Public Life, Private Tragedy
December 8, 2010 - by
A friend wondered why Elizabeth Edwards’ life and death transfixed so many people. Maybe it’s the American fascination with the lives of the rich and famous – especially when they are marked by so many triumphs and tragedies.
For her they were, in order: the death of a child, her husband’s meteoric rise in politics, late-life birth of children, her outspoken public and private roles, two campaigns for President, cancer, a fight for life – and the cruel ending of sex, lies and videotape. Then death too young.
Although I worked in John Edwards’ Senate campaign in 1997 and 1998, I never knew Elizabeth
My involvement with the Edwardses ended after the 1998 election. I learned later that I had run afoul of Elizabeth
On the public stage, the real person often gets lost. For better and for worse, she was more real than most. Whatever life brought her way, she was totally open and honest about it. Every new chapter brought her a new legion of fans – and eventually detractors. But people who knew her well say she was, above all, a good mother.
The irony is that, in the end, this most non-traditional of political wives may have a far greater impact than her husband.
Posted in General, North Carolina - Democrats
Public Life, Private Tragedy
December 8, 2010/
A friend wondered why Elizabeth Edwards’ life and death transfixed so many people. Maybe it’s the American fascination with the lives of the rich and famous – especially when they are marked by so many triumphs and tragedies.
For her they were, in order: the death of a child, her husband’s meteoric rise in politics, late-life birth of children, her outspoken public and private roles, two campaigns for President, cancer, a fight for life – and the cruel ending of sex, lies and videotape. Then death too young.
Although I worked in John Edwards’ Senate campaign in 1997 and 1998, I never knew Elizabeth
My involvement with the Edwardses ended after the 1998 election. I learned later that I had run afoul of Elizabeth
On the public stage, the real person often gets lost. For better and for worse, she was more real than most. Whatever life brought her way, she was totally open and honest about it. Every new chapter brought her a new legion of fans – and eventually detractors. But people who knew her well say she was, above all, a good mother.
The irony is that, in the end, this most non-traditional of political wives may have a far greater impact than her husband.
Posted in General, North Carolina - Democrats