Does John Edwards Want a Redemption, Too?
Mark Sanford did it. Anthony Weiner is trying it. Jonah Lehrer botched it. And now, it looks like disgraced politician John Edwards could be looking for his own public redemption moment. Here's why: on Thursday, the Associated Press noticed that Edwards had reactivated his North Carolina law license and booked a June speaking gig at a private retreat for lawyers in Orlando.
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While the event itself won't be open to the media, the retreat's sponsors — a marketing firm named PMP — have been pretty openly advertising Edwards's planned 45-minute speech. Notably, the marketing group tweeted the news a few days ago:
Reason #9 why you cannot miss the #PMPClientRetreat! Guest speaker and former US Senator and Presidential Candidate John Edwards!
— PMP Marketing Group (@PMPMG) May 13, 2013
So far, Edwards himself hasn't commented on his return to the speaking circuit, or indicated whether the private event is part of a bigger plan to re-enter public life.
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It's been about a year since Edwards was acquitted on one count of accepting an illegal campaign contribution, and cleared from the rest of his legal troubles. He's apparently survived the aftermath of the closely-covered trial (and Rielle Hunter's memoir) that left his reputation in tatters by keeping out of the limelight. After the trial, Edwards gave an apology speech in which he insinuated that a possible return to public life was God's will:
“I don’t think God’s through with me. I really believe he thinks there’s still some good things I can do.”
