Necessary evil: John Edwards trial might be tough to watch, but it matters

It might leave a bad taste in your mouth, hearing the sordid details of the scandal that has become John Edwards' life, but even so, the charges he is facing should be pursued -- and not for political reasons, either.

We need to listen to this rot because it has implications for our future -- and because it is a call to arms for all those who insist on having people of integrity as their leaders.

And, in a nutshell, it is necessary just to make sure we get the measures in place to prevent another moral-less politician from ever being able to say again: "I was not breaking the law."

Edwards, even if you discount half of what his former aide has said on the witness stand, is only a couple of levels above a slug. He might have found a way to cover up his affair legally, but he certainly is not exempt from the moral consequences of such a heinous display of callousness and arrogance.

And he is not alone.

There have been many politicians who have subscribed to the same theory that they are somehow above the standards by which the rest of us are expected to live.

This is a chance to make sure they get the message that this sort of behavior is simply not acceptable and we aren't going to accept it anymore.

Published in Editorials on April 26, 2012 10:49 AM