The first rule of politics

The National Enquirer. A staple of the grocery store checkout isle, the tabloid is not exactly defined by its tact. Case in point...

"Even her ankles are fat!" Delightful. Being that Rachael Ray and Oprah haven't engaged in a public smackdown, and no crazy drug videos of everyone's favorite ambassador to the world have emerged, it was probably a safe bet to say that this 2007 headline was also wildly inaccurate:

Whoops. Now that news of the John Edwards affair/possible love child scandal is unavoidable, the former presidential candidate is not the only one taking flack (see recent Gawker headline: "Next for Edwards: Hell"). Traditional media is being widely criticized for ignoring scoops circulating throughout the blogosphere and a, uh, seemingly less credible print source. And all around it has become a hot, hot mess. Major publications have all expressed varying degrees of remorse for not jumping on the story. Says the Wall Street Journal: "(The mainstream media) ignored the story at their peril, forgetting that amid the unflattering celebrity photos and overblown headlines, the Enquirer, a supermarket tabloid has a track record of scoops, including some about politics. And this time it found an unlikely ally: a group of Internet voices driven less by political ideology than by a view of the mainstream press as out of touch."

Some blogs are being scrutinized as well - among them the notoriously liberal site Daily Kos. Recently, blogger Lee Stranahan expressed his outrage over being banned from Daily Kos after writing a post calling attention to the affair. In addition to arguments related to free speech, the site evidently has quite the history of posting salacious and questionable news about conservative politicians, including this piece suggesting that President Bush had an alcohol relapse coinciding with Hurricane Katrina.

The Internet has been the Achilles heel for philandering politicians since the Drudge Report broke Monica-gate during the Clinton administration. This latest example is a real shame, particularly considering Elizabeth Edwards' health battle in recent years. I liked John Edwards at the start of this presidential race but, like many people, couldn't help but see voting for the good looking white guy as a cop out of sorts. This is undoubtedly a PR nightmare for him, but our society tends to forgive in time and we love a comeback. Indeed, even a D.C. mayor can get re-elected after being videotaped smoking crack with a prostitute, as in the bizarre case of Marion Barry (below).

Mr. Edwards was wise to finally come clean about his indiscretions. His political future may be in question (can you imagine if he had won the nomination??), but for now he should lay low and plot out the next steps to get his life back on track.

I'm not ashamed to admit that one of my favorite movies is "The Girl Next Door." For my money, it's the most heartwarming addition to the teen sex comedy genre. In one scene, a sleazy supporting character tells our protagonist, a JFK-idolizing high school senior headed for Georgetown, the first rule of politics: "Always know if the juice is worth the squeeze." Not bad. However, today I might go with: Don't cheat on your wife. And whatever you do, don't get caught in the unforgiving clutches of the world wide web.