West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin will make his feature directorial debut on a drama that chronicles the scandalous implosion of Senator John Edwards’ 2008 run to be the Democratic presidential candidate. It ended shockingly when a tabloid newspaper revealed that the married senator had fathered an illegitimate child with Rielle Hunter — a claim Edwards denied, denied, denied, and then finally admitted, much to the amazement of his cancer-stricken wife Elizabeth who was blindsided. Sorkin has optioned The Politician, the book by one-time Edwards aide Andrew Young that was published last January by Thomas Dunne Books. “This is a first hand account of an extraordinary story filled with motivations, decisions and consequences that would have lit Shakespeare up,” Sorkin said in a statement. “There is much more to Andrew’s book than what has been reported and I am grateful that he’s trusting me with it.” Sorkin is no stranger to the political arena with credits that include NBC’s The West Wing, and films An American President, A Few Good Men and Charlie Wilson’s War. Sorkin optioned the project on his own and hasn’t yet involved a studio. He’ll write the script and produce the film in a deal just closed by WME and his attorney Richard Heller.