1.  Bristol Palin’s pregnancy was broadcast to the world as soon - or sooner than - it was discovered.  John Edwards’s mistress Rielle Hunter’s pregnancy was covered up by major media sources even though it was well documented.

2.  Rielle Hunter received: the false claim of a lackey of her baby=papa that he was the father.  Rent-free housing.  $15,000 a month from John Edwards’s campaign treasurer.  The use of a private jet.
Bristol Palin received:  the support of her community, Wasilla, the fourth-largest city in Alaska.  The support of her mother and father.  The love of her father’s baby.  Period.

4.  Rielle Hunter and John Edwards recieved:  Privacy and solicitude from The New York Times, the Washington Post, network news, cable news - everyone in the respectable world media, except Mickey Kaus.

Bristol Palin received Internet rumor-mongering widely reported in the mainstream press.

5.  Rielle Hunter and John Edwards continued to lie about their relationship after it was revealed.

Bristol Palin’s family gave a simple, dignified statement of the truth of the situation after it was revealed.

6.  Bristol Palin and the father of her baby are 17 or 18 - and their relationship concerns themselves and their parents.
The combined age of John Edwards and Rielle Hunter is close to, if not over, a century.  John Edwards has a mortally ill wife and three other young children to be concerned about.

7.  The number of column inches and network tv coverage devoted to Bristol Palin compared to John Edwards is - immeasurable.

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