Katie and Elizabeth yes, John no
Katie Couric has taken a beating for her interview with John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth on "60 Minutes" Sunday about their decision to continue his presidential campaign despite the recurrence of Elizabeth’s breast cancer.
Couric was relentless in questioning whether it was appropriate for them to continue life as normal in light of the news that Elizabeth Edwards' cancer was back, had spread to her bones and was incurable. While doctors say it's impossible to predict how long she might live, fewer than one in five people diagnosed with stage IV cancer for the first time survive for more than five years. The survival rates are even lower for someone with a recurrence of cancer.
I saw the interview and was somewhat surprised at how frequently Couric returned to the issue of whether the decision to continue the campaign was appropriate given the diagnosis, the fact the couple has two young children and the difficulty Edwards might have in fulfilling his duties, should he be elected President, if he had to tend to a dying wife. I don't think Couric's questioning was out of line, however, given the nature of the story.
I've never cared much for John Edwards, who strikes me as totally insincere, scripted and vain, and convinced that America needs him. His appearance on "60 Minutes" did nothing to change my mind. Asked how he responded to those who suggested their decision to continue the campaign was prompted by "insatiable ambition," he responded, "I think that I know, when I'm running for president, I'm running for president because I want to serve this country, and because I want all people in America to have the same kind of chances that I've had. I've come from nothing to now have everything. And I think everybody in this country, no matter who their family is, or what the color of their skin, ought to get that chance." Straight out of his stump speech. And to a similar followup question, he replied, "I care about her (Elizabeth's) situation. I love her. And I'm gonna always care about her situation. But I understand that I have a responsibility to this country. It's why we're doing this."
Elizabeth Edwards, on the other hand, won me over, with responses like this:
"You know, you really have two choices here. I mean, either you push forward with the things that you were doing yesterday or you start dying. That seems to be your only two choices. If I had given up everything that my life was about – first of all, I'd let cancer win before it needed to. You know, maybe eventually it will win. But I'd let it win before I needed to."
Couric was relentless in questioning whether it was appropriate for them to continue life as normal in light of the news that Elizabeth Edwards' cancer was back, had spread to her bones and was incurable. While doctors say it's impossible to predict how long she might live, fewer than one in five people diagnosed with stage IV cancer for the first time survive for more than five years. The survival rates are even lower for someone with a recurrence of cancer.
I saw the interview and was somewhat surprised at how frequently Couric returned to the issue of whether the decision to continue the campaign was appropriate given the diagnosis, the fact the couple has two young children and the difficulty Edwards might have in fulfilling his duties, should he be elected President, if he had to tend to a dying wife. I don't think Couric's questioning was out of line, however, given the nature of the story.
I've never cared much for John Edwards, who strikes me as totally insincere, scripted and vain, and convinced that America needs him. His appearance on "60 Minutes" did nothing to change my mind. Asked how he responded to those who suggested their decision to continue the campaign was prompted by "insatiable ambition," he responded, "I think that I know, when I'm running for president, I'm running for president because I want to serve this country, and because I want all people in America to have the same kind of chances that I've had. I've come from nothing to now have everything. And I think everybody in this country, no matter who their family is, or what the color of their skin, ought to get that chance." Straight out of his stump speech. And to a similar followup question, he replied, "I care about her (Elizabeth's) situation. I love her. And I'm gonna always care about her situation. But I understand that I have a responsibility to this country. It's why we're doing this."
Elizabeth Edwards, on the other hand, won me over, with responses like this:
"You know, you really have two choices here. I mean, either you push forward with the things that you were doing yesterday or you start dying. That seems to be your only two choices. If I had given up everything that my life was about – first of all, I'd let cancer win before it needed to. You know, maybe eventually it will win. But I'd let it win before I needed to."
posted by Randy Bergmann at 1:46 PM
2 Comments:
'totally insincere, scripted and vain, and convinced that America needs him.'
...there's a lot of that going around nowadays. Although I feel John Edwards is a sincere individual, I agree with your comprehension of his response. Just goes to show, behind every successful man...
Apparently John Edwards own state doesn't need him because they voted for Bush in the last election.
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