National Enquirer editor David Perel has stated repeatedly that he won't let other media outlets dictate the flow of the John Edwards story his tabloid has been aggressively pursuing since October. (His refrain: "We're working on our timetable.") With the Democratic National Convention in Denver just two weeks away, however, details of that timetable appear to be crystallizing. "It took seven months to go from the December story to the [Beverly Hilton] meeting....But if it happens to be a happy coincidence—if the story just happens to be breaking around that time, in terms of maximum exposure—" he told the National Review before cutting himself off mid-sentence.

Perel says he's releasing new information regarding the saga as it comes to his attention—"The reporting takes however long it takes"—but his strategy is far more calculating. The Enquirer first announced that its reporters had busted Edwards visiting his mistress (do we even need to preface it with "alleged" anymore? [Yes. Alleged mistress. --Ed.]) Rielle Hunter and illegitimate baby daughter at the Beverly Hilton back on July 22nd. (Fox News corroborated the story three days later.) Rather than kowtow to mainstream media clamoring and release photos of the encounter, he instead published a report the following week that Hunter and the self-anointed baby's father Andrew Young had been receiving thousands of dollars in hush money each month from an anonymous Edwards supporter. It wasn't until yesterday—more than two weeks after the initial report—that he released one of the photos he's claimed to have all along.

Perel has been vague enough regarding the specifics of the "spy photo" that he won't convince any detractors, but it's likely that he's simply biding his time and waiting for a response from the Edwards camp before he makes his next play. (He also won't say if he has other, more definitively incriminating photos, but it seems he does.) And while the major dailies have yet to take notice, other key players have. "If there is not an explanation that's satisfactory, acceptable and meets high moral standards, the answer is 'no,' he would not be a prime candidate to make a major address to the convention," Don Fowler, a former Democratic National Committee chair, tells the Charlotte Observer.

Fine tabloid journalism by the Enquirer, but even better PR management by Perel.