Thursday, March 22, 2007

It's a low blow, I know, but I figure once a guy makes that decision to dump his cancer-stricken wife, he's fair game.

Anyway, as you may have heard, John Edwards is expected to make a major announcement about his campaign today, related to his wife's health. As my astute colleague Adam Reilly observed last August in a feature on Edwards, Elizabeth is a "major asset" on the campaign trail. Not only is she terrific connecting to people, but his obvious devotion to her helps strip away his surface image as a too-slick, too-charming, too-handsome weaselly Southern lawyer.

Elizabeth successfully battled breast cancer after the 2004 election. The speculation is that it has returned, and that Edwards will either drop out of the Presidential race or indefinitely suspend his campaign while they tend to her health. If it's the latter, the real significance (politically, that is) will be found in the wording, both publicly and privately, by which he conveys this to his very impressive and devoted infrastructure of supporters. He'll be signalling to them whether he expects them to stick with him, or whether he is effectively releasing them to choose other candidates.

Update: Elizabeth Edwards has cancer in her rib, but the campaign will not be suspended. They've just wrapped up their press conference (in which they demonstrated again what a super-likeable couple they are).

3/22/2007 7:54:44 AM by David S. Bernstein | Comments [5] |