In today’s episode of “What the hell is wrong with people?,” Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, is facing harsh criticism for her silence about her husband’s recently admitted affair, which she found out about in 2006.

"I think she's complicit," said Brad Crone, a Raleigh-based Democratic consultant, CNN reports. "Obviously, she knew. While she's the victim, she clearly didn't stand in the way of the cover-up."

And that’s just the beginning. Elizabeth Edwards has a diary on the left-leaning Web site the Daily Kos, where she wrote the following on Aug. 8: “This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well.” While this may seem reasonable to you and me, it wasn’t reasonable for some of the posters who responded.

The assertion that Elizabeth Edwards has any responsibility in her husband’s public denial of this affair is absurd...“I wasn't the spouse who decided to support the cheater while he ran for the highest fucking office in the land while selfishly trying to hide this ticking time bomb,” wrote one poster. “I didn't knowingly accept people's hard earned money and precious time with this dirty skeleton in my closet. I didn't take the chance of destroying the Democratic Party's chance to retake the White House and repair the damage that has been done over the last 8 years.”

What …

“What she and John are now facing are the very harsh consequences of actions that they set in play themselves,” wrote another.

…the…

One more: “This diary is self-serving, Elizabeth. I'm upset at the ‘victim’ that you paint both John and yourself to be. You both lied and risked our winning in November because of your political ambitions.”

… hell?!?

The assertion that Elizabeth Edwards has any responsibility in her husband’s public denial of this affair is absurd, and the pronouncement that she deserves blame because the disclosure of said affair could have negative effects on the Democratic campaign is ludicrous. Elizabeth Edwards is a human being who has to make her own decisions when it comes to her personal life, no matter who her husband is. And if those decisions involve withholding personal information of this nature from the public, so be it.

...I don’t understand why John Edwards’ affair is a big deal in the first place.Also, I don’t understand why John Edwards’ affair is a big deal in the first place. It is high time everybody quit thinking that our politicians are gods among men. Time and time again, history has shown us that those in the positions of power can be the most corrupt individuals among us. When are we going to wake up and realize that the people we elect are just that: people? Sure, they may be smart, charming, experienced, reasonable – any of a multitude of admirable adjectives – but they’re going to screw up just as much as the rest of us. I want politicians that I can look up to just as much as anyone else, but I would never expect perfection from them.

Politicians make mistakes. Just because John Edwards had an affair doesn’t mean he’s a bad politician, and it doesn’t make him a bad leader. It makes him a human being who made a mistake. And what should Elizabeth Edwards have done when she found out about it?

She should have done whatever she damn-well pleased.
[CNN, Daily Kos]