Elizabeth Edwards, the Woman of the Century

Courage comes in many forms that some would call heroic and yet others would willingly argue the act portrayed was not courage but simple human emotion gone haywire. One can not explain why one man would toss himself onto the tracks of an inbound train to save a complete strangers life other than he just did what he felt was right. Then again in the same thought pattern you can never truly understand why the six Worcester, MA firefighters lost their lives trying to save what was thought to be homeless people supposedly still in the Cold Storage building fire not long ago. They were firefighters and that is what they do for their fellow man.

In both of the cases I’ve sited the individuals choose a road much higher and greater than the normal every day person would have. Self preservation would have been the normal attribute associated. In the case of the New York man diving to the rails to cover a fellow rider suffering a seizure there were many other people waiting for the same train and yet he alone let go of his children’s hands to save another’s persons life. The firefighters of Worcester knew the building was close to collapse and yet each of them knew there was still hope to save a life and walked into the heart and soul of Worcester’s history by paying the ultimate price as firefighters.

Elizabeth Edwards, with her second battle with cancer just on the horizon reminds me that some things in this life are bigger than oneself. She has the courage of her convictions and I could honestly picture her diving onto the tracks of an oncoming train or racing into a burning building if America’s future were at risk. Her personal and honest belief in her husband’s ability based on what he can do for America as President is that strong.

Ready for Another Tough Campaign
Her Cancer Back, Elizabeth Edwards Remains Open and Upbeat
By Lynne Duke and Lois Romano
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 23, 2007

Not once did the shadow of fear cross her face. Elizabeth Edwards stood before the nation, a graceful fighter steeled for personal tragedy again. The cancer is back and in her bones, a lung and possibly elsewhere. The news seemed worse than bad. Yet Edwards conveyed no hint of being hobbled by an incurable cancer. Self-pity was nowhere on the scene.

Snip

A staunch advocate for her husband’s campaign and his closest adviser, she made clear yesterday she wanted her husband to continue campaigning because “it’s unbelievably important that we get his election right. And in my view, there’s nobody who’s offering people in this country a more positive and delineated vision about where we can go than John.”

“Of course” John Edwards would have offered to suspend his campaign, says Chris Downey, the former wife of former Rep. Tom Downey, who befriended the Edwardses when they first came to Washington, “because he cherishes her. He cherishes his family. That’s what he would do. He would stop everything.”

But Downey and other friends say it would be Elizabeth’s way to insist that her husband campaign on.

“Quite frankly, I suspect she was the one to say, ‘Don’t suspend the campaign.’ She is not a quitter,” said Debbie Dingell, a friend of Edwards. “She wouldn’t think of it. They are a total team. She’s sensitive to people, trends and political situations in a unique way. She is a very strong and a very decent woman.”

Edwards has long been the center of her husband’s world, the one whose advice he has always sought and for whom who he would practice his opening statements before a trial, said Bonnie Weyher, a friend from law school. She recalls a well-told story about Edwards having to make a split-second legal decision during a trial and looking to his wife in the gallery for her nod.

During the 2004 presidential race, Elizabeth Edwards almost always traveled with her husband, and aides knew she was the ultimate gatekeeper and her husband’s closest adviser. She sat in on every debate practice and “not as a cheerleader,” said one person involved in that campaign.“She was very well versed in all the issues and had no trouble telling him, ‘That was an awful answer,’ ” the source said. “He clearly relied on her heavily.” – The Washington Post

I’m finding that the more I hear of John and Elizabeth Edwards the more I believe that behind every great man is an even greater woman propping him up. I’m not saying that Mr. Edwards would be a lump of babbling political flesh without her support but she is the steel supports of his platform. She is the driving force of the Edwards campaign.

John Edwards first instinct upon hearing of her cancer was I’m sure to shut down his campaign for President and gather his family around the mother of his children to support her and be there for her during the toughest battle the human mind and body will ever face. That would be the simplest path to take and Elizabeth Edwards will never take that route and what more she will never allow the love of her life do so either.

John Edwards is facing an amazing and complex situation in his life and yet he has the greatest asset bar none that supports him for the greater good. His wife could have been selfish, self centered and cowering in the face of her Cancer and yet she is willing to go full steam ahead for him. I honestly admire them as a couple and my heart felt prayers are with them both through what will be a very difficult road to travel.

Elizabeth Edwards has redefined courage in a new way that defies logic until you really sit down and think about it. She alone has shown us all through her actions that even in the facing of ones own mortality you must still stand strong in support and defense of what you believe to be the best path for your nation. This my GTL friends is a very amazing woman and her husband has been blessed to be able to say that she is my friend, my best friend, and my wife.

God Bless you and your family Elizabeth Edwards. My personal best wishes for your own personal campaign against Cancer and with the political campaign of your husbands.

Papamoka

Cross Posted at The Gun Toting Liberal

Other people discussing this story…

Our good friend Steve Soto over at The Left Coaster has this to say… The best case scenario, given the fact that they saw a need for a press conference and cancelled an event earlier today is that Edwards sees a need to put the campaign on a hiatus in the coming weeks and months while they deal with whatever medical challenge she now faces. The worst case scenario is that she is facing a setback and, well, the campaign then becomes an afterthought.

Say your prayers tonight for the Edwards family.

Our good friend Joe Gandelman over at The Moderate Voice has this to say… John Edwards’ dramatic press conference announcing that his wife Elizabeth’s dreaded breast cancer had returned, but that the couple decided he should press on with the campaign anyway, truly seemed the real thing. It was a moment in Presidential campaign 2008 — which actually begun about a milli-second after the calender changed to 2007 — that transcended politics.

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