It seems like everybody has an opinion about John Edwards’ decision to keep running for the Democratic presidential nomination despite his wife’s cancer comeback. Many, including lots of conservative Republicans, praise their determination. Some think it’s selfish or strange not to refocus their lives on her health and their young kids. But few could criticize the admirable grace and strength both John and Elizabeth Edwards showedon "60 Minutes" Sunday (see CBS photo), even though her breast cancer has metastasized not only to a rib but also, they newly revealed, to a "hot spot" in her right hip. She said, persuasively, "If I had given up everything that my life was about — first of all, I’d let cancer win before it needed to."
They certainly invite scrutiny by doing "60 Minutes" and remaining on the trail, but it seems strange that so many are so willing to pass judgment on this family’s painful choice and so quick to boil it down to what it means politically.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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28 Comments
Ain’t noboby’s business but their’s.
I watched Elizabeth Edwards on CSPAN. She has quite a sense of humor about her situation. She also evoked passion where it was necessary and common sense when it was appropriate.
She’s a brave woman and is to be admired.
Dear Republican,
I aggree. I know what it’s like to have someone very close with cancer. God Bless them for continuing to go after their dream!
I can only imagine what it might be like to bear this burden in the public eye.
I thought Couric was rude and insensitive. I wonder if she would get a pass if she worked for FNN instead of CBS.
Hank
“Some think it’s selfish or strange not to refocus their lives on her health and their young kids”
Who would these “some” be? Strangely, not cited.
Rude and insensitive? May be a matter of perception.
Her late husband, Jay Monohan, died from colon cancer in 1998
Republican,Hank,
For all our disagreements in other threads, I very happy to report we’re all in perfect agreement on this issue. Even with regard to Couric.
Well if he doesn’t run and she dies then he is a jobless man without a wife. But he should focus his life on his wife and kids. he should run but not all die hard must win must win. He’d never be able to make up his lost time if she did pass away. HE SHOULD RUN BUT NOT EXPECT TO WIN. its a judge ment call
Before last Wednesday’s announcement the right-wingnut website politico.com “scooped” everyone by announcing that Edwards was ending his campaign.
All of a sudden the Republicans came out of the woodwork and snarked that Edwards proved his “wimpness” (some used the tern “faggot”) by dropping out. “How can he be expected to respond in a crisis?” they snarled. (As if Edwards might night have the moral fiber to sit like a deer in the headlights and pretend to listen to “My Pet Goat.)
Then the *real* announcement. All of a sudden the politico.com snarkers (some of the same ones, even) started railing about how Edwards is somehow so cold-hearted and power-hungry he’s turning his back on his family to run for the White House.
John and Elizabeth (and I give a lot of credit to Elizabeth) Edwards seem to be people who are comfortable in their own skins. They are who they appear to be and seem to be offering themselves to Americans as leaders who will lead in the direction they think people want America to go.
As I watch John (nee Straight Talk) McCain pander to Jerry Falwell; and see Rudy Guiliani’s latter-day conversion to join the NRA; and Mitt Romney sneer at the very people of Massachussets who elected him back when he claimed to be pro-gay-rights, pro-choice, when (he now says) he only said it to get elected…yes, and Hillary’s vote for Iraq, and Barak Obama’s potential as a form-over-substance candidate (I still am inspired by Obama’s vision for America and think he’d probably be a great President; I just have an itch for a bit more seasoning)…
But John and Elizabeth Edwards strike me as the kinds of people I’ve wished all my life were the voice of the Free World. They *get* it, what most Americans think about America and the world and the government and society.
My grandmother used to tell me about FDR’s Fireside Chats. She knew he was a rich guy, part of the New York elite…but he *got* it; that traditional “the business of America is business” Republicanism had lost touch with what most people were experiencing.
My mom talks about Eisenhower, how his presidency was founded on making conservativism work for a living. His efforts were subverted by radical rights such as McCarthy and Taft, but there was an effort on Ike’s part to make the logistics of a superpower work as effectively as D-Day.
As much as current Republicans love to refer back to Ronald Reagan, their true roots go back to the psychotic imperial presidency of Richard Milhous Nixon.
Nixon said, “If the President does it, it’s not a crime.” And Nixon-ites such as Cheney, Rumsfeld, Fielding, et al still believe it.
I grew up a Republican because I read that the first Republican President believed that government *of,* and *for,* and *by* the people “should not perish from the earth. I’ve become a liberal — and, so, condemned by most Republicans — because they’ve chosen to advocate government of the corporations, by the fat cats, and for their political cronies.
The more I know about John and Elizabeth Edwards, the more I’m conviced they represent my better angels.
I am about opposed to a John Edward Presidency as one can get. However, Whatever their decision is up to them, and they should be given encouragement and strength to carry out that decision. Who knows what decision anybody would make in that posiiton? I cannot say, nor can anyone else, really. SO for all the pundits and talking mouths on both sides, just shut up and give them the dignity that they deserve, regardless of your political affiliation.
“…just shut up and give them the dignity that they deserve, regardless of your political affiliation.”
Dignity? They went on 60 Minutes.
Okay. They went on 60 minutes. Not my personal choice, but they are already public figures. For better or worse, in todays world, every single facet of a public figure’s life is scrutinized by others. If it’s going to happen, best to be part of the process and be open about it and try to tell your own story, rather than somebody else with an agenda. Does that mean they don;t? Of course they do, otherwise he wouldn;t be running for President. To try and use this situation to mar them and make them seem somehow unsuitable for office is still reprehensible.
“To try and use this situation to mar them and make them seem somehow unsuitable for office is still reprehensible.”
I’m still waiting for anyone to be identified as saying anything but nice things about them.
Right now I am supporting John Edwards for President although I also like Bill Richardson. That said, if there comes a time where his family needs his time more, I would expect him to be the decent man he is and curtail or even suspend his campaign. He is not a Republican and will not leave his dying wife and run to divorce court while she is in the hospital like Republicans do. And also “conservative Republicans” don’t give a damn about Elizabeth Edwards anymore than they give a damn about anybody but themselves. They have no compassion because they have no souls.
I realize that their choice is their’s alone to make. However it seems selfish to burn up a year of time stumping for the White House which he has no chance of winning. My opinion is that she needs to spend what time she can with her kids. Nothing is more important in life than your kids.
Wey, not really sure you have any opinion in this matter. how they conduct their life is entirely up to them.
dennis-Tell it to kev. He has lots of opinions.
Gee – “grace” just took on a whole new meaning.
If one parades their terminal spouse around the grounds where they were first married….using her illness for not only a photo-op, but for sympathetic, martyrdom purposes….it’s now called grace.
Good to know.
….using her illness for not only a photo-op, but for sympathetic, martyrdom purposes
GSheridan, You’re a sicko!!!!!!
WRONG! It is everybodies business. If you want privacy, don’t call press conferences and don’t go on 60 minutes and don’t present it as a campaign asset, trying to connect to others who have had similar experiences.
There are several steps in the grieving process. I would say Couric is probably close to accurate, denial is the first step. I don’t think that this family is very many steps passed denial.
I have huge sympathy for BOTH of them, primarily because I think they are both clueless about what lies ahead, emotionally.
However, they are not immune to criticizm.
America has a long history of expecting quite a bit out of our First Ladies.
Would Hillary even have a shot now, if not for her prior “Frist Lady” status? Don’t we do exactly what the Clinton’s told us to do? “Buy one get one free” whenever we vote for President?
The health of presidential candidates is always an issue, likewise, the health of Vice Presidents and First Ladies.
The decisions that they make about their health, as far as treatment and such, are private. (Unless they call another news conference about that, anyway.)
However, Liberalism tells us that “It takes a village to raise a child.”
They do have children, don’t they?
We live in a world where the SRS and like agencies, nationwide, DO intrude on family decisions, even if the alleged “neglect” is caused by the ill health of one parent.
The “Village” has lots of opinions on this matter.
Every decent person prays for the family and wishes them the best.
I am glad this is not my decision, that does NOT bind me, or anyone else, to support the decisions that they make!
That would be a terrible choice, become even closer to your children, knowing your passing would affect them only that much more, or continue on as normal, and hope that helps.
On the March 23 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh told listeners that former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) and his wife Elizabeth are “political people [who] are different than you and I.” Referring to the couple’s March 22 announcement that Elizabeth Edwards has Stage IV metastaticbreast cancer, Limbaugh said: “[M]ost people when told a family member, when told a been diagnosed with the kind of cancer Elizabeth Edwards has, they turn to God. The Edwards turned to the campaign . Their religion is politics and the quest for the White house. Limbaugh later asked: “If you’re [Sen.] Barack Obama [D-IL] or Hillary Clinton [Sen.] [D-NY], how do you now attack John Edwards?” Limbaugh added: “Not a problem for Hillary, the Clinton [inaudible] will find a way. But Barack, it’s going to be a challenge.”As Media Matters for America noted, on the March 22 broadcast of his show, Limbaugh suggested that the Edwards presidential campaign intentionally “leak[ed]” false information—that Edwards would “suspend” his campaign because his wife’s cancer had recurred—to Politico reporter Ben Smith in order “to jump-start the campaign.”
Sounds like what I would expect from dopehead Rush. In his drug-addled “brain” (sic) anyone to the left of him is evil.
I suppose Rush would have supported Edwards if he had done the Repuke way – divorce her while she was in the hospital!
THAT would be Rush/Repuke family values!
You can bash Rush if you want, but he has a point. The others will be reluctant to attack him, he will get a certain sympathy vote from the same voters that vote for a candidate because he’s cute, or she’s pretty, and not for what they stand for. Personally, if it was me I’d want to stay home and be with family during this time of crisis, and not be parading around the country exposing my wife to every ailment out there while she’s in a weakened condition, so I can act brave and presidential. Having been diagnosed with stomach cancer myself I can say that I will pray for her recovery because even if I disagree her and her husbands politics I respect their humanity.
Looking at a somewhat similar situation I think that Tony Snow should not be expected to ‘hide’ because of his health. Based on what I know about his metasticized colon cancer he should be free to pursue his ‘agenda’ for as long as he feels up to it.
On the other hand, if he chose to spend his last days sky-diving then again more power to him.
The choice is and should be his.
“And also “conservative Republicans” don’t give a damn about Elizabeth Edwards anymore than they give a damn about anybody but themselves. They have no compassion because they have no souls.Posted by: Kev | March 26, 2007 at 04:11 PM ”
You guys are amazing…….
No Sanford, you sir are the amazing one, to make such statement shows how shallow and unfeeling you are. I’d bet you’re single, no one could live with someone so pompous and dispicable.
This is how one conservative was treated at the time of her death:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,261916,00.html
Despicable, truly despicable. Paul, I agree with you 100%