Should John Edwards Stay In Or Get Out?
The decision by John Edwards to stay in the Presidential race, despite his wife’s ilnness brings perspectives that cover every range of the emotional spectrum.
In a cynical society, there are some who view Edwards move as a way to garner votes, with some people expressing sympathy for his wife’s courage in the face of incurable cancer. Others see Edwards as doing the right thing - battling on for his dream with his sick wife by his side. And there are those who feel that his rightful place is with his family, and that political ambition should be tossed aside.
And then, I heard John Edward’s unusual and controversial assessment, suggesting that people shouldn’t support him out of sympathy for his wife. That statement bothered me. Whether you respect Edwards or not, the statement was most unusual. Was it a genuine plea and why would he suggest it at this early date? In a sense, he was addressing an issue of voter preference and how a terminal illness might affect it. If he believes that their medical crisis should not sway voters, why did he bring it up?
Am I making sense here? You let me know.
In the meantime, I’m puzzled by the way the Edwards family has handled this. On one hand, I admire their courage. On the other hand, the handling of the whole situation by John and Elizabeth Edwards has a certain odd feeling surrounding it. The feeling is that the public, all of us, want to respect their privacy. But the couple, by their public declarations, have insured that privacy is out of the question during a political campaign.
In the meantime, our prayers and best wishes go out to Elizabeth Edwards.
I also wondered why he brought up the sympathy issue if he didn’t want people to factor it into their decisions.
They’re going to have a more difficult time campaigning now because most of the stories will mention Mrs. Edwards’ illness. She may end up being better known for her illness than for being the candidate’s wife.
Hmmmmm… Clearly, the ONLY reason that it was mentioned was to amke it a consideration (in favor of Mr. Edwrds) in the upcoming campaign. The man is a POLITICIAN - they do not make moves like he made for no reason, and his was designed to GET the sympathy vote, despite what his words say. If his intent was to go on, then just go on without qualification for the action (yes, my wife is ill, however, I am running for President, not her, and her illness and treatment are not matters for the public forum - end of discussion).
It’s a tough call for me. While I feel sympathetic to their situation, I can’t help but feeling there are some ways Edwards is using the situation to his advantage to get votes. From the moment the announcement came, I honestly expected him to at least subtly use his wife’s illness for more votes.