Tales from the Tracks

It is with great sadness that I came upon the rumor that John Edwards has fathered a baby with a woman named Rielle Hunter who was working on his campaign.

The National Enquirer first broke the story (or perhaps “story”). The claim is that Edwards was having an affair with Hunter who gave birth to a baby girl named Frances on February 27, 2008. No father was listed on the baby girl’s birth certificate and many have said that Edwards is the father. Then, in July, Edwards was caught leaving the Beverly Hilton where he was allegedly visiting Rielle and the baby.

Andrew Young, an Edwards campaign aide, came forward claiming to be the child’s father, but many suspect this to be a cover-up. Interestingly, Young’s name has not been added to the birth certificate.

So what’s the truth? The main stream media has all but avoided the topic completely and the only sources that seem to be covering it are right-wing publications (and, of course, Gawker). Is it because the convention and the election are coming up and Democrats don’t want to hurt their party’s image? Is it because they don’t want to cause harm to Elizabeth, Edwards’ terminally ill wife? Or is it because the story, is in fact, not true?

At any rate, something strange is up and, as a former adorer of Edwards’, I will sadly follow the developments.