This Edwards "story", like the Spitzer "story" are excellent examples of America's problems with sex and its love for sinners. Whether Edwards has a mistress or not is nobody's business, particularly since he is no longer running for president. Human beings are complex creatures, and it is very possible for Edwards to love his wife dearly and still turn to another woman to get what his wife can no longer give him. This does not make him a "bad" person or an "immoral" person. It makes him a complicated human being! The same goes for Spitzer: he's so complicated that while espousing in public a rigid code of ethics, he turned to a prostitute yn orivate to give him what was probably lacking in his marriage. I don't think either men are hypocrites. One would think that after over 100 years of Freud and Jung, Americans would once and for all discard their Puritan heritage, let go of their squeemishness toward sex, grow up and give each other some slack regarding sexual matters. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Amercians love sinners. They love judging them harshly and putting them down. The media knows this very well, including Salon, and in order to keep making money, the media need to fill their empty spaces daily with garbage that Americans seem to like, hence the villification of Edwards and Spitzer. The villification, the condemnation and the judgmentalism of the press is the first part of the American narrative of the redemption of sinners. The second part is the repentence of sinners. Eventually, Edwards and Spitzer will appear on Oprah and confess, and perhaps, weep, and then all will be forgiven. Americans love to forgive sinners. They forgave Bill Clinton who cheated on Hillary throughout their marriage and even had sex in the White House with an intern, and they will forgive Edwards and Spitzer. The media knows the nature of their audience, so unfortunately, the Edwards story has legs and will be played out.