John Edwards

I have a million television stations as part of my Verizon Fios account. But, inexplicably, I don’t get MSNBC. I’ve tried to get to the bottom of this but, as Verizon has the worst customer service of any corporation that has ever existed on the face of the planet, I’m still waiting for a credible reason for why this is so.

This is probably the reason why I missed the utterly stupid statement that David Greggory made to open a show on Friday night. As usual, Media Matters was on the case:

On the August 8 edition of MSNBC’s Race for the White House, host David Gregory baselessly suggested that former Sen. John Edwards’ (D-NC) disclosure of an extramarital affair has some relevance to Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Gregory opened the show by saying, “Tonight, more on Edwards and the fallout from his admission today about a sexual affair: Is this another skeleton in the Democratic closet that Barack Obama must struggle to overcome?” Gregory also said that, “now, questions about his [Edwards’] future abound in the party and whether this creates another shadow over Barack Obama as he gets ready for the conventions.”

From the August 8 edition of MSNBC’s Race for the White House:

GREGORY: Tonight: the Edwards affair. He admits an extramarital affair dating back to 2006, telling ABC News, wife Elizabeth learned of it that year. He lied repeatedly to cover it up as a presidential candidate. And now, questions about his future abound in the party and whether this creates another shadow over Barack Obama as he gets ready for the conventions. All of this, as the race for the White House rolls on.

[…]

GREGORY: Welcome to Race for the White House on a busy Friday. I’m David Gregory — happy to have you here. It’s your stop for the fast pace, the bottom line, and every point of view in the room. Tonight, more on Edwards and the fallout from his admission today about a sexual affair: Is this another skeleton in the Democratic closet that Barack Obama must struggle to overcome? Will Edwards appear at the Democratic convention? All of that ahead.

—J.S.

Now, if I follow this correctly, John Edwards, a former rival of Barack Obama had an affair. He lied when asked about it. And, somehow, this is Obama’s problem?  How?

Edwards does not currently hold any office and is not running for any office at the moment. In any case, he is an adult who has behaved abominably to his family and a few other people, including, probably, a young child who had no choice in the matter.

But, exactly how and why is this Obama’s problem?