investigative team's findings is scheduled for the week before and after the November elections on the See-BS Network.
Edwards is a world-class hypocrite. He went out there asking for votes for President while talking about his family and touting his values. That hypocracy alone is news!
This is how the Chairman, David Pecker, and Editor, David Perel of the National Enquirer register to vote. One of the two has a concealed weapons permit.
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