Back in 2008, John Edwards was riding high, having successfully rerouted the national conversation to include a substantial discussion of poverty and holding his own as a contender for the presidency. Less than eighteen months later, Edwards has faded from the limelight in the wake of an extra-marital affair that resulted in a child.

The LA Times' article explores the Edwards' uneasy existence in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where Elizabeth Edwards is coping by throwing herself into a furniture business and a quieter life, and John Edwards is struggling with picking up the pieces of his derailed life and career. The voices of the townspeople loom large in this analysis and the general consensus appears to be anger and betrayal.

Interestingly, a lot of the rage seems to stem from politics, and not Edward's moral failings:

The feelings of betrayal are particularly strong here in Chapel Hill, the famously liberal college town where the family moved after Edwards left the Senate in 2005. In some quarters, John and Elizabeth are both being blamed for pressing ahead with his presidential run despite their shared knowledge of the affair: If Edwards had secured the Democratic nomination, such critics say, the revelation might have meant Republican victory.

The article ends with a Freudian slip of sorts, a clear illustration of John Edwards' tarnished reputation:

The dean, who received a divinity degree in 1971, said Edwards' personal tragedy reminded him of a certain passage from the Book of Psalms. He pulled down a Bible from his office shelf, opened it to the 22nd Psalm and pointed out the line: "I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people."

No, no, Boger said. On second thought, that was not the one he was thinking of.

The Dividing Line On John Edwards [LA Times]

Earlier: John Edwards Always Knew He Would Disappoint Women

"Few [female politicians] are prominent enough to attract savage media scrutiny," Baird posits, and it seems that the ones who do, take up quiet, longterm extramarital affairs with age and class-appropriate mates, as opposed to the stripper and prostitute scandals that have plagued male pols. The ladies of The View were discussing the Newsweek story this morning, and they talked about how in a field where there's more women, like teaching, you hear more about Mary Kay Letourneau types who abuse their male underlings. What's glaring about the teacher example, and the fact that male politicians tend to have affairs with much younger and tackier women, is that both situations seem to be about power, and not about sex.

It could be argued that female politicians don't have more affairs because men don't see them as more powerful, or find that power to be attractive. Young guys want nothing to do with Hillary Clinton because power and experience and age are not valued in women in our culture. The teenage boys involved in the teacher sex scandals are so young that they can be controlled — they're not really "choosing" these older women. I don't think it's a question of whether women cheat less or are better people; it's that a female politician would have less opportunity to cheat in the first place, as the men around her are unlikely to throw themselves at her. The Newsweek article quotes former White House press secretary, Dee Dee Myers, who says, "I don't think Hillary Clinton is going to be hitting on the intern." Even if she did, would that male intern be remotely interested? That said, I think women are better liars, and if Hillary specifically were having an affair, I'm almost positive that we would never, ever find out about it.

Girls Will Be Girls. Or Not. [Newsweek]

Earlier: Samantha Bee On Silda: Does This Skirt Make My Ass Look Humiliated?

But by all accounts, Silda and Eliot had a decent marriage before the deluge. Newsweek offers some alternative theories. Susannah Breslin, a writer who is soliciting "Letters from Johns" on an eponymous website writes about some of the letters she received, and most of the prostitute-frequenting married men she's talked to went to hookers because their wives no longer had sex with them or because they got their rocks off on the taboo of it all. "For some men, especially those who are seen as particularly moral or righteous in their public lives (think of all those fallen preachers)," Breslin notes, "Part of the appeal is the fact that it is illegal and a moral transgression in their eyes."

It could be an honest-to-goodness kink, or maybe it's Spitzer's biology! According to Newsweek, men who cheat are "sensation seekers" who have "lower levels of monoamine oxidase A," the chemical that regulates dopamine, the "pleasure" neurotransmitter. Also, the kind of person who is a politician is often incredibly egocentric. Says University of Washington political scientist John Gastil: "For high-profile offices... you have to have a kind of personality where you are very interested in yourself and your personal needs, as well as the needs of others... When the gratification of your desire for social change becomes the justification for so much of what you do in your career, it's not a leap to then say, 'Well, my other desires and needs are equally justified.' You come up with elaborate justifications. 'Hey, 23 hours day I'm working hard for the people of New York. Time for a little me time!'"

And Spitzer will have a ton of "me" time now that he's resigned. The oft-heard moral of this story — to me, at least — is be wary of anyone who goes around crowing about how moral and ethical they are. If Spitzer hadn't claimed to be such a paragon of virtue, the people of New York would probably be more forgiving. Look at former Providence mayor Buddy Cianci or former D.C. mayor Marion Barry. Both left office "disgraced" but returned after a couple years. People forgave them because they never expected them to be particularly moral in the first place. If Spitzer had been honest with himself about his true moral fiber, maybe we wouldn't have seen poor Silda's destroyed visage on our television screens yesterday. She — and we — would have known better.

Dear John [Newsweek]
His Cheating Brain [Newsweek]

Earlier: Enough About Eliot. What About The Hookers?

In reality, they say, most women who become hookers — even the "classier" breed of escort workers — "have been sexually abused as children, studies show. Incest sets young women up for prostitution — by letting them know what they're worth and what's expected of them. Other forces that channel women into escort prostitution are economic hardship and racism."

Media outlets are also scrambling to find real, live, former prostitutes for commentary, and by-and-large, the women found fit the "happy hooker" stereotype. Today, MSNBC published an interview with Natalie McLennan about her life as a call girl, and the "aspiring actress" makes prostitution sound like the logical extension of the Sex and the City lifestyle, Manolos and all. She describes a "nightmare" she used to have, and I swear to God, I think this actually happened to Carrie in front of Big in season 1:

I'd be walking into this gorgeous hotel like the St. Regis, and all of a sudden I would slip and fall in my four-inch Manolos, go tumbling across the carpet, and with me would go the contents of my purse, which were as follows: $100 bills, condoms, lube, and then make-up, cell phone and all the other girl things. It was that moment of mortification of my life being exposed for the world to see, because a girl's life is in her purse.

But what about these high profile men looking to pay for sex? According to Live Science, the power that goes along with being a politician lends itself to a sense of invincibility. Scott Reynolds, an assistant professor of business ethics at the University of Washington says that when men feel invincible they're "Willing to do more behaviors that are risky and we end up doing some things that aren't very smart."

Whatever the (soon-to-be-former) Governor's motivations, his transgressions have certainly opened up a dialogue about the state of prostitution in this country. Is it an inherently demeaning act for the women involved? Or is it, as Tracy Quan and Natalie McLennan seem to argue, just something lucrative to do when you're trying to make it in the big city? Whatever the answer, I imagine Eliot Spitzer, with his millions and his connections, will come out of this scandal in better shape than Kristen or any of the other members of the vaunted Emperor's Club. And according to the Wall Street Journal Spitzer's not the only super-richie getting his rocks off with a pro — 34% of males and 20% of women who own private jets have paid for sex. Getting sex for free is so nouveau riche!

The Myth Of The Victimless Crime [New York Times]
80G Addicted to Love Gov' [New York Post]
Q&A With A Call Girl[MSNBC]
A Call Girl's View Of The Spitzer Affair [Freakonomics]
Really Dangerous Liasons [New York Times]
Why Power And Prostitution Go Together [Live Science]
Why Is Prostitution Illegal? [Slate]

Earlier:
British Professor: Prostitution Is Not All Bubble Baths And Bordellos
Prostitution Prosecution