Posted on 03/23/2007 1:17:08 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
John and Elizabeth Edwards stood side-by-side in the North Carolina sunshine to announce that her cancer was back and that his run for the presidency would go forward at full speed. It was a sympathetic tableau that drew an immediate outpouring of well wishes from people of all political persuasions.
"You can cower in the corner and hide or you can be tough and go out there and stand up for what you believe in," Edwards said. His wife said her illness was a hurdle they would surmount together.
That sort of can-do optimism in a grim and unavoidable situation may well bring short-term benefits to a campaign trying to keep up with Democratic heavy-hitters Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. But the longer-term political ramifications of his pursuing the presidency during her health crisis are unknown, and could well hinge on Mrs. Edwards' health.
If Mrs. Edwards is able to campaign at his side with energy and vigor, there could well be a positive reaction to the resolute candidate and his wife, who press forward despite adversity. Millions of Americans themselves have faced cancer or know someone who has, and can identify with their challenge.
"It makes him real," said Democratic strategist Dane Strother. "It makes her real."
Still, Mrs. Edwards' illness injects a new element of uncertainty into the campaign, and political calculations could quickly change should her condition worsen significantly.
Already, there was a foreshadowing of that in critics' blog postings Thursday that questioned whether a presidential campaign is the right place for a man with two small children and a wife with cancer.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews1.iwon.com ...
Sad about his wife, but playing the sympathy card is pretty low. It may help him in the democrat primary but not in the general election. His statement that "enduring this kind of pressure is what it takes to be President" was especially sick. Typical liberal opportunist.
I hope that Mrs. Edwards recovers too, but that's not going to happen. She is apparently in Stage Four, the final stage. She is dying and her husband has shown himself to be the self-centered, soulless, compassionless individual he is. Anyone who cannot be there for his terminally ill wife and his children certainly will not be there for the country in times of crisis. To Breck Girl it's all about himself and how much money and power he can accrue to himself.
This may sound cold, but it would be better for the Edwards family and the country had the announcement been that Breck Girl has terminal cancer and his wife and family were going to be there for him in the little time he has left.
This is going to be very dirty.
I wish Mrs. Edwards the best. It shows that money isnt everything.Moeny wont buy health. I hope she recovers.
If this were me I would retire from politics and help my wife. She needs him at home ,not out on a campaign. The Breck Gorl is young he can run again,if he devoted himself to his wife it would probably help him next time. This is a bad decision for him to make,it will come back to haunt him.
Yes, many of us can identify. We know that cancer along with its treatment, emotions, and fears, is awful. During all this, Mrs. Edwards will have to take care of her two children (with the assumption that her days with the kids are numbered), suffer the agony of cancer, all while standing by her husband and smiling pretty on cue - a husband who is preoccupied with his own ambitions that take him away from the family.
My very lib husband thinks it's wonderful that they (the Edwards) came to a decision that works for them. He thinks the joint decision makes the statement about his character, not that he got her to go along with a choice that was good for himself. Libs are different.
Well, then he can channel her. He seems to be good at that.
Why can't people just say it without having to preface it with platitudes...Edwards should not be running. Edwards should be with his family for this struggle. It is just naked ambition without a rudder.
As her condition, she will become a distraction.
America will not elect a man knowing he will not by his own admission be able to devote full mind to the job.
I hope she has good years left. But I do not understand their desire to stay in this race. It's not like he is a frontrunner. Imagine if you will - he becomes the president, we are at war, another attack on our soil, and Mrs. Edwards condition goes into it's final days - what happens? I swear I think he would hang onto the Oval Office.
It sounds like Ann Coulter was spot on about the Breck girl.
......I feel bad for his wife.....
Why? She is complicit in the scam. She is a lawyer's wife, not exactly an innocent.
My Dad has stage IV cancer. Some people with Stage IV, can live for several years, depending on the type of cancer. It is handled like living with a chronic disease. You are monitored, treated, etc. and the hope is that you can stay alive long enough to be enrolled in a clincial trial (which Bush is cutting funding for and I am very disappointed about, btw) or for a new drug to hit the market.
It's hard to say what you would do or wouldn't do until you are actually in this situation. But Stage IV does not necessarily mean that you drop everything and go on a death watch. Life goes on. For some patients, it is very comforting to have life continue as normal. It sounds like Elizabeth Edwards has always been very involved in politics. It is quite possible that she has encouraged her husband to continue on because she also believes in their cause.
Through my Dad's illness I've become acquainted with a lot of cancer patients and their caregivers. Most caregivers are still working, at least part-time, if they can. And most of the cancer patients totally support their decision to do so. None of us actually know how or why the Edwards family arrived at their decision to continue campaigning so it is useless to speculate.
I certainly don't agree with their politics, but I do offer prayers for the Edwards family on the difficult journey ahead.
i agree with you, i cannot possibly judge them harshly, i had a sisterinlaw die of breast cancer and people cope with such devastating news in different ways. if this is how they need to get through this, who are we to say differently?
Isn't it "brave" of Silky to be tough and continue to pursue HIS goals when it is Elizabeth who is dying?
Because he has brought it to us, so we can say differently. And because if he is to put his whole heart and soul into governing the nation, we do not need him to be distracted.
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