After repeatedly denying having an affair, former Senator, Vice Presidential candidate and Presidential candidate John Edwards owned up to cheating on his wife in 2006. Edwards always made his wife a very public part of all of his campaign. He had denied the allegations for 10 months, calling them “tabloid trash.”

There are a number of lessons here that one can take away having to do with public speaking and messaging. Here is a short list:

1. Lying is never the answer — if you are a public figure, the truth will come out. Guaranteed.
2. The cover up is always more damaging, publicly, than the initial offense.
3. Hiding from the press for two weeks and allowing your message to be developed without your input is never a good idea.
4. One of the worst labels you can ever have thrown at you is that of a hypocrite. Edwards was very critical of President Clinton in 1999 following the Lewinsky scandal. Edwards campaigned on family. Between the $400 haircuts and the 12,000 s.f. home, Edwards had a credibility problem to begin with.
5. Call this the Spitzer lesson. Do as you say AND as you do, or be ready to face the fallout.
6. If you don’t define the issue yourself, rest assured others will do it for you — this issue was raised 10 months ago