memeorandum: Edwards' affair could mean political free fall (Ed Hornick/CNN)

3:15 AM ET, August 10, 2008

Top Items:

Keeping It Rielle — John Edwards's confession was a little bit breathtaking. — Not the sex stuff. That happens here all the time. — And certainly not covering up the sex stuff. That happens here all the time, too. First people uncover; then they cover up.

Discussion: American Power

Jonathan Darman / Newsweek:

What Rielle Hunter Told Me — A seeker and a New Age spiritualist, John Edwards's other woman believed she could help him make history. — The Missing Webisodes — These 2006 promotional videos of John Edwards were produced by a company run by Rielle Hunter, who Edwards admitted to having an affair with in August 2008.

Discussion: TalkLeft and Deceiver.com

The Huffington Post:

John Edwards' False Assertion During The ABC Interview — John Edwards made a false assertion about the nature of his extramarital affair with Rielle Hunter during an interview with ABC on Friday night. — Asked by correspondent Bob Woodruff to detail the beginnings of his romantic relationship …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Hot Air, MOMocrats™, Big Brass Blog and ABCNEWS

Bonnie Fuller / The Huffington Post:

Elizabeth Edwards Drank Her Husband's Kool-Aid And Became His “Ambition Enabler” — Here's why Elizabeth was willing to believe her husband could cheat and STILL run for president — It's easy to understand why John Edwards first felt he was entitled to cheat on his wife and family …

Marisa Guthrie / Broadcasting & Cable:

Edwards furious with ABC News — John Edwards' ludicrous denials of an extramarital affair crumbled on Friday when ABC News applied enough pressure to get Edwards to agree to an interview - and an admission - finally giving the story first reported in the National Enquirer legitimacy in the eyes of the mainstream media.

Discussion: Hot Air, Overlawyered, Little Green Footballs, Los Angeles Times, All Spin Zone, Don Surber, Scared Monkeys, Gawker, TVNewser and TIME.com

Ed Hornick / CNN:

Edwards' affair could mean political free fall — WASHINGTON (CNN) — John Edwards, who made his marriage a central part of his overall message during the 2008 Democratic primaries — was dealt a political blow Friday after admitting to having an extramarital affair.

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots and PoliBlog (TM)

Gromer Jeffers Jr / Dallas Morning News:
Dallas lawyer Fred Baron paid for Edwards' mistress to relocate

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Fox News, New York Times and TalkLeft

ABCNEWS:
Mistress' Family Challenges Edwards to Take DNA Test

Tim Rutten / Los Angeles Times:
Old media dethroned

Discussion: The Impolitic, Ed Driscoll.com, CNN and Patterico's Pontifications

Ben Smith / The Politico:
On adultery, Edwards cites McCain

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, New York Post, Feministe, AMERICAblog News and The Huffington Post

New York Times:
Reticence of Mainstream Media Becomes a Story Itself

Discussion: StephenBainbridge.com, Los Angeles Times, The Caucus, Macsmind, Pajamas Media, The Corner, JustOneMinute, No More Mister Nice Blog, Associated Press, DBKP, Corrente and Gateway Pundit

Joe Klein / Swampland:
Edwards — I never much liked John Edwards as a politician …

Discussion: I Don't Like You Either, AMERICAblog News and DBKP

Media Matters for America:
David Gregory on Edwards: “Is this another skeleton in the …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Unfogged

Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:

Candidates' Reactions to Georgia Conflict Offer Hints at Style on Foreign Affairs — LAS VEGAS — When Russian troops rolled into South Ossetia on Friday, Senator John McCain's response was immediate and tough. — Russia had crossed “an internationally recognized border into the sovereign territory …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, Alas, a blog, The Gun Toting Liberal? and Eunomia

Hindrocket / Power Line: “MEANINGLESS STATEMENTS” — Barack Obama has been criticized …

Hindrocket / Power Line:
War — The war in Georgia is expanding, but it's hard …

Discussion: english.pravda.ru and blogger interrupted

Roger Kimball / Pajamas Media:
“The moral influence which may be a powerful force with civilized …

Discussion: BLACKFIVE, Eunomia and Washington Post

Agence France Presse:
Georgia to withdraw all of its troops from Iraq

Discussion: Sic Semper Tyrannis 2008, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, New York Times and The Duck of Minerva

Elise Labott / CNN:
U.S. official: Russia's attack on Georgia is ‘disproportionate’

Discussion: MoJoBlog, Donklephant and Associated Press

Charles Ganske / Russia Blog:
War in Georgia: Yawns and Kneejerks in America

Discussion: BLACKFIVE, Eunomia and The Belgravia Dispatch

New York Post:
RAPING GEORGIA — RUSSIA INVADES AN AMERICAN ALLY

Discussion: Registan.net, The Duck of Minerva, Information Dissemination, Gateway Pundit, Eunomia, Pajamas Media, New York Times, SWJ Blog, A Blog For All and Transatlantic Politics

New York Times:
1,500 Reported Killed in Georgia Battle

Discussion: Bob Cesca's Goddamn …, Information Dissemination, Lawyers, Guns and Money, The Duck of Minerva, Empire Burlesque, Feministe, Opinio Juris, DownWithTyranny!, Reuters, Commentary, Danger Room, CNN, Washington Post, Newshoggers.com, Brilliant at Breakfast, Outside The Beltway and Spiegel Online

Ben Smith / The Politico:
‘Invasion of Georgia’—a ‘3 a.m. moment’

Discussion: Daily Kos, American Power, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room and Crooks and Liars

Mike Allen / Yahoo! News:

McCain mocks Obama oratory — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is mocking the oratorical gifts of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), recommending that he “should consider someone with a knack for brevity and directness, to balance the ticket.” — “Taking in my opponent's performances is a little …

Discussion: pandagon.net

Beth Fouhy / Associated Press:
No Olympic holiday for McCain's presidential bid

Discussion: Newshoggers.com and The Jed Report

CNN:
McCain again slams Obama ‘celebrity’ in new radio address

Discussion: The Caucus, The Moderate Voice, Connecting.the.Dots, Wake up America and Boston Globe

Gallup:

Gallup Daily: Obama 47%, McCain 42% — Preferences have been stable last few days — PRINCETON, NJ — The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update finds Barack Obama with a 47% to 42% lead over John McCain, when registered voters are asked for whom they would vote if the presidential election were held today.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Donklephant and Open Left

New York Times:

For Suspects, Anthrax Case Had Big Costs — When Perry Mikesell, a microbiologist in Ohio, came under suspicion as the anthrax attacker, he began drinking heavily, family members say, and soon died. After a doctor in New York drew the interest of the F.B.I., his marriage fell apart and his practice suffered, his lawyer says.

Discussion: TalkLeft, Associated Press, Greatscat! and Emptywheel

ABCNEWS:

Are Democrats Now Pro-Life? — As Convention Draws Near, New Talk of a Pro-Life Presence — The Democratic Party is engaged in a political high-wire act — trying to bring in pro-life supporters without offending its pro-choice base. — This is a tight rope Democrats have been walking since 1992 …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org

SilentPatriot / Crooks and Liars:

The surge is working? Hardly. — A Guardian journalist returns home to Iraq to find that far from what we hear in the US, the surge has produced nothing approaching normalcy or peace, but rather ghettos seething with violence, with nothing but makeshift walls dividing the increasingly hostile warring factions.

New York Times:

In Loose Style, McCain Leads a Camp Divided — WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain is so quick to pick up his gold-colored cellphone to solicit advice — from senators, campaign consultants, even the stray former deputy press secretary — that aides, concerned about his tendency to adopt …

Discussion: TIME.com and RADAMISTO

Freddie Wilkinson / The Huffington Post:

K2: What The Mainstream Media Isn't Reporting — The media frenzy surrounding the recent tragedies on K2 climaxed on Wednesday with a front page article in the New York Times. Though disjointed, the article did sketch out the rough facts that by now have been widely reported in the mainstream news.