SURVEY ASKS IF JOHN SHOULD BE FORGIVEN....PLEASE VOTE!

[sandiegtampabay]

JOHN CALLING FORMER STAFFERS TO APOLOGISE HAS BEEN REBUFFED.  SURVEY AT THIS SITE ALLOWS YOU TO VOTE IF JOHN SHOULD BE FORGIVEN.  RIGHT NOW: 8% YES; 92% NO...VOTE! 


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/08/25/2008-08-25_john_edwards_calling_former_staffers_ask.html

[Mary A]

Done! Thanks, Sandy.

Having said that, the way they phrased the "No" answer seems to encourage people to answer that way. I think that one can simultaneously feel that he should be forgiven (eventually, at least) AND has let his supporters down. Whatever the results, they are probably not an authentic reading of either (a) many people's complex feelings about him or (b) how people will feel with the passage of time. Not to mention that the result is skewed by the nature of the publication.

I don't know whether the reporting was entirely accurate about JRE "begging" for "forgiveness." I wonder whether his objective would have been more along the lines of offering a personal, individual apology to individuals who worked most closely with the campaign. He is only beginning the process of trying to make amends, and that takes guts. It may be premature for some people to forgive now; it's been a mere three weeks since his admissions. Moreover, many folks are uncertain about whether the entire truth has emerged, and they cannot bring themselves to forgive if they're still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Feelings will be less raw in another six months, and I hope public opinion will begin to come around by then. I read another recent poll in the Wall Street Journal that, following JRE's admission of the affair, 49 percent of respondents felt "somewhat" or "very" negatively about him. I would have thought, given the coverage, that his negative rating would have been even higher. Does that mean that half the country does NOT currently view him negatively? I don't know. Polls are a funny thing.

I am more distressed today by the reports of people slamming Elizabeth. Among Elizabeth's defenders: Rush Limbaugh. It's a strange, strange world these days.

Blessings,
Mary

[kenshin]

when did rush come to elizabeth's aid?  he was the one who said something really really disgusting about elizabeth and this whole thing can't even write about it i think i'd be violating blog rulz...

[24hrlib]

On, for heaven sakes.  This has just become a ridiculous media circus.  This is the worst yet.  

I voted for the sake of the Edwards Family.  But that article and and the paper that printed it can go
to work wrapping fish at the market, as far as I'm concerned.

[Lataet]

For heaven's sake the media is no better than a bunch of bitter old ladies sitting around a table complaining/gossiping about everyone in their tiny little town.  Nothing positive or uplifing to say about anything.  Would the REAL journalists please stand up so we know who you are?  Because we sure haven't seen one for at least the last year!

[Lataet]

If it is true that John is reaching out to his staff and other associates for forgiveness - he deserves some kudos.  Can you imagine the strength he would have to muster to do each of these calls when one could be more difficult than the last?

[Penny]

I can't believe my eyes.  This is beyond my imagination, all of it.

GROW UP!

[Lataet]

Huh?

[Penny]

I came here tonight hoping to find some solace, my post is directed to the media and all of the threads that pertain to this subject.

I'm angry it's all anyone can talk about. I don't get it. Only in America.

[Mary A]

Lisa, I agree that John deserves credit, not rejection and ridicule, for trying to reach out to his former staff and other close associates.

I would probably not have the strength that he is showing in making those calls. I can't even imagine how difficult it must be for him. If people had even an ounce of compassion, they would at least accept his calls and try to be gracious about it instead of being so cruel -- even if they're not ready or willing to forgive. Talk about kicking a man when he's down!

Also, about the Rush Limbaugh thing: I realize that he was not so much "defending" Elizabeth the other day as he was opportunistically using her situation (the recent criticism of Elizabeth) as the pretext for a rant about Hillary. Given how offensive his earlier remarks about Elizabeth were, I'm certainly not giving him any credit but just noting what a strange world it is. The insanity of public discourse lately boggles my mind.

Kind regards,
Mary

[bevanslow]

I can’t seem to spend much time worrying about John Edwards. I have greater concerns. They are the progressive issues that he championed.

It is universal health care, bringing our men and women home from Iraq, providing for our veterans, etc.

It was John’s fighting spirit as well as his passion for justice that attracted us to him in the first place.

Like Ted Kennedy, John will have to earn our respect all over again. And I know that he will.

-bev

[Penny]

"Like Ted Kennedy, John will have to earn our respect all over again. And I know that he will."

He already has my respect, no need to earn it. I am bigger than that.

Remember the Amish children who were killed by a gunman in 2006?
 
"Their understanding of forgiveness is that it is a long process, that it is difficult, that it is painful, that replacing bitter feelings toward someone is something that takes time, and they would say that happens only through God's grace. But they begin with expressing their intention to forgive, with the faith that the emotional forgiveness will follow over months and years. They don't begin with trying to blame someone or something.



"The Amish verbally expressed their forgiveness to the memory of the killer. They refused to talk badly about him or degrade his character. They reached out to his family as fellow victims; they wanted to extend compassion to his family. Half of the people who attended his funeral were Amish."

"The Amish also designated a portion of the fund that poured in from around the world for the Amish schoolgirls to the widow and the children of the shooter."

" Even though forgiveness is a complicated and difficult thing, if we approach it with the support of other people — the Amish do everything in community, including their grieving — and if we don't feel like we have to have all the emotions sorted out before we extend compassion, the road to forgiveness is easier. Reaching out in compassion to others in the faith that the difficult emotional work will follow, I think, is one of the things that they demonstrate."



In our world today, religion is so often used as a force for division, the above is an example of religion being used for compassion and healing.

I am not Amish.  I do try to live my life forgiving others for I am not without sin myself.  
Kabbalah teaches one that we want to change the world - it's going to be difficult. Our methodologies are going to be different than what most people think or expect. We have to stay optimistic because that's how we will change the world, despite how 'right' the pessimists may be.

[24hrlib]

Elephant in the room: Delegates buzz about Edwards

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/50787.html

<snip> Although there have been national reports that Edwards has been calling former supporters and staffers to apologize for lying about an affair with a former campaign staffer, none of the North Carolina Democrats here say they have talked to him. <snip>