John Edwards: ‘The campaign goes on, goes on strongly’

March 22, 2007

In politics, it’s inevitable that public figures will have supporters and detractors. It’s just the nature of political interaction — people will react to high-profile figures in different ways.

Elizabeth Edwards doesn’t fit into this mold at all. Everyone — literally, everyone — who knows her, speaks with her, or has any kind of interaction with her almost instantly loves her. She is so widely adored, I know people who went to work for the former senator’s campaign only after having been impressed with his wife.

It’s why today’s news is disappointing, but not as tragic as it could have been. The Edwardses announced this afternoon that Elizabeth’s cancer has returned. She’s asymptomatic and the cancer is confined to the bone, but it’s not curable.

On the other hand, the news is not entirely discouraging. There’s a minimal amount of cancer in her body, and it’s fully treatable. The couple compared it to diabetes — an ailment that doesn’t go away, but with which a person can live a normal life for many years.

There’s been a great deal of speculation about the future of Edwards’ political campaign. Asked about his plans, the former senator said, “The campaign goes on, goes on strongly.” He said he’d leave the campaign trail if his wife needed him, but otherwise, nothing has changed.

Similarly, Elizabeth said her schedule won’t change either. She’ll be seeing her doctor more often and will undergo some treatment, but she said her schedule for next week will be just like her schedule from last week.

All in all, it sounds like fairly encouraging news for the Edwards family. Obviously, the return of her cancer is awful, but it appears that everyone is optimistic about the future.

We wish her the very best. She’s a very classy lady.

  • And some wingnut from hell will accuse Edwards of “milking” his wife’s “alleged” cancer in ten, nine, eight…

  • Memo to Hagel: THAT’s why you call a press conference you twit.

    Among the many things I like about John Edwards is his frankness. When that’s mixed with obvious compassion and personal strength, it’s unbeataable. All the best, Elizabeth. You both continue to show America “how it’s done” by grownups. Bravo!

  • Anybody else think this was a little unseemly for a joint press conference? I think Elizabeth enough of a public figure to do her own press release on her condition without turning it into a campaign event – since it didn’t mitigate the campaign. which was everyone’s fear.

    I am really happy for the good news on both fronts, but I feel a wee bit manipulated in a way that doesn’t feel comfortable.

  • I didn’t state my last idea very well.

    What I meant is that because of the buildup, everyone feared the worst about Elizabeth’s condition and prognosis, and that the joint press conference announcement indicated that John might announce that his campaign was suspended or ended.

    Otherwise, why not Elizabeth issuing a press release yesterday on her medical condition with a few words from John and the campaign?

  • You feel manipulated? Good luck with any candidate living up to your lofty standards, colonpowwow! You would have had her do a stand alone announcement without her husband by her side? Yeah, that would have gone over real well. Maybe it would work for a Republican, but Edwards would have been crucified in the press if he had let his wife make such an announcement by herself.

  • colonpowpow, I’m betting they weren’t sure this was going to be their announcement at first. That news hits you like a ton of bricks and I suspect they had some intense discussion and soul-searching. I love Elizabeth, and I really hope it is true for her that she lives many more years. That said, my sister died of breast cancer just short of two years after it spread to her bones, and so did Molly Ivins. But what the Edwards said is what doctors tell you and you try to believe. If I believed in praying, I would pray for her, though.

  • Thanks for your clarification colonpowwow, I thought for a minute there you’d joined the dark side. Now I at least understand where you’re coming from. My guess is that Elizabeth is that Elizabeth saw an opportunity to turn a potential negative into a positive. It could be manipulation or just political savvy.

  • She has the cancer, he has the campaign – since one could clearly affect the other, a joint appearance made sense. Would it have been better for her to answer questions about her husband’s campaign, or answer with, “you’ll have to talk to John?” Would it have been better for people to wonder why he wasn’t at her side?

    She is a classy individual, and I wish both of them the best.

  • Well, I asked if anyone else felt any of the same things I did.

    Well, Doubting Thomas, I guess that you didn’t feel the same way I did, and that gave you the compassion to launch a personal attack.

    I guess how something strikes me personally is less valid than how it strikes you – and makes me a Republican somehow.

    Peace, my brother. BTW, I’ve been active in the Democratic Party for around forty years, have worked on a number of campaigns in Milwaukee, my old hometown, and I think Edwards is an outstanding candidate.

  • Oops, Doubting – Bedford, Indiana, where I live has not joined the jet age yet and I am on dialup. Therefore, our last two messages crossed.

    I’m cool with your explanation and all. We are definitely on the same side politically.

    Your friend,

  • I join others in wishing Elizabeth, John and their family the best. Cancer is just so nasty, and optimistic diagnoses are too often wrong.

    I think their statements showed a great deal of sincerity and humanity. Like him or not, Edwards and his family have been through a lot, and I do think that gives him a more personal insight into average Americans lot in life. He’s wealthy, but he knows that wealth is no insurance against a disease like cancer.

    And speaking of insurance, I hope Americans understand that as bad as cancer is, it can also bankrupt the victim and his family.

    I agree that Elizabeth Edwards is a genuine and likable woman, a plus for the Edwards campaign. Frankly, I like Tipper more than Al.

  • Sounds like they have a reasonable plan. Hope that there really is reason for the optimism they’ve expressed.

  • I, too, wish Elizabeth Edwards the best in her battle with breast cancer and John, her husband, the best in his presidential campaign and being a loving, supportive husband to Elizabeth.

    I know, from personal experience, the anxiety and true love needed to combat this disease–my wife of nearly 33 years, too, is a two-time breast cancer survivor with the first occurrence in February 1986 and a minor recurrence in April 2003. Those who truly love each other stick together through all kinds of trauma, not like some Republican presidential hopefuls we know who abandon their wives at the first signs of disease. May the Edwards have many years of life and love together and in service to their fellow Americans.

  • Fanfic: Obama sits down with John and Elizabeth and after expressing his sympathy for their situation, tells them that he often thought that the two of them might end up running together, that he would be proud to be on the same team. Then suggests that they both continue their presidential runs through the debates because they both have things to say and can use the campaign and debates to bring their ideas to the American people. But given how the press feeds off people, it could get to the point where the chatter becomes something along the line that John won’t be able to focus if Elizabeth gets ill. If it gets to that point, Barack—expressing his understanding that John wouldn’t want to be stuck in a VP campaign slot again after the horror of last time—tells John that if this drags his campaign down to the point of being not viable, that he’d love to have him as a running mate, and as a very active vice president (albeit not in the Cheney mode). Public concern over John’s ability to focus would be considerably eased, and they could both pour themselves into the campaign, a perfect storm of political charisma.

    Remember where you heard it first.

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