WILL FORMER presidential candidate John Edwards publicly acknowledge that he is the father of his former mistress' baby?

Did first lady Michelle Obama really get annoyed at the future president's reaction after women reportedly grabbed the future president's backside when he was on the campaign trail?

Yeah, I want to know. I'm a sucker for tell-all books and the behind-the-scenes dramas of politicians and celebrities as much as anyone.

I have my limits, though.

And actress Mackenzie Phillips has crashed smack-dab up against them with her sit-down with Oprah to talk about her longtime sexual relationship with her late father, John Phillips, of the 1960s band the Mamas and the Papas. Did we really need to know this?

In her memoir, "High on Arrival," Phillips gives me the sickest feeling. She claims their sexual activity started the night before her first wedding when a drugged-out Phillips woke up to find her father having sex with her. There's no word for this but "ick."

It's such a sordid allegation.

Sadder still is Phillips' compulsion to go on national TV to promote her story. What's next on her media tour? A chat with CNN's Larry King?

There's something seedy about the way Phillips is promoting her autobiography and telling her story. She should be on a therapist's couch. Scratch that . . . there wouldn't be any cameras there, so that wouldn't work.

Besides, this is what we do these days after something horrific happens to us. We write a book and head for TV.

Just like with the politicos, there's an insatiable public appetite for celebrity tell-alls. Nothing's off limits. It's dish, baby, dish.

There can be an upside when people speak out the way Phillips is. Some victim somewhere might be inspired to deal with her own issues.

Most of us, though, just stop and gawk. Who's on the hot seat today? Who might it be tomorrow? Was Edwards really going to marry Rielle Hunter on a New York rooftop with the Dave Matthews band playing, once his wife died?

I question how far along Phillips is in the recovery process and what she hopes to gain other than a public catharsis. A boatload of book sales can't really be worth this. Nor could any reality-show deals that may come out of her newfound notoriety.

"My father was not a man with boundaries. He was full of love, and he was sick with drugs." Someone needs to tell her that when your parent crosses sexual boundaries with you, that's not love.

I haven't read Phillips' book yet, but I suspect it's a window into the lives of a disturbing, dysfunctional family. What happened was rape. People completely stoned out on drugs can't consent.

What Phillips experienced was physical and emotional abuse made worse because it was at the hands of the very man whose chief role in life was to protect her - not exploit her.

Phillips may not fully comprehend that yet. But this is her problem to work out - preferably off camera. T.M.I. already.

Send e-mail to heyjen@phillynews.com. My blog: http://go.philly.com/heyjen.