The one mitigating factor here is Elizabeth. By Edwards' account, his wife knew about the affair back in 2006. Her adamant support for his candidacy suggests that she forgave him. If so, should he still be ostracized from politics permanently?
I think we need to know more, but that's some initial food for thought.
P.S. The coming wave of debate about the relevance of a candidate's extramarital affairs may be an unwelcome development for the McCain team (although the Iseman allegations were of course denied and never proven).
* Correction!: ABC notes that Edwards says he "did not love" Rielle. So maybe there are better labels for that kid that might be funny if we weren't talking about an actual human being who has a very complicated life to look forward to, regardless of who the father really is.
--Michael Crowley