After his acquittal on one charge and a hung jury on the other five charges he faced, former Sen. John Edwards delivered a few remarks on the steps of federal courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina. Edwards thanked the jurors for their hard work, lauded the nation, repeatedly stressed his contrition and took responsibility for his actions.
“This is about me,” Edwards said. “While I do not believe that what I did was illegal, or ever thought I was doing anything that was illegal, there was an awful, awful lot that I did that was wrong and there is no one else responsible for my sins…If I want to find the person who is responsible I don’t have to go any farther than the mirror. It’s me, and me alone.”
Edwards went on to mention the “people that I love,” which included his parents, his siblings, his children by his late wife Elizabeth, and “my precious Quinn,” his daughter by mistress Rielle Hunter. But Edwards did not acknowledge Hunter directly in any way.
Edwards closed saying that “I don’t think God’s through with me,” and declared that he wanted to spend the rest of his life helping “those kids who deserve help and who I hope I can help” in the “poorest parts of this country and the poorest parts of the world.” Edwards also said that he hopes to be the best dad he can be.
Edwards’ tone and serious words surely won over the alternate juror with whom he reportedly flirted during the trial and cable TV producers looking to build new shows to compete with Fox. The disgraced Democrat who twice ran for president and was that party’s 2004 vice presidential nominee is probably finished in politics, having cheated on his dying wife, using his friends and their money to cover up the relationship, and did not acknowledge Quinn as his daughter until he absolutely had to. But disgraced Democrats tend to find new lives as cable TV hosts. It would come as no surprise if CNN, Current or MSNBC has a plan in the works to pair Edwards with former NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
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