The story first surfaced in the National Enquirer a year ago and has been discussed on the blogosphere for months. But the mainstream media have largely avoided the subject.
Did they just get scooped big time? Apparently so.

Former Sen. John Edwards reportedly has confessed to having had an affair with 42-year-old Rielle Hunter, owner of a video-production company that had been hired to create videos for the Edwards presidential campaign.

Edwards apparently came clean today in an interview set to be aired tonight on ABC’s “Nightline” – at a time when his confession can be expected to be drowned out by the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Edwards reportedly admits that he had an affair but contends he is not the father of the child that Hunter gave birth to earlier this year.

Edwards, once a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, has been named as a possible running mate for Sen. Barack Obama. But that’s unlikely at this point.

What do you think? Should the mainstream media have more aggressively pursued this “tabloid” story? Is this going to hurt Obama by becoming a distraction during the Democratic Convention?
More importantly, what do you think of a guy who has an affair while his wife is battling life-threatening cancer?
– Paul Gullixson