The Politician, by Andrew Young is no candidate for inclusion in the classics.  It is a competently written, fairly engaging, adequately edited 300 page memoir of an out of work political lackey for a rich, scandal ridden former U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate.  There is no index, no pictures, or facsimile reproductions of documents. It is a basic book, but I think some will find profit in reading this mediocre, but uncomplicated volume.

One needn’t say much about the character of former Senator John Edwards (D-NC). One can feel but pity and contempt for his former aide who helped a millionaire presidential wanna-be cover up an extremely obnoxious affair using a lot of other people’s money.

Quinn's daddy

My interest in this book isn’t primarily the sex-scandal; mild compared to what Suetonius and Tacitus share with us from the days of Julio-Claudian Rome.  Mr. Edwards is a common specimen of a politician who does something stupid involving carnal knowledge with a woman not his lawfully wedded wife.

I ask the reader to consider the choices made by Mr. Young, his wife, and a host of other persons (some extraordinarily wealthy people too) who were willing not only to look the other way, but involve themselves and their monies deeply to conceal this affair.  I think this behavior is actually rather common, and that it goes on in big corporations, small town business dealings, politics at every level of government, in churches and families.

Why do we get ourselves into these fixes?  Why do we carry water for jerks and dirtballs?  Are there ways to avoid these situations?  I’ve only learned lessons the hard way myself.

A job is a hard thing to find.  In a nation facing continued recession and massive unemployment, the prospect of saying “No Sir” to an employer with a lot of connections and power isn’t appealing.  Still, when the boss asks an employee to do something illegal, immoral, or unethical, it’s time to get looking and time to get out.  As as aside, when that person is a cleric or a person to whom one is a volunteer, the time to walk away is immediately.  One thing is clear from all of this, no good comes of helping a superior to behave badly.  The employee will always get it in the end.

Rich people, like John Edwards, are all about staying rich.  They are no different from others when it comes to doing anything they can to keep what they have  — the difference is that these people have the money, the connections and the resources to lie, cheat, steal, cover up, and do horrendous damage to others to preserve their own money and their own places in the pecking order.  Beware of being too loyal.  Devotion should not come without strings attached.  It is a two-way street.

“You’re just like family” are some of the most unwelcome words an employee could ever hear.  They are not as horrific as “you’re fired” but when the people above start calling an employee “family” it means lots of free work, an expectation of servility, no respect for one’s own time, and grave punishment if the privacy of the higher-ups is somehow violated.  Mr. Young fell for this flattery, and he fell into a deep pit.  He does a good job of describing his descent into that manure hole and the reader should take the opportunity to reflect upon what happened to this aide turned man-servant.  This is a capitalist country and work should never be done on an extended basis for nothing by working class people.  Hint, if you need to work, you are working class and you need to get paid for what you do.

In this book there is on display,  much to the great shame of both Mr. and Mrs Young,  a submissive, go along get along attitude even to the point of absurd servitude and sacrifice for something and someone not to the benefit of anyone except the Senator.  Andrew Young facilitated this sex scandal and drew his displeased, but consenting wife into this too when he falsely took responsibility for  a child fathered by John Edwards.  Eventually, he and his family and the mistress went into hiding on other people’s money and the Youngs went along with this.

Mrs. Young probably could have extricated her husband from this mess early enough to protect the entire family.  For whatever reason, she didn’t step up to the plate, but went along with this charade.  She needed to say “NO!” Had she and her husband walked away, times might have been hard, but they probably would be a lot more employable today or in the future.  Neither of these two people looked too far ahead. Her children will likely be branded with this scandal for the rest of their lives, and the kids don’t deserve it.

Sadly, I think we have all seen this behavior in our own lives, not just from the ass-kissers at the office, but the “peacemakers” in the parish who submit or defer to the most powerful personality in the room or try to run for cover when the fighting needs done.  Not having a backbone or a mind of one’s own is a common malady and I agree with a line from what I think was a Corneille play (refresh my memory on the name of the play, please), I don’t think courage can be taught.  What can be taught is don’t let oneself get pulled into this mess to the detriment of your family.  At least they don’t deserve to get hurt.

Other things gleaned from this book:

Not that this blogger, a veteran of politics and political fund-raising operations needed the refresher course, but politics is very much about money.  Campaign finance reform laws or no, money — lots and lots of money — makes the political system work.

Read this book, by a guy who raised lot’s of money for a scummy boss, and ask yourself if you really must write out that $50 or $500 cheque to your candidate or put that money into savings?  If guys like John Edwards and Andrew Young didn’t feel accountable to a billionairess like Bunny Mellon, how do you think men like these regard you and your hard-earned cash? It’s your call.

About those Democrats?  The characters in this book are the hugely wealthy pols and players in the party allegedly of the people.  I’m not suggesting that rich people are hypocrites if they support labor unions, an expanded welfare system, socialized medicine or other sometimes leftist proposals. I am saying that I find it difficult to believe these people really deeply understand what it is to be truly poor.

A case in point which the author points out as he narrates the story: Rielle Hunter was at one point living in her car, and at another basically squatting with permission at a friend’s home.  Miss Hunter was homeless, broke and without health insurance (using a credit card to pay the hospital for the delivery of her baby).  Nothing suggests to me that Senator Edwards ever really understood or particularly cared about his lover’s plight.  I doubt he ever grasped this issue no matter how well-intentioned he might have been at least in his own mind on the campaign trail.  It gives me pause when I listen to millionaire and billionaire legislators advocating social policy that concerns them personally not at all.

John Edwards’ “two Americas”  is actually true and this book shows persons in one of those Americas functioning shamefully.  Rich politicians (of either party) live by a very different standard than the rest of us.  If we little people try these things, we are going to pay for our sins dearly and we don’t have the money to survive our wrongdoings.  These guys might have ruined political careers but they will likely survive and continue to make real money.  I don’t think one needs to put on the populist label or join a Tea Party celebration to feel disgust, or more importantly to expect better.

While the role of the mainstream press isn’t a huge element in this book, I find myself less inclined to give any serious regard, and much less am I willing to take out a subscription to a major print newspaper or shell out money for cable TV.  John Edwards, the image, was a creature made for consumption by the masses and the mainstream media facilitated, or more accurately participated in that scam.

Images of folksy, christian, working class roots, are cosmetic creations, sometimes drawn out of thin-air,   by politicians and very highly paid image consultants and campaign staffers who make a career of getting these people elected.  How real are any of these people?  What does this say about the mainstream media who eat this stuff up?  As cynical and world-wise as many a journalist is, I find it difficult to believe that personal and social agendas of media types are not in full play when they allow themselves to serve as conduits of these folksy, sophisticated, good-christian, or passionate-progressive images of politicians.  Eventually, the press did hound Edwards as the scandal came to light, but until that happened, oh the lovefest…

If there is one point I would offer about this book that I would otherwise leave to others to discuss more extensively and eloquently, it is Mr. Young’s comments and obvious hostility towards Elizabeth Edwards.  I have no doubt Mr. Young regrets his actions, and the lifetime of trouble he has brought upon his family, but his treatment of Mrs. Edwards suggests that he is continuing to be a real scumbag.

Mrs. Edwards was deeply betrayed by her husband.  Mr. Young was the one person who actively and freely aided her husband’s adultery in every way.  Mr. Young drew pay from Senator Edwards in large part to pay Mr. Young for his assistance in this disgraceful and deeply hurtful deception — and Mr. Young involved his entire family in that betrayal of Mrs. Edwards.  Elizabeth Edwards has no reason to regard Andrew Young with anything but extreme contempt.

This book gave me a chance to think and maybe make a few decisions.  I now look back on a few decisions of my own and I’m reassured and comforted, because when I read this book by a guy who did very wrongly (and is still doing wrongly in my mind), I think there is some reason to hope that better choices are there to be made by most of us and that sometimes, if only by accident, we are doing alright.