Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

June 17, 2009

Edwards Speaks

In a 90 minute interview with the Washington Post -- his first extended conversation with a reporter since confirming he had an extramarital affair -- John Edwards refused to talk about his former mistress, her baby's paternity, his wife's memoir, or the investigation in his campaign finance.

However, he did say "that for all the trauma that came of the 2008 campaign, he is not ready to declare that it had been a mistake to run, calling that a 'very complex question.' He believed, he said, that he had pushed Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton in a more progressive direction on issues including health care -- Edwards was the first to propose an individual insurance mandate -- and that the value of his having run will be determined partly by what Obama achieves on these fronts."

Said Edwards: "Did it make sense to run and stay in the race? Time will tell."

Edwards "says he has no plans to make a push to restore his name, along the lines of what former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has embarked on... But he did not rule out a return to politics. He said it was too early to say what the future held -- though an Al Gore-style advocacy role was more likely than elected office, given the scandal. He thinks 'every day' about what form his future role in activism or public life could take, but 'right now, a lot of that is unanswerable.'"

Comments (View) Share

Related Entries

• Can Edwards Make a Comeback?
• Judges Orders Sex Tape Returned
• Edwards Sex Tape in Safe Deposit Box
• Edwards Responds
• Kerry Expresses Sorrow for Edwards Scandal
• The Separation
• An Edwards Sex Tape?
• National Enquirer Seeks Pulitzer Prize
• Edwards Wanted Aide to Fake Paternity Test
• Edwards Admits Paternity

Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

PRAISE FOR POLITICAL WIRE

"There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them."

-- Chuck Todd, NBC News political director

"Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all."

-- Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

"Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

-- Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

"The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom -- nicely packaged, constantly updated... What political junkie could ask for more?"

-- Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

"If I were on the proverbial desert island and had only one web site to access, Political Wire would be it."

-- Dotty Lynch, CBS News political consultant

"Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don't want to kick."

-- Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

"Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere."

-- Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

"I love Political Wire. It is a one stop shopping site for all the political information I need. It makes me sound brilliant so naturally I like it!"

-- Dick Morris, political consultant

"I rely on Taegan Goddard's Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It's an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading."

-- Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

BELTWAY BUZZ

• CQ Politics
  
• First Read
  
• The Hotline
  
• The Note
• The Page
• Washington Wire
  
• Mike Allen's Playbook
• Politico
  
• Roll Call
  
• The Hill
  
• CNN Political Ticker
  
• The Swamp
  
• The Fix
  
• Washington Whispers
  
• Fish Bowl DC
  

ANALYSIS

• Marc Ambinder
  
• Charlie Cook
  
• Craig Crawford
  
• Ezra Klein
  
• Rick Hasen
  
• Jonathan Martin
• Stu Rothenberg
  
• Ben Smith
• Andrew Sullivan
  

MORE BUZZ

• Huffington Post
  
• Talking Points Memo
  
• Daily Kos
  
• Real Clear Politics
  
• Wonkette
  
• Instapundit
  
• Drudge Report
  
• America Blog
  
• Politics1
  
• Ballot Access News
  

POLLS

• AP/Ipsos
  
• Cook/RT Strategies
  
• Democracy Corps
  
• Diageo/Hotline
  
• Electoral-Vote.com
  
• Five Thirty Eight
  
• Gallup
  
• Harris
  
• Marist
  
• Monmouth
  
• Pew Research
  
• Polling Report
  
• Pollster.com
  
• Public Policy Polling
  
• Rasmussen
  
• Research 2000
  
• Survey USA
  
• Quinnipiac
  
• Zogby
  

CONTACT

Send your tips, memos, comments and suggestions to