MoDo Gets the Story, But Misses the Point

This morning I was perusing the NYTimes - an activity that I do most every Sunday and I turned as I do most every Sunday to the op-ed column written by Maureen Dowd (MoDo to those of us who feel a sort of familiar relationship with this usually witty writer). She, of course, focused her column this morning on the revelation that John Edwards had an affair in 2006, an affair that he has already confessed to his wife (whom he did not leave). I make a point of these details of Edwards' affair not to excuse his actions, but rather to contrast Edwards' infidelity with another man who is much closer to becoming president (John McCain).

The McCain affair was equally tawdry; it not only took place while his then wife was suffering from sever complications from a debilitating accident, but it also resulted in a divorce - a divorce that allowed McCain to marry the multi-millionaire beer heiress, Cindy Lou Hensley - the woman who would finance McCain's entree (and continued career) in[to] the political arena. So whose infidelity is worse? I think that McCain's infidelity is much worse than Edwards' affair, namely because of the situation in which McCain left his "first family." McCain left his first wife high and dry - so much so that the former Mrs. McCain had to turn to billionaire Ross Perot to survive. So this all prompted me to leave a comment for Ms. MoDo. The comment reads as follows:

MoDo,
Shame on you for not following up this insipid coverage of the Edwards affair with an equally scolding report on the transgressions of the current Republican presumptive nominee, John McCain, who not only cheated on his wife, but didn't wait until she had fully recovered from a debilitating accident. McCain not only cheated on his wife, he left her in a compromised state. Why is everybody ignoring this more significant infidelity?
— mfhadley, Tulsa, OK

Here's a link to a more detailed list of McCain's sordid past: Phoenix Reporter Details McCain's Sordid Political Past

Here's a link to another blog post that came before this one that basically makes the same point: Bubble wrapped by the great Velveeta Jones at FourFreedomsBlog.com.

Why I Will Not Vote for John McCain, by Phillip Butler.