Turkish Press, MI
04-06-07
Elizabeth Edwards outruns cancer on US campaign trail
DES MOINES - Stalked by cancer on the campaign trail, Elizabeth Edwards is
emerging as a crusader against the killer disease, in a poignant counterpoint to
husband John's 2008 White House campaign.
As Edwards's second Democratic presidential bid quietly picks up pace, his
wife's refusal to cede to the incurable cancer now in her bones is touching hearts
in way political campaigns seldom do.
Karon Finn, from Crestin, Iowa, sought strength in a boisterous crowd at an
Edwards town-hall meeting in a school gymnasium here, still reeling from her
own breast cancer diagnosis two weeks ago.
Days after emergency surgery, and girding for chemotherapy, Finn travelled 60
miles (96 kilometers) to state capital Des Moines, clutching Elizabeth Edwards's
book "Saving Graces, Finding Solace from Friends and Strangers."
"She is an inspiration," Finn said, after asking Elizabeth Edwards to sign the book
flyleaf.
"The book has really been a big help, she has gone through a lot," Finn said, also
referring to the first tragedy to strike the Edwards family, the death of teenage
son Wade in a freak car crash in 1996.
John Edwards, a multi-millionaire with a high wattage smile and the whiplash wit
of a former trial lawyer, seems have matured as a candidate since he joined the
ticket of beaten Democratic nominee John Kerry in 2004.
He stuffs appearances with detailed proposals on healthcare and withdrawing
troops from Iraq, apparently trying to dispel 2004 whispers that he is high on
charisma, but short on substance.
Now, when the couple, married nearly 30 years, hit the campaign trail, cancer is
a constant unwelcome companion.
Elizabeth Edwards candidly admitted on Tuesday, at another event in Davenport,
Iowa, that her breast cancer, could have been caught earlier in 2004 had she not
put off getting a mammogram.
"Women often put themselves at the bottom of the list of things to do," she was
quoted as saying by the Des Moines Register newspaper.
"When I was putting myself at the bottom of the list, I was putting him (Edwards)
at the bottom of the list, my children at the bottom of the list, my country at the
bottom of the list."
Edwards paid tribute in Des Moines to legions of cancer suffers who quietly bear
up without the wave of sympathy which engulfed his wife last month.
But asked by a reporter how he would deal with the fact that his wife's every
sniffle would be a campaign issue, he gravely said : "I worry she will get sick,
because I love her."
The couple's decision to press on with their campaign, ensuring their cancer
battle will play out on the front pages, sparked heated debate about sacrifices
imposed on a candidate's family.
In a blizzard of blog postings, television shows and column inches,
commentators questioned whether Elizabeth Edwards should spend whatever
time she has left with her husband and two youngest children Emma Claire, 8,
and Jack, 6, who joined them on the campaign trial in Iowa, and grown daughter
Cate.
But she was back out this week mining for votes, feted with hugs, cheers and
standing ovations.
"We love Elizabeth" read banners in Iowa, on which Edwards is basing his
campaign to beat Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the nomination.
The couple are publicly optimistic Elizabeth can live for years with drug therapies
designed to prolong her life.
A USA Today/Gallup poll last week found 60 percent of Americans backed their
decision to carry on campaigning.
And whether, because of sympathy over his wife's condition, or in a sign
Edwards is beginning to make inroads, his poll numbers are rising.
In an average of surveys over the last three weeks, Edwards skipped over
Clinton and now leads in Iowa, where he has campaigned ferociously for the last
two years, by 3.5 points.
In New Hampshire, he is now only three points behind Obama in third place, with
signs pacesetter Clinton's support may be dropping off.
"He is doing very well," said Steffen Schmidt, professor of political science at
Iowa State University, expressing surprise the cancer diagnosis had not
deterred donors as Edwards came in third in first-quarter fundraising among
Democrats with 14 million dollars.
"There is something happening there, he is still very attractive, he has a great
smile (and is) very charismatic."