SEAN HANNITY MAKES THE CASE THAT MCCAIN SHOULDN'T BE PRESIDENT?

Ah Sean Hannity, my favorite construction worker turned political commentator. Seems Sean wanted to dedicate a whole show to the recent infidelity of former Presidential hopeful John Edwards. Now this is perfectly fine on it's face. I mean John Edwards painted himself as a loving husband and family man during his campaign, all the while knowing that he'd carried on an affair a year earlier with another woman. He's gotta take his lumps, right? Sure.

But Hannity couldn't stop there. He kept fishing for some "higher meaning" to it all. Asking questions as to why this wasn't such a big deal, while anti-gay Republican politicians were big news when they were outed as being gay. Asking about "hush money" being paid to the adulterous woman in question. However, without getting any traction to his whining - he just kept digging deeper and deeper until he fell in a hole.

The real fireworks being when a guest brings up the fact that Edwards' wife is (and has been) suffering with cancer during this ordeal, and Hannity makes this statement (at the 2:03 mark):

"I want to go back to this fundamental issue. I want to know - you gotta explain this to me. I'm just not getting this. Explain to me - I'm just a regular guy, and I'm wondering if you can't keep the promise to your family, can't keep your promise to your wife, you're having an affair, you're lying about the affair repeatedly. Why should the American people trust you when you say you're not going to lie to them? Why should we trust you?

On the surface these seem like a legitimate questions, right? However, the problem here is that John Edwards is not seeking office at all. But as Alan Colmes points out, only one of the two Presidential candidates has infidelity in his past - and it ain't Barack Obama.

John McCain married Carol Shepp, an attractive swimwear model, in 1965. At the time of their marriage, she had two small boys from a previous marriage (whom McCain adopted) and they then had a daughter in 1966. When John McCain was shot down in Vietnam, it was Carol who stood by him year after year and became very active in the POW/MIA movement.

However, when McCain returned from Vietnam, he seemingly wasn't interested in the reality that faced him. In the words of his former wife:

'My marriage ended because John McCain didn't want to be 40, he wanted to be 25. You know that happens...it just does.'

McCain apparently had several "indiscretions" with women prior to meeting his new wife Cindy in 1979. When he asked for a divorce, "It came as a shock," said a friend of Carol's. Court records show his cohabitation with Carol ended on January 7th, 1980 - he filed for divorce on Feb. 19th, 1980 - and he married Cindy in early May of that same year. In fact, McCain was filing for a marriage license while still married to his first wife. Now would this be front page news if Barack Obama had this past?

So why does any of this matter when electing a President? Maybe because it does speak to John McCain's ability to cast aside his "family values" when greater opportunities arise. It sure seemed that way to McCain family friend Ross Perot:

"McCain is the classic opportunist. He's always reaching for attention and glory. After he came home, Carol walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona. And the rest is history."

Now how's THAT for straight talk.

But no sooner does Hannity cry about the "double-standard" at the beginning of the piece, he attempts to apply his own some three minutes later. His reply to Alan Colmes talking about McCain's cheating past:

"Thirty years ago after five-and-a-half years in a Prisoner of War camp."

So which is it Sean? The thirty years? Is that the statute of limitations for Presidential candidates pasts?

Then I find it funny that Fox News (and "Hannity and Colmes") made such a big deal out of the phony "Obama/Madrasa" story a little while ago. After all, that story was almost FORTY years old and took place when Obama was only eight years old. This one is more recent, and McCain was 42 when cast his wife and three children aside for his 25 year-old bride.

And as for the "Vietnam" excuse, why don't we let McCain's own words speak for themselves:

"My marriage's collapse was attributable to my own selfishness and immaturity more than it was to Vietnam, and I cannot escape blame by pointing a finger at the war. The blame was entirely mine."

Personally, this story doesn't matter that much to me. I have much bigger issues with McCain that the idea that he was an immature 40 year-old some 32 years ago. But it does matter to Sean Hannity and millions of "family values" Republicans out there... but apparently only when it involves a Democrat and some hussy with a video camera.

Don't you just love hypocrisy?