This week’s “Daily Journal” guest columnist is Jon Sanders, Research Editor and Policy Analyst for the John Locke Foundation. Sanders originally had planned to opine on John Edwards’ announcement of selecting a “leading advocate for labor unions” as manager for his presidential campaign. So despite promising that would help generate “innovative and practical” ideas and that he “didn’t take the job for political reasons,” Edwards did essentially two things as the director of the hastily established UNC Center for Poverty, Work and Opportunity: (1) campaign across the nation, and (2) talk about raising the minimum wage (a pet issue of the “labor” movement). It’s now quite clear that John Edwards used UNC to keep his political career afloat and to help ingratiate himself to the labor movement to be their man in 2008.
With that understanding, Sanders realized that the whole affair was so tawdry, it needed to be treated like a dime-store novel.
“Oh, John!” she cried softly, when reality set in. She had been used. All her friends had been right.
• • •
“Oh, John,” she had said, trying to comfort him. She had never been more in love with him than at that moment, two years ago, as he stood dejectedly, spurned by the girl of his dreams. Caroline had rushed to him, seeking to console him, to wrap him in her arms, to help him forget his rejection in the warmth of her reception. She hoped to turn his glance away from the pain, away from the past, and toward the future. Toward her.
He seemed to listen to her overtures. She offered him a chance to realize all his stated goals. She was, after all, very wealthy. Not quite as wealthy as the other love of his life, it’s true; but with her resources and her obvious infatuation, which she made sure John could see, she could fulfill not just the minimum — but all of his needs.
Then one night, he called from New Hampshire to say yes, he would move in with her. He was taking the job. She was so happy. She called everyone she knew.
• • •
“Oh. John.” Their reaction wasn’t what she expected. They weren’t happy for her. They were upset with her. She was surprised at how cynical they could be. He cares only for one love, they said, and that love is not you. Sure, you got him a job with your daddy’s firm, but when he took it, it wasn’t to be close to you. It was to impress her with how responsible he could look. He’s interested in only her. He’s taking advantage of you, they said.
No, she defended him. We talked about that. He promised me it wasn’t like that. He could be so charming. She believed him, and she resented her friends for being skeptical. He cares about me, about the firm, and what he could do here; he told me so.
• • •
“Oh Jo-o-ohn?” As she had done almost ever day since he moved in, she searched the rooms for him. She was never sure when he’d be home. It was so strange, she thought. Ever since he started to work for Daddy, he was rarely home. Funny, she couldn’t name one thing he had done for the firm, but it must be important because it consumes all of his time. He loved his job; of that she was sure. He talked about it all the time. Everyone knew about it — but sometimes they asked what she thought about it. He would always laugh and say he wasn’t thinking about her at all.
He was spending lots of time in Iowa, Nevada, Michigan, Minnesota, even California. Daddy said it wasn’t for work, but how could it not be? It was all John talked about, and he always had to mention Caroline’s role in it all. She beamed.
And one day he surprised her at work. He brought her coffee, and they talked, just like she hoped he would! It was so nice of him to take time out of his day — even interrupting his trip to Florida on his way back from Virginia.
• • •
“Oh … John?” the voice on the other line asked. The calls had been coming more frequently. They were people who were close to her, the old love. Why were they calling him? Hadn’t he made his intentions clear now?
But she couldn’t silence the nagging voice any more. What if her friends were right? Had he really been using Caroline and the firm all this time? What has he done, really? He’s traveled all over the country and talked; so what? It’s been two years, and he’s still saying the same things, making the same promises, boasting the same boasts. He’s been gone more than he’s been here, and when he’s been here, he’s just gone to a few meetings. Talk, talk, talk. Is there one solid, tangible thing he’s done? She couldn’t think of one. Daddy’s spent a lot of money on him, but Daddy likes to spend his money on anything his darling girl says will make her happy. Truth is, she thought, Daddy probably won’t be too upset if he’s not telling the truth.
She rushed to put those thoughts out of her mind. She remembered his promises, and she rebuked herself for her doubts. She went home and wondered how his day went. Was he in Texas or Colorado today? Or maybe it was Arizona.
• • •
“Oh, John!” David said, as they walked to the car. He was moving out, and David came to help him. David lived across the street from her, his first love. David spent a lot of time talking to her. She knew why John was leaving and why he was going to David’s. He still hopes to catch her eye. He’ll do anything to be near her — say anything to anybody to be near her. She saw that she’d known that all along. He had told her exactly what she wanted to hear, so she chose to believe him.
He said he hoped they’d stay in touch. She did, too. She surprised herself by realizing that she meant it.