that's one tough family. her for perservering even now, both of them for being willing to endure another hellish run at the White House.

Another thing is the openness. If this were certain other political families, the first instinct would be to cover it up and lie about it.

...another hellish run at the White House.

I'm glad he's sticking around, but it's not going to get any easier. It's a cheap ploy to compare this situation with Newt's handling of his first wife's cancer, but I'll do it anyway. Here's hoping this is a step toward putting the "Breck Girl" crap to bed.

C'mon, Jack. Thats not really fair. Its a personal thing. As hard as it would be with the tabloids salivating out there, I certainly would understand if someone kept it to themselves.
It does take a lot to take something like that public.

Maybe he can sue the first Doctor for Malpractice, he is good at that

I agree Jack, John has been open from day one. I might disagree with his chioces for Oregon campaign but he was open on that, also. How terrible about his wife.

he is good at that

He is very good at what he does. That would be a refreshing change in the White House.

I might disagree with his chioces for Oregon campaign

Yeah, when I saw Homer Williams on there, I starting clicking around for an Obama bumper sticker.

Regarding the Homer Williams thing, here's the comment I posted at BlueOregon - and it's worth repeating here...

I don't speak for John Edwards, and I don't speak for Homer Williams - but let's just make one thing clear (though it should be obvious).

Homer Williams is endorsing John Edwards. John Edwards is not endorsing Homer Williams.

Just because Homer's decided he wants to support John Edwards, doesn't make Edwards responsible for anything bad (or good) that Homer is alleged to have done -- any more than John Edwards is responsible for anything bad or good I've done over at BlueOregon.

but does anybody care that Williams "endorses" Edwards?

maybe there's a voting bloc out there somewhere that's swayable by Homer; sounds like a bit of an ego trip to me, though.

i can't imagine John Edwards cares much either way if a local property developer "endorses" him...

if my wife had a life threatening diease that would shorten her life drastically,i wouldnt waste a day apart from her. we all have our own priorities and values, apparently mine are much different than mr edwards.

You know... if the Dems win the White House...and we get universal healthcare...and John Edwards is President.
I think you could call that a "target rich" enviroment.
It could be considered a "Plan of Attack"...or just a coincidence.

I don't know why everyone seems so upset about John Edwards continuing with the campaign, after all he still has a life to live after she dies. I admit I do feel bad for him (though I wouldn't for Bill C).

We do have our own priorities and values but who can say that it isn't Elizabeth's wish for him to continue the campaign. I think that Rudy and Barak and anyone else in this position would prefer that their family life stay out of the public forum.

From Elizabeth's point of view, you can either tough through another round of hell without your husband there for most of it, or have him there with you both wondering whether he's giving up the dream of a lifetime. It blows either way.

Who knows how long Elizabeth will live? And judging their long marriage I think she lives for him and being the president would be her great desire. One thing for sure, with John Edwards being president, you can rest assured ending cancer will be job 1 and repugs better not try stop him. He might have the same power as FDR. A president with a humanitarian mission is a very strong president.

John Edwards is not endorsing Homer Williams.

When Edwards put Homer on his blue-ribbon Oregon steering committee, that was more than just accepting Homer's money. That was saying, "Here's a guy I want to represent me in Oregon."

Bad choice.

Jocoze,

If your terminally ill wife asked as her last dying that you campaign for president, would you comply with her wish?

If so, I don't think you are in a position to presume to know the Edwards' values.

If my wife were ill and I had millions of dollars from our broken healthcare system I would be with her and my family for her end of life if I loved them. if I were a narcistic psycho I would become a politician. What would george Washington do

Running for the Presidency or making my wife a priority. Not even a close call. My wife, priority #1.

Running for President is a 24/7 nasty, no holds barred, anything goes, brutal, exhausting marathon that sucks in every member of a candidate's family, whether they want to be sucked in or not. No one survives a marathon like this without some collateral damage.

Consider also what happens if Edwards, by some miracle, actually wins the Presidency. In an international crisis such as 9/11 or Katrina, what if Mrs. Edwards takes a turn for the worse (God forbid I wouldn't wish that on her), and President Edward's thought process, resolve, and leadership is distracted by his wifes condition?

I want a President with no personal distractions such as a wife's serious illness, or a mistress named Monica, or an obsession with staff loyalty. I want a President who is clear-headed, rational, and commits his heart and soul to the office of the President.

In any case, why risk adding more stress to your cancer-stricken wife's life, even if she says "go ahead and run"? Give up your dream, Edward. Your wife is worth it.

I want a President with no personal distractions such as a wife's serious
illness

Come on. Are you sure Mrs. Romney's going to stay healthy through Jan. 21, 2013? You never know who's going to become ill.

How about a President with the personal distraction of struggling to stay sober?

My feeling is their marriage is their marriage and whatever they want to do is their business and not ours. You can vote for whomever you want but their decision to go forward is between them - the rest of us should just butt out.

When Edwards put Homer on his blue-ribbon Oregon steering committee

Since you're ON that committee, Kari, maybe you can shed some light on how these decisions are made?

I mean, there's got to be some kind of vetting process, right? How'd YOU get chosen (not that I don't think you're an excellent choice)? I just wonder how someone with Homer's "baggage" (maybe "background is a less loaded word) gets chosen? Then again, one of my alma maters --PSU-- gave Homer and his cohort an award this last year for outstanding citizens or some such thing. When I protested to someone involved in the selection, part of the reason for the choice --I was told-- was that he was the kind of guy who would "sell a lot of tickets" to the benefit where he would get his award.

Is it all about the money?

Again, I don't know Homer personally, and blame the city more than him for leaving it's wallet out in the open for him to empty...but, geez, y'know?

I'm pretty sure this falls into the "America is run by the people who show up" category.

I volunteered to help Edwards. I kept volunteering. When he came to town, I drove him around. I happened to get to know one of his staff. I offered some helpful advice. I kept volunteering.

Now, I'm not a guy with big bucks to donate - so my way into the Edwards thing is different perhaps than some others.

I'm pretty sure of this: While clearly somebody had to write the press release, I don't think there was any kind of "vetting process" from campaign HQ. Certainly, nobody asked me any questions.

And more importantly, why would there be? This is just a group of volunteers who stood up and said, "Count me in!" And it's not like Oregon is a major state in the presidential primary process... (Not that I don't wish it were so.)

And here's the takeaway lesson: You don't have to be a millionaire or a power player to get involved in a presidential campaign. America is run by the people who show up. Don't like the way it's run? Show up. Get to work.

I want a President with no personal distractions such as a wife's serious
illness.

Then vote for a bachelor.

Butterbean-Morton 2008.