DIDN'T THINK HE HAD IT IN HIM:

Edwards Took Mistress on 2006 Presidential Announcement Tour (Garance Franke-Ruta, 8/12/08, Washington Post: The Trail)

Well, you gotta give him one thing: the man has chutzpah.

Photographs distributed by wire services and posted online by technology blogger Robert Scoble show that former North Carolina senator John Edwards took his mistress Rielle Hunter with him on the plane during his late 2006 presidential campaign announcement tour. As can be seen in this Dec. 28, 2006 photo (that's Hunter in the jeans and jester hat, as can be seen more clearly in this side-profile photo), Hunter stood off to the side of the national press corps filming Edwards as the former Democratic vice presidential nominee announced his second bid for the presidency in New Orleans.

Here she is drinking from a cup as Edwards is interviewed by the press. More photos of her at Edwards's presidential campaign kickoff can be found here and here, where she's shown laughing with Edwards's young staffers.

It's hard not to have a bit more respect for the Breck Girl given the massive contempt he demonstrated for the press and his party.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 13, 2008 8:23 AM