Enquirer Exclusive
Wednesday morning when I got to the office a newspaper headline was waiting on my desk: SEN. JOHN EDWARDS CAUGHT WITH MISTRESS AND LOVE CHILD.
My first thought, since it was a National Enquirer Celebrity Exclusive, was to tell myself, You may not like Edwards but these folks believe in Martians. Or at least they print stories about people who meet Martians in the desert in
Later that morning an Edwards supporter walked into my office and I said, Have you seen this?
She read it. Grinned. Well, it is the Enquirer. But the detailâs pretty impressive.
The details are impressive. But did the Enquirer make them up?
Hereâs how their Celebrity Exclusive begins: âJohn Edwards was caught visiting his mistress and secret love child at 2:40 this morning in a
According to National Enquirer reporters: Edwards was dropped off at a side entrance of the Beverly Hilton at 9:45 p.m. (PST) on Monday, by a male companion driving a BMW. He strolled into the hotel wearing a blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, bypassed the lobby, walked down a side staircase to go to the basement, took the elevator up â avoiding the one in the main lobby â and went to blonde divorcée Rielle Hunterâs room.
Next reporters saw Edwards and Rielle walk out of the hotel. Then return. And go back to her room â where he stayed until 2:40 a.m. when he tried to sneak out of the hotel through the basement. But this time when the elevator door opened Edwards found himself face to face with a gaggle of National Enquirer reporters, yelling, Why are you visiting Rielle?
Edwards ran up the stairs from the basement to the lobby, spotted a photographer â which I guess was the last thing on earth he wanted to see at that point â then reversed direction, doubling back to the basement, where he came face to face with the reporters again. This time he ducked into a restroom and holed up inside, dodging questions, until hotel security guards came to rescue him.
Truth or fiction? I guess that comes down to whether the Enquirer has a photograph of Edwards and Ms. Rielle walking out of the hotel. If so, it sounds like Edwardsâ goose is cooked. At 2:40 a.m. in the basement of the Beverly Hilton he may have come face to face with a reckoning. In one malign moment he may have turned future Attorney General, charismatic crusader, and devoted husband John Edwards into John Edwards rider of basement elevators.
And if thereâs no picture? Or proof? The Enquirer, after giving us a gilt-edged example of 21st century ethics, will laugh all the way to the bank after conning a couple of million people into buying a story with no more truth in it than Martians landing in New Mexico.
Unfortunately, thereâs one other possibility. After a Britney Spears, Paris Hilton-like feeding frenzy the public will say, Ho-hum, move onto the next celebrity scandal and John Edwards may still end up as Attorney General.
Itâs hard to say which prospect is worse. The Enquirer profiting from a scam, Edwards exposed as Elmer Gantry, or no one caring either way.
Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.
Enquirer Exclusive
Wednesday morning when I got to the office a newspaper headline was waiting on my desk: SEN. JOHN EDWARDS CAUGHT WITH MISTRESS AND LOVE CHILD.
My first thought, since it was a National Enquirer Celebrity Exclusive, was to tell myself, You may not like Edwards but these folks believe in Martians. Or at least they print stories about people who meet Martians in the desert in
Later that morning an Edwards supporter walked into my office and I said, Have you seen this?
She read it. Grinned. Well, it is the Enquirer. But the detailâs pretty impressive.
The details are impressive. But did the Enquirer make them up?
Hereâs how their Celebrity Exclusive begins: âJohn Edwards was caught visiting his mistress and secret love child at 2:40 this morning in a
According to National Enquirer reporters: Edwards was dropped off at a side entrance of the Beverly Hilton at 9:45 p.m. (PST) on Monday, by a male companion driving a BMW. He strolled into the hotel wearing a blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, bypassed the lobby, walked down a side staircase to go to the basement, took the elevator up â avoiding the one in the main lobby â and went to blonde divorcée Rielle Hunterâs room.
Next reporters saw Edwards and Rielle walk out of the hotel. Then return. And go back to her room â where he stayed until 2:40 a.m. when he tried to sneak out of the hotel through the basement. But this time when the elevator door opened Edwards found himself face to face with a gaggle of National Enquirer reporters, yelling, Why are you visiting Rielle?
Edwards ran up the stairs from the basement to the lobby, spotted a photographer â which I guess was the last thing on earth he wanted to see at that point â then reversed direction, doubling back to the basement, where he came face to face with the reporters again. This time he ducked into a restroom and holed up inside, dodging questions, until hotel security guards came to rescue him.
Truth or fiction? I guess that comes down to whether the Enquirer has a photograph of Edwards and Ms. Rielle walking out of the hotel. If so, it sounds like Edwardsâ goose is cooked. At 2:40 a.m. in the basement of the Beverly Hilton he may have come face to face with a reckoning. In one malign moment he may have turned future Attorney General, charismatic crusader, and devoted husband John Edwards into John Edwards rider of basement elevators.
And if thereâs no picture? Or proof? The Enquirer, after giving us a gilt-edged example of 21st century ethics, will laugh all the way to the bank after conning a couple of million people into buying a story with no more truth in it than Martians landing in New Mexico.
Unfortunately, thereâs one other possibility. After a Britney Spears, Paris Hilton-like feeding frenzy the public will say, Ho-hum, move onto the next celebrity scandal and John Edwards may still end up as Attorney General.
Itâs hard to say which prospect is worse. The Enquirer profiting from a scam, Edwards exposed as Elmer Gantry, or no one caring either way.
Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.