I know it’s a little early to bestow titles like this, but I’m nominating John Edwards as the year’s worst father.

It’s hard to imagine anyone surpassing him for that honor.

Last week, when the disgraced presidential hopeful finally admitted what many people already assumed to be true – that he was the father of Rielle Hunter’s baby, Frances Quinn Hunter – he disgusted a lot more people than he shocked.

In a written statement  (Edwards is too much of a weasel to face the press, having heaped lie upon lie since the National Enquirer first broke the story of his adulterous affair with Hunter during the 2008 presidential campaign) Daddy Dearest said, “I will do everything in my power to provide her with love and support she deserves … It was wrong of me to ever deny she was my daughter and hopefully, one day, when she understands, she will forgive me.”

Hunter’s child is two years old, and perhaps, depending on how Edwards and Hunter decide to work together to raise their daughter, she may emerge relatively unscathed by all this. Thankfully, for her sake, she’s oblivious to the current drama surrounding her parents, which is sure to ratchet up at the end of this week when former campaign aide Andrew Young is scheduled to appear on ABC’s 20/20 to kick off the media tour for his upcoming tell-all book, The Politician. It’s hard to believe there’s much more to tell, but I’ve been told it blows the lid off the Edwards-Hunter story. Reportedly Young, who initially claimed to be the father of Hunter’s baby – allegedly at Edwards’ urging – is set to air some seriously dirty laundry, including revelations that Edwards told him to fake a DNA paternity test.

Read Postcards from Mommywood: Who’s the Boss in This Family?

Unless Tiger Woods, another stellar example of a family man, comes out of hiding, chances are what sordid details that are still to be revealed with the publication of Young’s book will put Edwards back in the headlines for a while. While Edwards can hide out in Haiti (about as cynical a move as one could imagine under the circumstances), his three older children Cate, 27, Emma Claire, 11, and Jack, 9, are left to deal with his mess while sorting out what must surely be a very emotional time for them.  While there  may be some way for Elizabeth Edwards to shield Emma Claire and Jack from some of the fallout from all this, Cate Edwards must fully understand all the ramifications of her father’s actions. I can’t imagine she feels anything else other than completely devastated by his lies.