Rielle Hunter

Nobodies Turned Political Stars

Candidates will try hard to keep their extramarital exploits a secret, but there's a long list of "other women" who've ended up in the glare.

Example: Rielle Hunter. The mistress to John Edwards during his unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination in 2008 is just one of the latest to resist, and later embrace, the public attention.

After initially hiding out, she went on Oprah Winfrey's show and posed for photos for GQ. Now she's on the witness list at Edwards' ongoing trial.

(AP Photo)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

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Nobodies Turned ... Forget reality TV.
The presidential campaign could be just the ticket from nowhere to notoriety.
It can be done with a heartfelt story. An off-hand remark. Or simply by having a distant connection to someone who's Somebody.
Here's a look at few people who went from being relative nobodies to political stars.

(AP Photos)

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Sandra Fluke Sandra Fluke was just another outspoken college student before her defense of insurance coverage for birth control drew biting ridicule from conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh and then a sympathetic phone call from the president.
Now she's got more than 35,000 Twitter followers.

(AP Photo)

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Joe the Plumber Joe the Plumber, aka Samuel Wurzelbacher, is the Ohio worker who rocketed to the center of the 2008 presidential campaign after John McCain decided to play up his encounter with candidate Barack Obama over taxes.
A poll at the height of the campaign found 84 percent of Americans knew that Joe the Plumber was campaigning for McCain.
Now he's running for Congress.

(AP Photo)

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Mercede Johnston How about Mercede Johnston?
Say who?
Sarah Palin's daughter's ex-fiance's little sister (at center) managed to parlay her tangential connection to the 2008 race into a four-page photo spread in Playboy last year in which she said the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate "screwed my whole family up."
No, it doesn't take much to claim at least a fleeting moment of political fame — for good or ill.

(AP Photo)

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Winifred Skinner Winifred Skinner: The 79-year-old great-grandmother met Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore when he was campaigning in Iowa in 2000 and told him that she collected soda cans to help pay for her heart medication and other prescription drugs.
Gore liked her story so much he brought her to his debate with George W. Bush in Boston, and mentioned her twice.
Soon her life was under a microscope, with critics questioning why she didn't get more help from her well-off son.

(AP Photo)

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Hilary Rosen Hilary Rosen: The Democratic consultant was just another talking head on cable TV until she questioned Ann Romney's standing to talk about the economic challenges facing women, saying the GOP candidate's wife had "never worked a day in her life."
Republicans seized on the dismissive comment and even Barack and Michelle Obama hastened to distance themselves from it.
Rosen apologized. Ann Romney was later overheard calling Rosen's comment an "early birthday present."

(AP Photo)

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Billy Carter Billy Carter, Jimmy Carter's little brother, cultivated the image of a Southern good old boy when Carter ran for president in 1976 and used it to land a job promoting Billy Beer.

(AP File Photo)

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Bristol Palin For good or ill, the Palin and Johnston clans have masterfully leveraged their ties to Sarah Palin into more than a few moments of fame.
Bristol Palin landed a spot on "Dancing With the Stars," among other media gigs.

(AP Photo)

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Bo Obama Candidates know just about any animal is good for some votes. The pets of all recent presidents have achieved minor celebrity status
Example: Bo Obama, the president's Portuguese water dog, has appeared in campaign ads.

(AP Photo)

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Millie Bush George H.W. Bush argued during the 1992 campaign that "my dog Millie knows more about foreign affairs than these two bozos," referring to Democratic nominee Bill Clinton and running mate Gore.
Millie got a book deal.

(AP Photo)

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Rielle Hunter Candidates will try hard to keep their extramarital exploits a secret, but there's a long list of "other women" who've ended up in the glare.
Example: Rielle Hunter. The mistress to John Edwards during his unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination in 2008 is just one of the latest to resist, and later embrace, the public attention.
After initially hiding out, she went on Oprah Winfrey's show and posed for photos for GQ. Now she's on the witness list at Edwards' ongoing trial.

(AP Photo)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Donna Rice Donna Rice is another love interest turned political item.
In 1987, Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart taunted reporters to check up on his conduct after rumors surfaced that he was having an affair.
Soon a photo emerged of Hart sitting on a dock with Rice on his lap near a yacht named Monkey Business.
That ended Hart's campaign.
Rice became a spokesmodel for No Excuses jeans, said she turned down big bucks from Playboy and went on to serve as an advocate for children's online safety.

(AP Photo)

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Willie Horton Candidates trying to look tough on crime love nothing better than to find a new heinous criminal to kick around.
Example: Willie Horton. In 1988, Republican operatives went after Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis with ads displaying a photo of Willie Horton, a convicted murderer who raped a woman while out on weekend furlough under a program that Dukakis had supported as Massachusetts governor.

(AP Photo)

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Debbie the Secre... In 2012, President Barack Obama came up with his own version of Joe the Plumber: Debbie Bosanek, secretary to billionaire Warren Buffet.
Noting that Bosanek pays a higher tax rate than her boss, Obama pushed the "Buffet Rule" in an attempt to levy higher taxes on the wealthy.
In the process, he made Bosanek of sort of tax folk hero for the middle class.
Bosanek, left, talks with Steve Jobs widow Laurene Powell Jobs on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, prior to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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Yogurt Girl: Kol... Sometimes, even a small slipup can do the trick.
When college student Kolbi Zerbest's cup of yogurt splashed the president's pants during his visit to Colorado recently, Obama laughed it off and told Zerbest she had "a good story to tell."
She did — on the "Today" show.

(MSNBC Morning Joe)

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Up-and-Coming Po... Click here to see the Republicans and Democrats to watch.