Site Meter Long Relationships » Blog Archive » I’m Not Mrs. Edwards

I’m Not Mrs. Edwards

by

When I found out that John Edwards intended to continue his campaign toward the presidency, I was indignant. “He should stay home and take care of his wife! What if he’s left with two small kids? He can’t be running the country then!� My response was not so much borne of political persuasion but of a knee-jerk reaction of what I’d want my husband to do if I had cancer. Take care of ME. Don’t put the country’s welfare over ME.

But John Edwards is not my husband.

When I take a step back, I can see both sides. On the one hand, since Elizabeth Edwards was such a strong player in his campaign behind the scenes, losing her to treatment and days for rest would most likely hurt the whole operation. She might be tired and less able to contribute, especially with the added burden of comforting their children. I imagine that John depends on her for moral support, but to expect that she could be that support when she is receiving treatment could be unrealistic. He would lose a significant part of his support network. It is not to say that cancer automatically renders its patients sickly invalids, but I would hope that John would not sacrifice his wife’s health for the betterment of his career.

On the other hand, public statements show that Elizabeth strongly devoted to this goal, perhaps as much as her husband, so to take that away could have been seriously disappointing, even in light of her cancer. I also wonder if being the reason he stepped down from the campaign would have resulted in a lot of guilt for Elizabeth alongside the illness. Besides, wouldn’t it be helpful to have something to work toward, rather than simply focusing on being sick? It shows optimism and courage to look to the future rather than accepting a bleak fate. Perhaps persevering in the presidential campaign is part of fighting the cancer; in both activities, John and Elizabeth can be a team.

If I look at both sides next to each other, I’m glad I didn’t have to make this decision. I’m glad that it took time and consideration for John and Elizabeth Edwards to make theirs.

, , ,

For more, subscribe to LR.com’s feed


2 Responses to “I’m Not Mrs. Edwards”

  1. eshever Says:

    I don’t think Elizabeth Edwards’ decision came out of John Edwards being selfish. I think this is her decision. I think she’s doing something that she believes in. This is how she wants to live her life, regardless of how long she has — and lets hope it’s a long time. Something I think most people are over-looking, too, is the example she’s setting for her kids. This is how you face a crisis. You keep going and doing what you believe in. I’m very impressed with the Edwards’ marriage. I don’t say I would be more likely to vote for him, but I admire them as a couple.

  2. RA Says:

    eshever - I think you have a great point about how this situation can model perseverance to the Edwards’ children. It’s hard to separate the personal from the political here, but it’s a tough situation to bear, regardless.

Leave a Reply


About Long Relationships

When you're in it for the long haul, a relationship can be great. What's not to love about having someone with you for fun times and tough times? Even so, commitment has its ups and downs as couples make decisions for the future, get under each other's skin, and grow together. Stay tuned for true stories about dating and marriage, opinions about popular opinions, and thoughts on what it looks like to go the distance.

Long Relationships Author(s)

Blogging Flair

Dating & Relationships Channel Posts

  • Friday Free-For-All - Health
    Hello and welcome to the Friday Free-for-All! Inspired by the Weekend Soiree over at Wifely Steps (and pretty much using her idea, to be honest, but you can go over there and play on her site as [...]
  • Love Question 39
    Hello everyone! It's that time again... This past week I have been feeling absolutely run down. I tried to ignore it, keep working, keep going out to get groceries and that sort of thing... [...]
  • I Cheat
    That's right, my friends. I just have to get it off my chest. I've been living the lie for too long. I cheat... at making the bed. Shocking, isn't it? I've come to the conclusion that it is [...]
  • Geeky Marriage Proposals
    Not everyone dreams of the perfect, romantic wedding proposal. While most women think long and hard about the way they’d like to be asked to marry the man of their dreams, men are often left [...]
  • Head Cold Brain
    As if to further prove to myself that I'm still at that level ill 'stuffy brain' where you aren't thinking clearly, for a while, the title of this post was "Head Cold Braing". I'm not sure what a [...]
  • Chicken Soup for the Soul: True Love Story Call Out
    Chicken Soup for the Soul: True Love 101 Heartwarming and Humorous Stories about Dating, Romance, Love and Marriage Everyone loves a good love story. And we all love stories about how the love [...]
  • Words on the Australian Bushfires by Mr. JM
    My husband is joining us today to share a few words. When disaster comes, it can be difficult to identify with the people directly affected unless perhaps one has been through similar [...]
  • Friday Free-for-All - Art
    Hello and welcome to the Friday Free-for-All! Inspired by the Weekend Soiree over at Wifely Steps (and pretty much using her idea, to be honest, but you can go over there and play on her site as [...]
  • Love Question 38
    Hello everyone! It's that time again... This past week has been 'interesting', that's for sure. At the beginning of the month, we booked for a lovely Valentine's Day package with some new [...]
  • Life After Disaster
    By Mr. JM Today we head out into the fire-ravaged countryside around Melbourne. For those who don’t know, Victoria, Australia, has been hit by the worst fires ever in our history. Almost 200 [...]

Hot Off The Press


Warning: Unknown: write failed: No space left on device (28) in Unknown on line 0

Warning: Unknown: Failed to write session data (files). Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct () in Unknown on line 0