Although I am totally Pissed off with John Edward's, I do agree with both Ed Schultz and

[karynnj]

31. Major differences

1) Hart had far more real achievements than Edwards
2) Hart's transgression was FAR less than Edwards. He had marital difficulties that he and his wife worked around. Edwards had a long term affair while his wife was dying and he denied his own child. It also does not help that he repeatedly lied in his come clean" interview. Even in the trial, he used the argument that it was his wife's "violent" temper that caused him to cover up the affair.

You are right that Hart managed to destroyed his chance of being President, but he did not incur the level of scorn that Edwards has deserved. The other thing is that Hart was already known as a policy wonk, who did serious work. Edwards was more the "front man" running on the policies his team developed. I know that all candidates have teams to develop their platforms, but some are more instrumental in setting the basic outline. Edwards' two campaigns were very different and neither reflected his term in the Senate.