With the Democratic convention less than one week away, will the Edwards distraction be the large, finely coiffed, elephant in the middle of the room? Democratic insiders are concerned that the scandal of John Edwards's extramarital affair with campaign documentarian Rielle Hunter and possible illegitimate child, while certainly not the most appalling we've heard of this year (read: Eliot Spitzer), are affecting the reputation of the party, overshadowing Obama's upcoming veep news as well as the struggle for unity between Obama and Clinton supporters.  According to political pollster and Democratic party guru Doug Schoen, "the Edwards scandal is a distraction the Democrats must move beyond if they are to defeat John McCain."

In the humble opinion of this blogger, a distraction ought to be embraced, rather that swept under the rug.  Imagine, for example, a whole night of the convention devoted to the party's testament to testosterone... It could be an all-star adulterers lineup with Gary Hart, John Edwards, and Bill Clinton. Falling short of that, however, the Edwards distraction could cause serious repercussions, not the least of which are explained below.

First, with Bill Clinton set to speak during primetime on Wednesday evening, it's inevitable that viewers will take a walk down memory lane.  From Gary Hart's indignant challenge to the press to tail him in order to disprove adultery rumors to Bill Clinton's redefinition of the word "is", Edwards's statement that being 99% honest is no longer enough will be a glaring reminder that the Democratic party has had its problems with honesty over the last three decades. It will be hard for the Democrats to avoid the familiar label as the party without family values. Schoen warns that "unless the Democrats can move past the Edwards scandal and articulate a pro-family agenda at the convention that emphasizes traditional values, victory will be that much more difficult in November." Don't expect a Barack-Michelle convention kiss, a la Al and Tipper Gore, but don't be surprised if you see a little more of Obama's family and marital life than you bargained for.

The second, and perhaps more catastrophic, effect is that Edwards is now the second man to screw over Hillary Clinton with his adulterous ways -- a fact that Hillary supporters will have a hard time forgetting.  As former Clinton aide Howard Wolfson is contending, Hillary would have won the nomination had the mainstream media reported on the Edwards rumors sooner.  Wolfson complained to ABC that "Our voters and Edwards' voters were the same people. They were older, pro-union."  It's impossible to say whether Edwards's backers would have flocked to Hillary in Iowa, but it's fairly safe to say that embittered Hillary supporters will be energized and contentious, making party unity a challenge. Hillary's a pro, so her speech on Tuesday evening of the convention will undoubtedly reaffirm her support of Obama, but since it's scheduled to coincide with the anniversary of women's suffrage, you can expect her to hit hard on the women's empowerment message, thus further riling up her supporters.

The Democrats have to hope that this Edwards scandal gets better before it gets worse. With imminent VP announcements, a war in Georgia, and Michael Phelps's speedo clogging up airtime, they could still pull off avoiding that dandily-groomed elephant in the room.  If Clinton's supporters allow it, that is. --CHLOE KAMARCK

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