John Edwards Sort of Denies Rielle Hunter Story

One would think that the John Edwards-Rielle Hunter scandal would trigger an all-out war within the mainstream media as various outlets run with it while others claim "journalistic integrity" and refuse to go down that road.

Instead, it's confined entirely to the Internet. What gives?

Given that John has effectively been busted twice by the National Enquirer, you'd think some media sources would at least pull the old standby, “We’re not claiming this happened, but some are saying...” Nothing, though.

Here's his awkward denial of it (30 seconds in) when a reporter asked Friday if the supposed Rielle Hunter love child would doom his V.P. hopes ...

Why does Edwards get the benefit of the doubt even after being caught in a hotel with Rielle Hunter and the baby? We have some theories:

• Liberal bias (default)
• Too busy worshiping Barack Obama to care (also default)
• A belief that once a presidential candidate drops out of the race, he or she is no longer subject to such scrutiny (despite the fact that the Rielle Hunter scandal was first broken while he was running for president)   
• Disdain for celebrity news sources like the Enquirer, despite all the other solid stories (Isaiah Washington's gay tirade, for one) they’ve broken that were eventually picked up by “legitimate” media?