Tabloid Trash May Keep Edwards From Denver

From UK's Daily Mail, this story is breaking open:

Until the photograph emerged Mr Edwards, who was John Kerry's running mate in the 2004 presidential election, had managed to avoid questions about the affair. But by yesterday afternoon newspapers, television stations and websites across America were running the story – infuriating Democratic leaders who want the focus to remain on Mr Obama, the 47-year-old Illinois senator who will square off against Republican John McCain in the November 4 election.

...

'If it's not true, he has to issue a stronger denial. It's very damaging,' said Gary Pearce, who ran Mr Edwards 1998 senate campaign.

'He's got to stand up and say, 'This is not my child and I'm going to take legal action against the people who are spreading these lies.' It's not enough to say it's tabloid trash.'

Well they could have run with the story a couple weeks earlier and that would have steered clear of the Denver convention. Remember it's the stonewalling that hurts. If it's true, it's bad, and Democrats must have to thank their lucky stars that Edwards went nowhere in the primaries. Imagine if he were the nominee... yikes.

The sympathetic figure here is of course Elizabeth Edwards, who has been struggling with cancer and has two children with Edwards. She is also a well liked figure among the Democratic base. No one really wanted this story to be true, but he is a major figure and this is news, by any objective measure. See Emily Bazelon, a liberal journalist at Slate, for reference.