I went down to the John Edwards trial in the hope of watching former aide Andrew Young provide the tawdry details of the former senator’s affair with Rielle Hunter. I am not assigned to cover the trial nor am I officially ‘credentialed,’ but I planned to contact CJ to get a credential so I could just walk in instead of waiting in line like everybody else.

Evidently that’s not the way it works, as I found out when the lady in line behind me began going off on how screwed she’d be if she couldn’t get in. When I asked her what’s up, she told me she was on assignment for the Washington Post. A few minutes none other than NBC’s Lisa Meyers walked up, and she was told she would have to wait in line like everyone else. Behind her was a court artist — from the angle of the N&R’s front-page illustration, it may have been Tim Rickard, but I don’t know.

After consulting with Judge Catherine Eagles, the clerk let us to take seats facing the jury, and we were explicitly directed by Judge Eagles not to make eye contact. Young testified throughout the day. Fascinating stuff. What struck me was his story of attending a trial lawyers’ conference in Asheville with Edwards, Hunter and Edwards’ best friend and law partner David Kirby. After dinner and drinks, they retreated to Edwards’ suite at the Grove Park Inn, where Young testified that Edwards and Hunter cuddled on the couch.

When they left the suite, Kirby turned to Young and asked “WTF?” (Young said it out on the stand), to which Young replied “he’s your friend, you know him better than I do.”

Better one man ask that question than the entire country, should Edwards have become president, or vice president for that matter.