Elizabeth Edwards in campaign limelight

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0707/5057.html

Elizabeth Edwards in campaign limelight

By: Ben Smith
Jul 22, 2007 08:54 AM EST

The John Edwards campaign got a lot of media attention last week, but only about half of it actually went to the candidate.

As the former North Carolina senator took a "poverty tour" through the South and Midwest, his wife, Elizabeth, got equal billing in the headlines. Since her public struggle with cancer captivated the country in March, Mrs. Edwards has been the most visible spouse on the campaign trail, appearing in public independent of her husband and engaging the media as a celebrity in her own right.



Last week, she sharply criticized Hillary Rodham Clinton, starred in her husband's television advertising campaign, appeared on “Larry King Live,” penned acid blog comments and was featured in an above-the-fold, front-page profile in Saturday's Wall Street Journal.

And she sparked a debate among the political class over the whether she is raising her husband's profile or overshadowing him, and whether she is being used by the campaign, using it or just being herself.

"I don't think they're using her at all—I think she's doing what she wants to do. She's liberated," said John Weaver, a former top adviser to presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who, like Mrs. Edwards, recently battled cancer.

Weaver also touched on the delicate reality that her health has made rivals, journalists and Edwards supporters alike wary of criticizing her or responding harshly to her criticism of them.


FULL story at link.

[question everything]

1. "liberated?"

Strange to hear this term in 2007.

It started with Hillary Clinton in 1992 and followed with Elizabeth Dole in 1996. Spouses of prominent men - in politics or in other areas - are equal partners.