Agence France Presse -- English
03-23-07
Cancer throws Edwards's White House bid into turmoil
BYLINE: Stephen Collinson
Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards has borne personal tragedy
before, but his latest heartache over the cancer haunting his wife has drawn a
dark cloud over his White House dreams.
Edwards announced Thursday that Elizabeth Edwards's breast cancer had
returned, spread to a rib, and was incurable, but vowed "the campaign goes on"
for the party's 2008 nomination.
The grim revelation threw another intangible into the party's intriguing presidential
field. It was also the latest twist in a political crusade Edwards was inspired to
launch after the tragic death of his teenage son in 1996.
Political analysts were divided on how the crisis would impact the Democratic
race, which has Edwards in a leading troika of candidates, polling just behind
senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Edwards, 53, has pinned his hopes on grabbing momentum from a strong
showing in the first party nominating contest in the Midwestern state of Iowa, next
January.
Stephen Schmidt, professor of politics at Iowa State University, said two
strands of opinion had emerged among political analysts, donors and operatives
in the state since the announcement.
While no one would want to be seen making hay out of a health scare, he said,
Edwards campaigners could paint their man as showing courage in a crisis.
"He has the capacity of making a hard decision like this and making it quickly,
and make it without waffling and wavering -- that kind of leadership is admirable,"
said Schmidt.
But some Iowa Democratic financial donors were saying that "this is a serious
illness, even if he gets elected president, it is going to be a huge strain and drain
on him, it is going to be distracting."
As he deals with his wife's relapse, Edwards must also fight a growing
impression he is falling behind front-runners Clinton and Obama.
"It can't help but have an impact," said Andrew Smith, professor of political
science at the University of New Hampshire, another key early voting state.
Top political operatives may now hesitate before joining the Edwards campaign
fearing it would fold before long, Smith added, and pointed to the crucial race for
millions of dollars in campaign cash.
"It makes a problem for fundraising too," he said. "People tend to back a
candidate who people think (is) going to win."
Edwards must also balance the exhausting grind of the campaign trail with a
desire to be by his wife's side.
Voters in states like Iowa and New Hampshire have high demands of candidates,
requiring them to make repeated trips to small towns, coffee shops, diners and
even their living rooms. No one with serious designs on the White House can
afford to stay away too long.
Professor Jamie McKown, of the College of the Atlantic in Maine, said the
personal pain endured by the Edwards family, with the death of 16-year-old son
Wade in a car crash, and Elizabeth's first bout with breast cancer in 2004, may
help them in their new crisis.
"If there is any candidate out there who probably could manage to
compartmentalize the stress of worrying about his wife with at the same time his
commitment to what he is doing, it would be John Edwards."
Edwards said his wife's cancer had spread from her breast to a rib, and could not
be cured, though it could be treated.
The campaign had to go on, Elizabeth Edwards said, because "there's nobody
who's offering people of this country a more positive and delineated vision."
"It's important that the American people have the opportunity to have a president
like him."
Edwards, the 2004 defeated Democratic vice presidential nominee, is a multimillionaire former trial lawyer, with folksy southern-style political skills.
After his failed run for the White House, Edwards tacked left, emerging as a
champion of American workers who feel dispossessed by the flight of blue-collar
jobs abroad.