Poopy diaper may pin the lovechild on John Edwards

The ultra-reliable TMZ ("John Edwards in Deep DNA Doo-Doo") points us to a stunning New York Daily News report.

Nov. 4 was supposed to be his day. Instead, Tuesday found former presidential candidate John Edwards lying low - with the stench of his extramarital affair still clinging to him.

Even though he admitted cheating with campaign staffer Rielle Hunter (top), The National Enquirer wants to prove he's the father of Hunter's baby. How? We hear that, on the night they caught Edwards visiting Hunter and child at a Beverly Hills hotel, Enquirer reporters grabbed one of the baby's poopy diapers.

Now, say sources, intrepid Enquirer editor David Perel hopes to compare the infant's stinky DNA with that of Edwards, who has denied paternity. "All they need is a cup he drank from," an insider tells us.

"I will neither confirm nor deny possession of a dirty diaper," Perel said dryly. "But I would like to do a DNA test."

The new Enquirer reports that Hunter "is writing a tell-all book now that the man who has been funneling cash to her has died." Before his death last month, Edwards' former national finance chairman, Fred Baron, confirmed he had been sending money to Hunter - reportedly as much as $15,000 a month. Now that Baron is gone, Hunter is worried that the "hush money" will dry up, according The Enquirer.

Hunter and Edwards couldn't be reached for comment. But The Enquirer quotes an insider as saying, "Rielle views the book as her personal insurance policy."

Meanwhile, though cancer-stricken Elizabeth Edwards has not been wearing her wedding ring, sources say she has not decided to divorce her husband.

The most deranged soap-opera writer on Earth couldn't make this s*** up.