Editorial of August 14, concerning John Edwards states: “The return of Elizabeth Edwards’ cancer coupled with her husband’s infidelity makes this a particularly sad story. For him to show her such disrespect is beyond comprehension.”
WATCHDOG: Such moralizing makes us wretch. The Intell has no idea of what were the conjugal circumstances of her illness. And are they so lacking in virility as not to appreciate the extraordinary sexual drives innate in middle age males, especially when separated for long periods from a mate and suffering from loneliness and stress?
We don’t condone extra marital relations; we oppose all sin. Frankly, the only sex life we care about is our own. What we seek in our leaders is competence and commitment to the public good.
Furthermore, we are mindful of the extra marital relations of presidents during our publisher’s life time: FDR – Yes; Harry Truman – probably not; JFK – Oh my!; Lyndon Johnson – Yes; Richard Nixon -probably not; Gerald Ford – unknown; Jimmy Carter – he only “lusted after women”; Ronald Reagan – Yes (during his previous marriage); George H. W. Bush – unknown; Bill Clinton – Yes; George W. Bush – he might be less bellicose and we might be better off if he did.
May we have a show of hands among the press corps of how many men (and women) have had extra marital relationships?
