Edwards should donate his speaking fee

Some people have no shame.

Many thought that John Edwards could go no lower after he admitted not only to having an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer but also lying about it for more than 10 months while he was running for president of the United States. But with the news, first reported by The Daily Illini, that he is set to be well compensated for an October speech on campus, Edwards has again proven himself to be untrustworthy.

Not that having an affair necessarily makes you a bad leader. History, even Democratic presidential history, shows that. Allegedly fathering a love child doesn't always extinguish a productive political career.

Not even lying, too many politicians' modus operandi, disqualifies him from being worth routine fees on the lecture circuit such as the $65,000 negotiated for his appearance here.

But it looks like Edwards made sure his pockets were lined first, before "coming clean" and revealing the truth. After spending the summer avoiding National Enquirer reporters, the former North Carolina senator finalized his speaking contract with the Illini Union Board in early August, mere days before he went public about the affair Aug. 8. Readers may remember it as the day the Beijing Summer Olympics began.

He knew that his reputation and political bank-ability would be severely damaged once the affair was confirmed. He knew that his credibility would be called into question. Given his track record, we can only assume he thought that he had to negotiate in bad faith because no institution in its right mind would pay him more money for an hour of work than many Americans make in a year if his deception was revealed.

More galling is that, according to a University spokeswoman, his agent said that Edwards is considering expanding his speaking schedule and raising his fee even higher despite the scandal.

If other schools want to pay him to discuss things in the same vein as the "viability of obtaining the 'American Dream'" with full knowledge of his untruthfulness, that's their business.

But we resent unknowingly paying John Edwards to reform his own image. If he wants to do that, he could start by donating the fees he has secured under dubious pretences to a worthy charity. With a net worth estimated to be in the tens of millions, he can afford it.

While his lecture in Foellinger Auditorium may be compelling, interesting and maybe worth attending, his words will carry little weight when they're delivered under a cloud of mistrust. There are many who believed in John Edwards while he ran for president.

But lately, he hasn't given anyone a reason to believe anything he says.