It Was a Good Deal
2011-06-14 - by
John Edwards should have taken the deal.
He could have pled guilty to misdemeanors – not felonies. The circus would be over. There would be no trial – and no risk of a worse result. There would be no more leaks, no more tabloid headlines and no more sordid disclosures.
Yes, there might be several months in prison. But look at the bright side: He’d be out of public view, unable to damage himself more – and alienate the jury pool – by opening his mouth on camera.
He might even earn some public sympathy: He did his time, paid the price, took his medicine.
And you can stand anything for three months. Ask Jim Black, Kevin Geddings and Meg Scott Phipps.
In three or six months, it would be over. End of story.
Yes, there’s a good case for fighting in court: suspicions about a politically motivated prosecution and legitimate concerns about whether this is a violation of campaign-finance laws. Even Republicans and Edwards-haters should pause at one more escalation of the impulse to put your political enemies behind bars.
But Edwards now faces months, maybe years, in the spotlight and in the courtroom. This time, he won’t be the charismatic advocate for a sympathetic victim. He’ll be America’s number-one heel – the man who betrayed his state, his party, his supporters and his family.
He may win acquittal. But he will not win vindication – or sympathy. He will put his children, his former staffers and what friends he has left through hell.
And it will cost him millions.
Unless Bunny Mellon is paying for that, too.
Posted in General, North Carolina - Democrats
It Was a Good Deal
2011-06-14/
John Edwards should have taken the deal.
He could have pled guilty to misdemeanors – not felonies. The circus would be over. There would be no trial – and no risk of a worse result. There would be no more leaks, no more tabloid headlines and no more sordid disclosures.
Yes, there might be several months in prison. But look at the bright side: He’d be out of public view, unable to damage himself more – and alienate the jury pool – by opening his mouth on camera.
He might even earn some public sympathy: He did his time, paid the price, took his medicine.
And you can stand anything for three months. Ask Jim Black, Kevin Geddings and Meg Scott Phipps.
In three or six months, it would be over. End of story.
Yes, there’s a good case for fighting in court: suspicions about a politically motivated prosecution and legitimate concerns about whether this is a violation of campaign-finance laws. Even Republicans and Edwards-haters should pause at one more escalation of the impulse to put your political enemies behind bars.
But Edwards now faces months, maybe years, in the spotlight and in the courtroom. This time, he won’t be the charismatic advocate for a sympathetic victim. He’ll be America’s number-one heel – the man who betrayed his state, his party, his supporters and his family.
He may win acquittal. But he will not win vindication – or sympathy. He will put his children, his former staffers and what friends he has left through hell.
And it will cost him millions.
Unless Bunny Mellon is paying for that, too.
Posted in General, North Carolina - Democrats