Something about John Edwards

I feel obliged to say something about John Edwards' admission yesterday to an affair with a campaign worker. But my heart really isn't in it.

That said, 10 thoughts for the record:

1. I have no idea why people are always so surprised by these sorts of failings in powerful men. As Chris Rock famously said: "men are only as faithful as their options." It's not that I believe all successful, married men cheat. But I'm rarely shocked when it happens.

2. That said, I always expected Edwards - a handsome, charismatic and extremely rich guy - would have done a little better than Rielle Hunter. Why don't these sorts of men ever get caught cheating with someone like, say, Diane Lane? I don't get it. I mean, I'm just saying.

3. I think McCain was really smart to avoid commenting on Edwards' saga. I imagine that adultery is a topic that he doesn't really want to get into. Same goes for Hillary Clinton.

4. The interview Hunter gave with "Extra" last year was telling. You could almost see the sex in her eyes. And who gets that sort of high-profile job from a chance encounter in a bar? That should have set off all sorts of alarms.

5. Are people really that silly? They don't understand why Edwards still made a run for the White House after getting involved with Hunter? Because he didn't think he'd get caught.

6. It goes without saying, but I feel most sorry for Elizabeth Edwards. Not necessarily because her husband is a cheat. But because the revelation is embarrassing and, as most of us know, she's got much more important issues to deal with. It'd be nice if she never had to address this again.

7. Even when they're right, the folks at the National Enquirer still come off looking like creeps.

8. My friend Zen pointed this out in an e-mail the other day: if I ever go down in a similar scandal, I hope to have friends loyal enough and rich enough to pay for my mistress and her baby to live in a pricey home away from public scrutiny. Not to mention a homeboy to step up and claim paternity.

9. I hope Edwards and Co. aren't lying about where Hunter's payoff money is coming from.

10. The only way this gets worse is if that baby turns out to have been fathered by Edwards. If I were Edwards, I might put off that paternity test for a bit. It's not like he has a political future anymore.

A bonus No. 11: If Hunter really did get down with Edwards and former campaign staffer Andrew Young, that makes her something of a groupie. But it's not like that accusation hasn't been levied at her before.