Edwards Admits He Had An Affair

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Edwards Admits to Affair, Denies Fathering Child

Former presidential candidate John Edwards is admitting to an affair while his wife was battling cancer. Edwards denies fathering the woman's child. Video by AP

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Hunter told Newsweek in 2006 that she met the former senator at a New York bar where he was having a business meeting, and that she sold him on making the documentaries as a way to show the "real John Edwards." She told the television show "Extra" that year that "the whole experience was life-altering" and that Edwards "was inspirational to me." Edwards's One America Committee paid Hunter $114,000 for her work, according to federal disclosures.

In a 2005 joint interview with Breathe magazine, Hunter and novelist Jay McInerney said Hunter, whose name had been Lisa Druck, was the inspiration for one of his books, "Story of My Life." "It was narrated in the first person from the point of view of an ostensibly jaded, cocaine-addled, sexually voracious 20-year-old who was, shall we say, inspired by Lisa," McInerney said.

As for Young, two sources who had been close to the Edwards campaign, and who asked not to be identified discussing personal matters, describe him as a young, sincere, married father who is devoted to his family. One source said Young started at the campaign answering phones and moved up to North Carolina finance director.

While not minimizing the political damage to Edwards, strategists in both parties said he might be able to mount a political comeback several years from now, much as former president Bill Clinton rehabilitated himself after his affair with White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky led to his impeachment.

Don Fowler, a former Democratic Party chairman, said any role for Edwards in a potential Obama administration is "dead," but he added: "The country has a broad history in the Judeo-Christian traditions of forgiveness. In the long run, he could have a political future if he wanted one."

Republican strategist Dan Schnur said Edwards could resume a political career in four to eight years. "For better or worse," he said, "the American public has become sensitized to this type of behavior from political leaders."

Research editor Lucy Shackelford contributed to this report.