How the mighty have fallen.

It was just three years ago that former U.S. Sen. John Edwards aspired to be the leader of the free world as he ran for the Democratic Party's 2008 presidential nomination.

Four years earlier, as the 2004 vice presidential candidate on the Democratic Party ticket, Edwards was viewed as a politician with a bright future.

Now Edwards' future is behind him. He stands indicted on federal charges of conspiracy and making false statements in connection with a scheme to use federal campaign funds to keep a sex scandal under wraps. The charges surround Edwards' effort to suppress a political scandal and support his mistress, a campaign worker who gave birth to Edwards' now-3-year-old daughter.

The details are about as tawdry as they come. At the time of his presidential campaign, Edwards prominently cited his relationship with his wife, who was fighting a losing battle with cancer and passed away in December.

According to authorities, Edwards sought financial support from a wealthy benefactor, Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, who contributed more than $3 million to an Edwards campaign committee.

But instead of using the money for his campaign, it was funneled into an expensive effort to keep Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, out of sight. The Edwards campaign also concocted a story that Hunter was pregnant with the child of one of Edwards' married campaign aides.

Suffice it to it say, it was a web of deceit designed to keep the lid on a political scandal of incredible proportions. That, unfortunately, led to a second national embarrassment, the failure of the national news media to pursue rumors of impropriety that were rife in the Edwards' campaign. It took the National Enquirer to report the story, one that effectively forced Edwards out of the presidential campaign and ended his political career.

Edwards long ago was a ruined man politically. Now he faces a felony conviction and the loss of his license to practice law. That's a long way from his grand ambition to hold court in the Oval Office.