Edwards still reluctant to be subject of affair
John Edwards may have confessed to a “serious error in judgment,” but a close look at his word choice suggests he’s still shirking blame. In his Nightline interview, Edwards repeatedly constructed sentences in which he is the implicit but unnamed subject.
For example, the former North Carolina senator told [...]

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me vs. myself
John Edwards’ word choice in last night’s Nightline interview reflected a lack of responsibility, an indirect, almost out-of-body view of this “mistake.”
For example, the former senator told Bob Woodruff: “I think that my family is entitled to every detail. They’ve been told every detail. Elizabeth knows absolutely everything.”
Notice Edwards didn’t take ownership with [...]

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A euphemism is the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or imply something unpleasant. Its origin is Greek, meaning “auspicious speech.”
In his statement to the public, John Edwards said he had “a liaison with another woman.” Liaison does mean illicit sexual affair. But it is also widely used [...]

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“The story is false, it’s completely untrue, it’s ridiculous.”
The words John Edwards uttered last fall to deny an affair with Rielle Hunter are coming back to haunt him — and grammarians.
If a story is false, that means it’s untrue. Completely. Looking back, Edwards’ redundancy hints at his guilt.
In the spirit of politicians’ sex scandals, let’s [...]

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