In the wake of John Edwards’ I-was-only-lying-1-percent scandal, there’s a lot of talk among journalism industry insiders about how mainstream media outlets handed the story—and by “handled,” I mean “ignored,” at least until Edwards’ admission on ABC.

MSM (or traditional media, as some call it) refused to cover the story, even as reporters from the National Enquirer piled on the evidence they had gathered while chasing the story over the course of nearly a year. “Tabloid trash,” Edwards sniffed, and the MSM seemed to agree.

Well, well, well ... as it turned out, the rag was right.

And it isn’t the first time.

Time takes a look at the Top 8 scandals broken by the tabs—or, as an alternate title, “Great Moments in Tabloid History.”

As you page through these items, notice one thing in particular: In all but two of the cases, it was the Enquirer breaking the news.

And one more thing: Check out how much Edwards’ scandal mirrors that of Gary Hart.

Weird, isn’t it?

John McCain’s overtures that he might choose a pro-choice running mate have gone over with his party more like a lead balloon than a trial balloon many political observers assumed it was.

I told you here yesterday what a disaster such a decision would be, and Politico’s Jonathan Martin gives us concrete evidence today.

Some of the phrases used in the article include “dire consequences,” “unenthused” and “kiss of death.”

“It would doom him in Ohio,” one pro-life leader in the state said.

Yes, on the eve of the convention and barely 12 weeks from Election Day, it sounds like the Republican base is confident, united, fired up and ready to go!

For social conservatives, McCain’s VP pick is as much a reflection on the presidential nominee himself as it is on the one who is chosen:

For those who have been anxiously awaiting McCain’s pick as a signal of his ideological intentions, there was deep concern that their worst fears about the Arizona senator may be realized.

That is almost exactly what I wrote yesterday.

Not only would a pro-choice selection further pronounce the ideological fissure many conservatives believe exist between McCain and them, it would also seriously damage McCain’s personal credibility with his base.

A group of Ohio conservatives met privately with McCain in June, Martin reports, and while the nominee didn’t promise them an anti-abortion rights running mate, his staff said they could “almost guarantee” that would be the case.

Either “almost” means more than I thought, or “guarantee” doesn’t mean nearly what I thought.

One man who attended that meeting said he’s “not even sure [Christian conservatives] would vote for him, let alone work for him, if he picked a pro-abortion running mate.”

Again, something I said yesterday:

“Ninety percent of the workforce for Bush in ’04 came out of that constituency,” (Iowa Christian Alliance President Steve) Scheffler said, alluding to the Christian right. “Picking a Ridge or a [Joseph] Lieberman would not be helpful at all.”

If McCain picks a pro-choice running mate, the fractures in the Republican Party will make the Democratic Party’s primary issues look mild by comparison ... and the GOP will have four years to figure out how to heal them as they prepare to challenge President Obama in 2012.

CNN’s Political Ticker opines on the possibilty that Barack Obama may be using the DNC schedule to hint at his vice presidential pick.

The vice presidential nominee—whomever he or she turns out to be—is scheduled to speak on Wednesday night, the so-called “national security” night.

Given the luminaries lined up to appear that night, Wednesday is threatening to eclipse Thursday and Obama’s own speech.

OK, not really. But almost.

Joining former president Bill Clinton on the Wednesday schedule are Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, the media’s odds-on favorites of late. But New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar are also on the Wednesday lineup.

Salazar’s inclusion is likely attributable to the fact that he’s from a swing state. I haven’t seen any mention of Rockefeller as a potential VP, though he does fit that “regular white guy” demographic Obama’s had trouble with, and he is from a state where Obama got crushed in the primary (Hillary Clinton trashed Obama by an astonishing 41 points).

But Richardson’s appearance is what caught my eye. I’ve said here before that he was by far the most experienced and most capable candidate from which the Democrats had to choose in the primaries. Just as confusing to me as Richardson not catching on with Democrats is why he seems to have fallen out of favor in the veepstakes and slipped down the prospective-suitor list. In the humble opinion of this political watcher, only former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia would be a better match with Obama than Richardson.

Maybe the schedule indicates that Richardson is not that far down the list after all.

See also:

Barack Obama has been “rick-rolled”—which, Fox News explains, is the Internet trend of making web videos of various people “singing” Rick Astley’s 1987 hit, “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

You may think Rick Astley is annoying. You may think Barack Obama is obnoxious. But you will still laugh when you see this!