I think Mickey Kaus is correct about this. Under normal circumstances, John Edwards would have a prominent role in the Democratic convention in Denver — remember the adoring, break-into-the-news coverage of Edwards’ decision to endorse Obama? But these are not normal circumstances for Edwards. I think most people in the media believe the National Enquirer story about him is accurate, even as they have adopted a this-is-not-happening editorial policy. But the policy would be harder to maintain were Edwards to take a high-profile role at the convention.
It is impossible to imagine that the Obama campaign would want Edwards to appear from the podium with everyone whispering “mistress-love-child” as he spoke. So it would be better to just get it over with and have some pro-Democratic journalist at a big-media outlet recognize that the story exists. Perhaps it could be done in the context of an aggressive-tabloids-bedevil-public-figures thumbsucker or some other story designed to give the scandal a soft landing. But get it out there, so there won’t be some strange thing-that-cannot-be-spoken mystery if he doesn’t show up at the Democratic convention.