After the AffairMelinda Henneberger takes readers' questions about the John Edwards sex scandal.

Slate "XX Factor" blogger Melinda Henneberger was online on Washingtonpost.com to chat with readers about the John Edwards sex scandal. An unedited transcript of the chat follows.

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Time and Resources: I somewhat understand the angst about news channels/papers not reporting the Edwards story, but it is mitigated by two things. Firstly, he isn't that important. Yeah, he might have been on the cabinet, but even without the reporting that seemed less likely, so if he is just some random politician without an office, why should the public care?

Secondly, it was an affair. He didn't embezzle; he didn't take money from corporations to vote a certain way; he isn't working with Putin to overthrow some former Soviet republic. Yes, he lied—multiple times—but as I am not voting for him for anything, it isn't all that important. More reporting should be done on Sen. Stevens, not on John Edwards.

Melinda Henneberger: I think that's how a lot of us felt, too, that particularly at a time when resources across the industry are being slashed to the bone, this didn't seem like a high priority. I still think that's true—but I also think John Edwards should have known the story would come out and spared his family and his party the embarrassment—and potentially, the loss of the White House.

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Brooklyn, N.Y.: How do you think this—as well as other infidelities committed by politicians—influences the role of political spouse? Despite repeated sexual scandals by politicians, why do you think the image of a supportive political spouse, such as a traditional first lady, continues to be viewed as necessary?

Melinda Henneberger: We in the public really seem to require that tableau that includes a demure wife in chunky pearls, who loves those jokes no matter how many times she's heard them. In fact, we go crazy when a political spouse strays at all from the script—as for instance when Teresa Heinz Kerry dared to mention her first husband, or when Michelle Obama committed the sin of joking about even something as trivial as her husband's failure to put the butter up after breakfast. We made such a fuss in both of those cases that the obvious message to spouses was: For heaven's sake, lie to us!

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Washington: What part of this story is the worst? Cheating on your dying wife, while making your marriage to said dying wife a talking point? Betraying the trust on anyone who donated to or volunteered for your campaign? Denying your children any semblance of a normal family life for the remaining months of their mom's life for a goal you had to know you would get blown away from? Ugh.

Melinda Henneberger: Yes, ugh. But since there's nothing I can do about his decisions, what I'm thinking about are my own choices: When I sat down with Elizabeth and talked to John on the phone for the piece I wrote about them as a couple, should I have asked about the rumors? Was I wrong not to? I drove down to their home in North Carolina, and thought about it and argued with myself all the way there, but kept coming back to: For what? So I can torment a woman with cancer? And, if I had it to do over, I still wouldn't.

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Portland, Ore.: Okay, I don't believe Edwards is telling the truth about when he says told Elizabeth. I think he was caught in and around April 2007, based on information from articles online. That was during the election. Do you believe Elizabeth Edwards fell on her sword and lied about the timeframe when she found out? Looking at her videos when they announced, I just can't believe she knew before then. Are you planning to investigate his truthfulness at all?

Melinda Henneberger: To me, watching him on Nightline, he looked like a guy who knew the other shoe was gonna hit him on the noggin' any minute. His credibility is shot, and hers too, and that's unbelievably sad.

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Silver Spring, Md.: I strongly resent the idea that "everyone" knew about this affair but nobody reported on it or even bothered to investigate it. Too much work, I guess. Is the newsroom more pleased that this unsavory story was broken by the Enquirer, or that Edwards's campaign faded, so that there was no pressure to break the story? Also, was the fact that this story was lurking have anything to do with the underperformance of the Edwards campaign?

Melinda Henneberger: It's not that simple; the only way these stories ever come out is that either the ex-lover steps to the mic, or tabloids spend months and a lot of money following people, paying for info, bribing hotel employees, etc. At a time when we cannot even act as the watchdogs we are supposed to be because thousands of journalists are losing their jobs as left and right cheer, what I resent is the idea that following John Edwards around should have been Job One; not even close!

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Washington: It seems to me that politicians run on their overall record. I mean really, what does McCain's having been a prisoner of war say about his knowledge and skill as a leader? It's about his personal character. So how does a politician's lying about an affair differ from them lying about their military record? How does Edwards little peccadillo differ from Bush 41's? The press there was that it was only rumor, but then they didn't track it down.

Melinda Henneberger: As I've said before, my old theory was that there were fewer Republican sex scandals because they treated their exes better. But if you look back at Washington sex scandals, the only one I can even ever remember anyone in the non-tabloid media breaking was the Gary Hart story, and that only happened because he double-dared reporters to follow him around. Character issues are important, but we act like sexual fidelity is the only character issue that counts.

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El Segundo, Calif.: Edwards ran on honesty and family values. How can the national political media not vet him properly if he's running for president? Seems like he got a free pass to me. How can we take Edwards or the national media seriously again?

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