Edwards' star dims in his hometown

SENECA — The disappointment here with native son John Edwards is almost as common as the dry, brown grass and low lakes.

Mic Smith
The Post and Courier

Delegate Mike Evatt still plans to cast a vote for John Edwards at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Earlier this month, just weeks before Democrats were scheduled to meet for their national convention in Denver, Edwards revealed that he had an affair two years ago, while his wife Elizabeth's cancer was in remission. The former U.S. senator had denied the tryst while on the presidential campaign trail.

While some said they haven't followed the story closely and feel more affected by the severe drought gripping this small town near Clemson, locals who know Edwards expressed a mixture of disillusionment and defensiveness.

It's not uncommon for many in this Bible Belt town to cite a chapter from that book when explaining it all.

Longtime Edwards supporter Mike Evatt said the Bible says any man who has looked at another woman with lust has sinned, so Edwards' failing is far from unique.

"What he done was wrong, but we all sin daily and fall short of the grace of the good Lord," he said. "We all make mistakes."

Evatt has known Edwards since 2003, when the then- boyish senator from North Carolina won the South Carolina primary and ended up as Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's vice presidential running mate. Evatt, a former Oconee County Democratic chairman, liked Edwards' position on trade and helping working families, worked on his campaign and even visited his North Carolina home earlier this year for an appreciation dinner.

"I'm not going to hang my head down in shame one bit," Evatt said. "If it were not for him, a lot of these issues wouldn't be discussed."

Evatt said he still is excited about leaving for Denver later this week to serve as an Edwards delegate at the Democratic National Convention, and thinks Edwards can make a comeback one day.

Others, such as Jimmy DuPre, a former county Democratic chairman and school board member, doubt that's possible.

DuPre, who grew up with Edwards' father, Wallace, said he was disappointed, particularly because Edwards carried on the affair after his wife had been diagnosed with cancer. DuPre's wife is a breast cancer survivor.

"Why would you do that? Why would you take that chance? It's hard to understand. I'm not condemning him. I'm just puzzled more than anything else," he said.

He wondered what would have happened had Edwards' captured the Democratic nomination as this news broke.

"You wonder if the whole story is out. There's maybe another shoe to drop, maybe several more shoes to drop," he said. "Politically, maybe I'm being a pessimist. I don't think there's any recovery."

While Edwards' family moved away when he was 11 years old, he still has scores of relatives in the area and worked this turf as hard as any during the recent presidential primary campaign. Edwards carried Oconee County in January, getting more than 1,000 votes more than either Sens. Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. It was the only one of the state's 46 counties where he finished on top.

Even though Edwards prevailed here, locals have admitted there didn't seem to be the excitement about his candidacy that there was in 2004, when he won South Carolina's Democratic primary and parlayed his strengths into a No. 2 spot on Kerry's ticket. This year, he even got fewer votes in Seneca than Obama did.

Several people running errands or waiting for a bus Monday morning said they had not been paying close attention to the unfolding Edwards' story.

Charles Gibson of Westminster said he was disappointed by Edwards but not necessarily surprised. "When it comes to politicians, you just got 'caught' and 'uncaught,' " he said. "Whatever he has done is between him and the Lord."

Others here come to Edwards' defense, not by condoning his actions but by reminding people that he is far from alone.

Evatt pointed to Republican U.S. Sens. David Vitter of Louisiana and Larry Craig of Idaho, both of whom continue to serve despite their own sex scandals.

Linda Broadus, who lives next door to Edwards' childhood home, said she is disappointed by Edwards' conduct but wants to see people stop crucifying him.

"Look at Bill Clinton. He was a sitting president," she said of Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. "They didn't impeach him. They should have shot him right between the eyes."

Broadus' husband Thomas still owns and maintains the vacant pink house here on Sirrine Street that Edwards featured in his campaign commercials. Edwards had his makeup done in their kitchen.

"I don't think he's messed himself up completely politically. I think it might blow over," he said.

But his neighborhood, like those across Oconee County, is devoid of any signs supporting Edwards. As he walks around the pink house, he can't help but wonder what could have been.

"If that sucker had gotten elected, that house might have been worth some money," he said.

Reach Robert Behre at rbehre@postandcourier.com or 937-5771.