3/17 Note: We first published this item last month when Edwards signaled he was planning to run for Congress. We are re-posting it in light of his official announcement on Monday.
Original post:
Former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards (D) is back. He says he plans to run for Congress -- three years after he was released from prison, no less, where he served time for racketeering. (His wife, meanwhile, says he has not decided.)
"The Governor's Wife" on A&E follows former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards and his tempestuous relationship with his wife, Trina. (Richard Knapp/ A&E)
The return of Edwards to the political mix means the return of one of the most quotable pols in recent history. Here's a sampling of what Edwards has had to say over the years:
1983: "The only way I can lose this election is if I’m caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy." (He won!)
1983: "David Treen is so slow it takes him an hour and a half to watch 60 Minutes." (Zing! Edwards defeated Treen.)
1991: "Vote for the Crook. It’s Important." (Okay, not exactly a quote. It was Edwards's informal campaign slogan, thanks to Buddy Roemer.)
1991: "The only thing we have in common is we’re both wizards under the sheets." (Edwards was talking about opponent David Duke.)
1991: "No, it wasn't that way. He (the author) was gone when the last one came in." (Edwards was asked about a claim he slept with six women in one night.)
2002: "I did not do anything wrong as a governor, even if you accept the verdict as it is, it doesn't indicate that." (The eternal optimist.)
2002: "I will be a model prisoner as I was a model citizen." (Not your average about-to-check-in-to-prison quote.)
2011: "I give blood for them to make Viagra." (Paging Pfizer.)
2013: "In 1997, when I saw the possibility of going to prison, I had sperm removed from me and stored. … At the time, I was married and we were talking about having a child." (Fortune favors the prepared mind, after all.)
2013: "I assume history will record some of the things I did wrong or they think I did wrong. But responsible, interested people will look at the record, and whatever they say can't erase the record." (Edwards 1, History 0.)
2014: "I'm just figuring out all the legalities and how to set up a super PAC, and then I'm going." (Or not. Coordination laws prevent him from doing such a thing as a candidate.)