John Edwards: Best and Last Look

I understand tolerance for John Edwards is pretty low which is why we bypassed his trial. In its conclusion, however, at least two photos caught our eye.

Then there is this photo which Joy, a reader from North Carolina, forwarded us. She writes:

Those of us in NC are rather tired of hearing about John Edwards, but Chuck Liddy’s photo that the Raleigh News & Observer ran after the recent verdict was fascinating. Did you happen to see it?

It was like an Old Master painting with the center grouping and multiple other reactions. I found it very funny, actually. JE is still trying (and failing) to be convincingly sincere. His close relatives are still being closely attentive. (It’s been hard to find a picture of him during his trial without his daughter nearby, but it’s the first I’ve seen his parents in print.) His lawyers stand at far left (in black and white striped jacket and blue tie).

The N&O ran it uncropped and taking up the whole top half of the front page.

There is something wonderful about the photo. Like Greek tragedy, in the end, each player typifying his or her respective role.

Then, this shots says a lot about visual spin, use of props and hopes for more advantageous optics. The Bag’s Karen Hull writes:

Going home, I guess. A photo that presaged the verdict, though it left me wondering if Edwards’ daughter Cate is only now reading a book that came out in 2006. On the other hand, the prop also illustrates Edwards’ post-acquittal remarks about working with the poor (the focus of his book).

News-Observer slideshow here.

(photo 1: Sara D. Davis/Getty Images caption: Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards and his daughter Cate Edwards leave for lunch on the ninth day of jury deliberations at federal court May 31, 2012 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Edwards, a former presidential candidate, plead not guilty to six counts of campaign finance violations and could face a maximum of 30 years in jail and $1.5 million in fines. photo 2: Chuck Liddy/News-Observer caption: Former Sen. John Edwards speaks to the media in front of the Federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C. Thursday May 31, 2012 with his family, team of lawyers and U.S. Marshals as his trial ends. Edwards was found not guilty on charge three and a non-unanimous verdict of the other five charges.