What John Edwards Should Have Known

No, this isn’t a “Lets beat up John Edwards” message. Though emotionally I feel like it. I’m one of those Edwards supporters from the  “ No, he isn’t the guy who talks to dead people” early campaign days. I’m a political junkie from childhood. I was the only girl in school that had a picture of the Speaker of the House  in her locker. So the idea that a politician had a fall from grace is not at all shocking. What is shocking is that it was THIS politician.

The cynics are comfortable with their “I told you so” smiles, as cynics don’t believe in anything and feel that way they will never be wrong or disappointed. I feel bad for them, they have never enjoyed the true American experience. The idea that the average citizen can be a part of a greater vision and change the world around them.  Their opinion does not register with me, as they have started out with a hopelessness I cannot relate too.

Then my activist friends in their well meaning way tell me “We can’t put our leaders on a pedestal. They make mistakes”. I don’t accept that either. A mistake is calling someone by the wrong name or dialing a wrong number. What John Edwards did was a betrayal of his wedding vows,  but that is a personal issue with Elizabeth . He lied to those of us out there defending him and that hurt a lot of people beyond his family .   I still pray for the Edwards family  everyday. I will not however take responsibility for putting him on a pedestal. He put himself there. Every time he traveled the country with that beautiful family and spoke adoringly about his bond with his wife. He put himself there, but I’m guilty of believing it. He sure looked nice on that pedestal…..

I told someone I was sorry I every heard of John Edwards. That isn’t true at all.  When someone can inspire you to make the phone calls, write the letters and go to the rallies . That person has reached the part of my spirit that inspires me to act like an American. To be involved. How could I ever be sorry about that ? So I’m sorry about the ending….I’m not sorry about the journey.

What he should have known is:

The American public will pay far more attention to sex than to poverty. We supporters were frustrated and not getting him more TV time. That isn’t a problem now.

He should have known that his lifetime cause of fighting poverty would be seriously damaged by scandal. A movement without a leader fades away. This cause was too vital to risk.

My guess is John Edwards knows all these things now. I want to believe that he is truly sincere in his regret,  but there really is no way to know that for a fact.

So what happens now ? This issue of poverty is a hard sell to politicians….there is no money in poverty.
Will someone step up and keep up this fight ? Will John Edwards be able to recover and keep his vision alive  without a political career ? Who knows ? It is hard to inspire anyone when they cannot trust you .

This story will fade away when another sex scandal comes along or the next “tell all” book about someone else is published.  Yet, the poor and the hungry will still be there, with a population looking the other way.

With a goal as important of reducing poverty in America, it was too risky placing on the focus on the leader and not the cause. That is something I should have known……shame on me.