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| John Edwards' shameful prosecution | John Edwards' shameful prosecution |
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| The tabloidization of American politics really got under way in 1998, when Republicans tried to elevate President Clinton's philandering to an impeachment-worthy offense. The past decade-plus has followed suit, with sex scandals routinely receiving more attention and outrage than actual corruption, all culminating in what is perhaps the most surreal sex scandal of all: the love child and subsequent trial of John Edwards. | The tabloidization of American politics really got under way in 1998, when Republicans tried to elevate President Clinton's philandering to an impeachment-worthy offense. The past decade-plus has followed suit, with sex scandals routinely receiving more attention and outrage than actual corruption, all culminating in what is perhaps the most surreal sex scandal of all: the love child and subsequent trial of John Edwards. |
| It seems, though, that we may be turning a corner when it comes to the eagerness with which Americans gobble up these stories. The tawdriness of the government making a federal case out of Edwards' infidelities and cover-up strategies has resulted in a surprising diversity of political commentators crying uncle, and demanding that federal law enforcement find a better use of its time than playing to the tabloid crowd. | It seems, though, that we may be turning a corner when it comes to the eagerness with which Americans gobble up these stories. The tawdriness of the government making a federal case out of Edwards' infidelities and cover-up strategies has resulted in a surprising diversity of political commentators crying uncle, and demanding that federal law enforcement find a better use of its time than playing to the tabloid crowd. |
| Part of the problem is that the government's case against Edwards seems trifling. They're essentially arguing that hush money given by his supporters directly to his mistress, Rielle Hunter, should have been treated like campaign donations and subject to the laws governing campaign finances. Of course, to buy that argument, you have to accept that hush money for mistresses is legitimately catalogued as a "campaign expense" – an argument that few in politics are willing to buy, especially since the money in question never, in fact, went through the campaign. | Part of the problem is that the government's case against Edwards seems trifling. They're essentially arguing that hush money given by his supporters directly to his mistress, Rielle Hunter, should have been treated like campaign donations and subject to the laws governing campaign finances. Of course, to buy that argument, you have to accept that hush money for mistresses is legitimately catalogued as a "campaign expense" – an argument that few in politics are willing to buy, especially since the money in question never, in fact, went through the campaign. |
| From a practical standpoint, the money looks mostly just like a gift from one campaign supporter to another. It is hard to see, legally speaking, how that is really different from any other gift one private individual might make to another. | From a practical standpoint, the money looks mostly just like a gift from one campaign supporter to another. It is hard to see, legally speaking, how that is really different from any other gift one private individual might make to another. |
| The whole case reads as so weak and pointless that even the National Review, never one to shun an opportunity for political grandstanding or supporting the law as an instrument to control people's sex lives, had to denounce the prosecution of Edwards for campaign finance violations. It's hard to shake the sense that the situation must be politically motivated and, in fact, Edwards himself has been blaming Bush-era Justice Department prosecutors for his woes. | The whole case reads as so weak and pointless that even the National Review, never one to shun an opportunity for political grandstanding or supporting the law as an instrument to control people's sex lives, had to denounce the prosecution of Edwards for campaign finance violations. It's hard to shake the sense that the situation must be politically motivated and, in fact, Edwards himself has been blaming Bush-era Justice Department prosecutors for his woes. |
| But even if the original prosecutor George Holding, a Bush appointee, did take personal glee in building a case against Edwards, it's hard to imagine that Republicans have a partisan stake in all of this. If anyone has an incentive to support the prosecution for political reasons, it would be the Obama administration concerned about Edwards being a liability for the Democrats. | But even if the original prosecutor George Holding, a Bush appointee, did take personal glee in building a case against Edwards, it's hard to imagine that Republicans have a partisan stake in all of this. If anyone has an incentive to support the prosecution for political reasons, it would be the Obama administration concerned about Edwards being a liability for the Democrats. |
| The likeliest explanation for the Justice Department's doggedness in pursuing this weak case is not a partisan one, but it could still reasonably be seen as a political one. Because of the heavy tabloid coverage of Edwards' escapades, he's probably one of the most hated men in America now: thanks to the combination of the cheating, the dying wife, the recklessness with his own campaign, and the love child. The public generally wants to see bad things happen to John Edwards, to secure the sense of cosmic justice; the Justice Department has a strong interest in delivering a few more blows. | The likeliest explanation for the Justice Department's doggedness in pursuing this weak case is not a partisan one, but it could still reasonably be seen as a political one. Because of the heavy tabloid coverage of Edwards' escapades, he's probably one of the most hated men in America now: thanks to the combination of the cheating, the dying wife, the recklessness with his own campaign, and the love child. The public generally wants to see bad things happen to John Edwards, to secure the sense of cosmic justice; the Justice Department has a strong interest in delivering a few more blows. |
| Even if the DOJ doesn't win the case, by dragging Edwards through legal hell, they'll score points with the public. In addition, the testimony during the trial will be tabloid-friendly stuff, replete with sex, lies and videotape. With this prosecution, the Justice Department will get a lot of press for their work, and in places they usually never show up at all, such as tabloid magazines and gossip websites. No wonder concerns about the case being unfair and weak are being squelched. | Even if the DOJ doesn't win the case, by dragging Edwards through legal hell, they'll score points with the public. In addition, the testimony during the trial will be tabloid-friendly stuff, replete with sex, lies and videotape. With this prosecution, the Justice Department will get a lot of press for their work, and in places they usually never show up at all, such as tabloid magazines and gossip websites. No wonder concerns about the case being unfair and weak are being squelched. |
| The problem with all this is it further distracts from the issue of what's really important when it comes to campaign finance. Hush money paid to mistresses is sexy, attention-getting stuff, but it's also far less of a problem for our democracy than all the rule-fudging that's beginning to define our campaign financing system. | The problem with all this is it further distracts from the issue of what's really important when it comes to campaign finance. Hush money paid to mistresses is sexy, attention-getting stuff, but it's also far less of a problem for our democracy than all the rule-fudging that's beginning to define our campaign financing system. |
| For instance, the creation of campaign Super Pacs has created a whole raft of problems for campaign finance law. The Pacs are supposed to have an absolute wall of silence between themselves and the campaign. There was a flurry of stories last year examining how unlikely it is that the campaigns are following this law to the letter, but the attention has died down. Now, it's just assumed that there must be some back-channel form of communication, and candidates are being asked questions on the trail about choices made by their Super Pacs, even though that's supposed to be all a mystery to them. | For instance, the creation of campaign Super Pacs has created a whole raft of problems for campaign finance law. The Pacs are supposed to have an absolute wall of silence between themselves and the campaign. There was a flurry of stories last year examining how unlikely it is that the campaigns are following this law to the letter, but the attention has died down. Now, it's just assumed that there must be some back-channel form of communication, and candidates are being asked questions on the trail about choices made by their Super Pacs, even though that's supposed to be all a mystery to them. |
| Since Super Pacs have no limits on donations or spending, this story should matter infinitely more than anything John Edwards, who will never run for office again, is doing. Sadly, these concerns don't come with very much in the way of sex tapes or love children – making critical coverage difficult to come by. | Since Super Pacs have no limits on donations or spending, this story should matter infinitely more than anything John Edwards, who will never run for office again, is doing. Sadly, these concerns don't come with very much in the way of sex tapes or love children – making critical coverage difficult to come by. |
| Still, the disgust with this prosecution emanating from various corners in the media, even conservative ones, suggests a ray of light. Perhaps Americans are finally getting sick of sexual misbehavior mattering more than unethical choices that genuinely affect our nation's direction and the sustainability of our democracy. We'll always want to cluck our tongues while reading tabloid coverage of some famous person's sexual indiscretions, but we would still prefer that government resources to go towards fixing our real problems, instead of grandstanding over yet another adulterer. | Still, the disgust with this prosecution emanating from various corners in the media, even conservative ones, suggests a ray of light. Perhaps Americans are finally getting sick of sexual misbehavior mattering more than unethical choices that genuinely affect our nation's direction and the sustainability of our democracy. We'll always want to cluck our tongues while reading tabloid coverage of some famous person's sexual indiscretions, but we would still prefer that government resources to go towards fixing our real problems, instead of grandstanding over yet another adulterer. |
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