A Prayer for the Edwardses

John Edwards' Conference

Part 1:



Part 2:



(h/t: Shakespeare's Sister)

"You can go cower in the corner and hide, or you can be tough and go out there," John Edwards said. "The campaign goes on. The campaign goes on strongly."

Elizabeth's cancer is back, now in her bones, stage IV. She and John are both handling this with such courage and grace, really inspiring.

This is a strong family who survived the death of their teenage son and Elizabeth's first bout with cancer three years ago. As before, they've chosen to be optimistic and fight. My prayers and well wishes go out to the Edwards family.

Ben Smith at Politico.com first reported Edwards was withdrawing from the race, then had to take it back. This is what happens when a news source is so eager for a cheap scoop that will generate buzz they're willing to print hearsay from a single source without proper vetting. As Brian Montopoli asked, "Why rush out a story like this at all, especially as the press conference was less than an hour away? Is the bump in traffic really worth risking not getting it right?".

Big media was smitten with Politico almost instantly, but I've always taken it with a grain of salt; Glenn Greenwald outlines why.

Meanwhile, certain factions from the right couldn't wait to savage the Edwardses for the decision they've made. How decent and classy of you, people.

Others are questioning why the press con. The answer is simple: the Edwardses called a conference to give the official word on Elizabeth's condition, to show that she's feeling okay and that they've decided to continue the campaign. Her doctor said the condition is not curable but treatable, and that campaigning will not adversely affect her treatment or its outcome.

I find people's criticism of their decision to go on with the campaign highly offensive, and for anyone to assume they know what's best and that they place greater importance on Elizabeth's welfare than herself and her own husband should just quit their sanctimonious drivel.



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