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Edwards 'Love Child' Story Shows Press Double Standard

Media are hypocrites about hypocrisy

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 24, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

(Newser) – The press jumped all over Larry Craig’s bathroom dalliance not because he was gay, it was claimed, but because he was a hypocrite with an anti-gay voting record. But no one is piling on John Edwards, whom the National Enquirer says it caught visiting his mistress and love child this week. Jack Shafer of Slate thinks the non-coverage reveals a double standard: Homo-hypocrisy is wrong, but hetero-hypocrisy is OK.

The stories aren’t identical—Craig was in the police blotter, while "Edwards, as far as we know, is guilty of nothing beyond running away from tabloid reporters in a Beverly Hills hotel stairway in the wee a.m. after visiting a female friend in her room,"  Shafter writes. And yes, the Enquirer claim of an affair is based on anonymous sources. So he obviously deserves the benefit of the doubt. But doesn't Edwards, who made his marriage a key part of his campaign, also deserve the same scrutiny as Craig?

John Edwards speaks at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice in Newark, N.J., Friday, July 11, 2008.
John Edwards speaks at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice in Newark, N.J., Friday, July 11, 2008.   (AP Photo/Mike Derer)
John Edwards, listens to Barack Obama speak about the economy, Monday, June 9, 2008, at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C.
John Edwards, listens to Barack Obama speak about the economy, Monday, June 9, 2008, at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
John Edwards gives a news conference announcing the creation of the New Generation Fund, a $100 million addition to the city's affordable housing finance system, July 21, 2008 in downtown Los Angeles.
John Edwards gives a news conference announcing the creation of the New Generation Fund, a $100 million addition to the city's affordable housing finance system, July 21, 2008 in downtown Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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