Posted on 08/26/2008 6:08:50 AM PDT by Stoat
Exclusive
Updated Tuesday, August 26th 2008, 12:07 AM
DENVER - John Edwards is burning up the phone lines, begging former aides and backers to forgive him for lying about his affair - but hearing their rage instead.
As Democrats kick off their convention Monday, the onetime presidential contender is a man without a party - or a political future - trying to rebuild bridges through dozens of remorseful phone calls.
It's proving a hard sell with onetime true believers.
Many are bitter and disillusioned after swallowing his lies about his affair with a campaign staffer and vouching for his credibility with friends and journalists.
Some ignore his plaintive phone entreaties and don't call back - even when Edwards leaves follow-up messages. A few return his calls - and give him a piece of their angry minds.
When Edwards reached one longtime confidant asking for advice, he was cut off with a terse: "I don't want you to call me again."
The conversation ended abruptly.
"I let you down, and I'm sorry," is a common refrain of these messages, said another top ex-assistant on the receiving end of one of the calls.
"It was kind of pathetic, to tell you the truth," said the ex-aide, who said he didn't return the call and doesn't expect to speak to his former boss again.
For months, the former North Carolina senator and John Kerry's 2004 running mate vigorously denied National Enquirer reports of an affair with campaign videographer Rielle Hunter, who since gave birth to a child.
On Aug. 8, Edwards admitted the 2006 affair with Hunter in an ABC interview - when his wife Elizabeth's cancer was in remission - but insisted he isn't the father of her son.
One source who compared notes with other former colleagues said Edwards makes no attempt to justify or rationalize his behavior in these desperate phone conversations. He simply expresses his regret for deceiving them and asks for their understanding and forgiveness.
Many think he's still not telling the truth.
"As painful as it will be for him, he needs to come clean," one of them said. "There's an overwhelming view that he's still lying."
Schadenfreude baby, it couldn't have happened to a nicer fellow.
I’m guessing that his giant house is feeling awfulling cold these days.
awfulling > awfully
He hd better ask his wife to forgive him, and his God.
Well there you have it. Everyone knows he’s lying. The only real question here is how much lying is he still willing to do for his “political viability.”
Someone should put his name into nomination at Denver.
That would be awesome.
I don’t get it - it’s just about sex - and his “private life” - isn’t this what we were told during clinton?
Are you kidding? His wife is running the campaign now to get his staff back on board so he can get out there again.
Shoot, she probably scouted online for the place in the Virgin Islands to send Hunter and the kid.
Cynical? No, this is who they are.
He probably begged her forgiveness the first time he got caught.
Kind of hard to ask for forgiveness again after you know he swore to her it was over then got his picture taken holding his illegitimate child in a tabloid.
Why doesn’t he follow Gary Hart’s example and just fade away; never to be seen or heard from again?
At this point it appears that even if he were to actually tell the complete truth, few if any would believe him
Someone should put his name into nomination at Denver.
That would be awesome.
I'm thinking that nothing is beyond the wrath of the scorned Clinton supporters.
A man who has a tiny shred of honor left in him would certainly do that, wouldn't he? Or, in other times he would take his favorite revolver out on one last lonely drive to a desolate section of coastline and 'do the honorable thing'.
Before you catch any flack for having said that, I want to let you know that I agree.
He’s still hoping for the Attorney General position.
Any word on forgiveness sought from the taxpayers and stockholders he robbed, and the physicians lives he destroyed, with his disgusting, lying trial lawyering?
I suppose that if Barry - O will take on a plagiarist as veep, taking on a lying scumbag adulterer as AG would be a natural progression.
It’s not my desire to be provocative but the investment is already made and the Edwards’ are all in.
The Clinton standard says you must never show shame. You just make your statement of regret (that you got caught) and then you Move On.
And that’s what they are doing. Unfortunately for Silky Pony, his “blue dress” moment isn’t sitting in a museum. It’s a living, growing human being.
That’s kinda hard to bury. Well literally it can be done, but not without someone taking DNA samples. Which is self-defeating.
Have to say that I do in fact really feel sorry for the children. Especially the oldest one who has to face friends and others at school. Now everyone knows what her dad is all about. Himself.
I'm having trouble hearing that over the distant sound of crickets chirping and of his wife quietly sobbing. Surely a man as honorable as Edwards would be asking for that straight away; I must be missing it.
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