John Edwards’ Confession: Not So Fast

The report in yesterday’s New York Times that former senator John Edwards is about to claim his illegitimate baby daughter? It’s not happening so fast.

So says a source who tells me: “All that story is is regurgitation of old misinformation combined with false light and repackaged with bits of Andrew Young’s book, probably leaked by his agent to heighten interest.”

Indeed, it’s been several months since Young, an Edwards aide who helped cover up the whole scandal of the senator, his mistress, and their baby, started shopping his book proposal. Apparently he was able to persuade the Times that Edwards was about to spill the beans, thus making the book a hotter property.

Alas, I am told that Rielle Hunter — and her now 18-month-old daughter Frances Quinn — is still living with a friend in New Jersey. She has no plans to move near the Edwardses in North Carolina. Young has still not sold his book. The entire scandal suffers from inertia, which isn’t good for tabloid headlines.

As for Elizabeth Edwards, her book, “Resilience,” is listed at number 2,400 on amazon. “Resilience” garnered a mere 88 customer reviews, not a lot, after initial interest cooled off. She just opened a home furnishings store called Red Window in Chapel Hill. The Web site isn’t finished, but it doesn’t look like they carry cribs.