So on the Edwards thing...

[VelmaD]

does anyone in here think that if the genders were reversed and it was a female presidential candidate whose husband was diagnosed with cancer we wouldn't be hearing SCREAMING about how selfish she was not to end her campaign?

[femrap]

1. Gee....do you know something that we don't???

I'm kidding.

Do you know that after their son died in the auto accident, they decided to have more children...however Elizabeth was already in menopause. She went thru massive hormone treatments. First she had a daughter....but continued with the treatments and had a son.

I wonder if the first child had been a son if the hormone treatments would have stopped. Did she continue so to have the 'heir?'

Her cancer is not surprising at all given the hormone treatments she went through...I find it all very sad.

[VelmaD]

2. I don't know a thing...

I'm sure the Big Dawg is in perfect health. It's purely a hypothetical.

And thank you for bringing up another subject that everyone seems to want to avoid. What in the name of all the little gods makes someone take that kind of risk with their health.

I'm telling you, I have some concerns right now about Edwards over this when you add it all together.

[femrap]

4. It bothers me...

and put together with their new 'House' and his speaking at Bilderburg (sp?), I just get a really funny feeling about him.

If having more children, why not adopt? So many unwanted foster children today. It's so selfish, IMHO. They had to know she would be running a HUGE risk for cancer. It's the old 'broodmare' thing.

Why is it that some people think their ova/sperm is so damn special? I mean if you have this need to love a child, there are so many out there begging for it.

Off topic...but who do like in this Dem primary?

[VelmaD]

5. It's too early for me...

to pick a candidate. I can think of several I won't be supporting...but until the primaries get a little closer and we really kinow who all is running...I won't throw my unqualified support behind any of them.

[femrap]

7. I'm still exhausted from working on the

'06 elections. I wish the campaign season hadn't started so soon....mainly because, as Dems, we have so much work to do....like sending out lots and lots of subpoenas!

[lizerdbits]

3. I'm sure that would happen

The woman is supposed to be the attentive caregiver and if she didn't drop her candidacy to 'take care of her man' she would be demonized.

[BlueIris]

6. All I know is I am very goddamn tired of people speculating about her health status.

Especially those ghoulish, ignorant freaks who keep posting inappropriate "she's done for" kinds of prophecies, as if she were not a human being deserving of respectful treatment simply because she's married to a politician/celebrity. I just want to scream, "Are you her oncologist? Are you a doctor? Even if you were either one of those things, are you looking at her complete records right now? No? You're just a misogynist fascist sitting at home trying to feel self-important on the Internet? Then shut it."

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. absolutely!

women are supposed to be support givers. if they deviate from this former responsibility, they are subject to much scrutiny.

[SemperEadem]

9. I think that the major issue that's being overlooked

is that Elizabeth wants John to continue the campaign right now. Of course, that may change if the cancer becomes even more rapacious. I think that she has the final say on this, no one else. I have found no reason to believe that he brow-beat her into saying that and considering all of the tragedy they've both been through already in their lives, she probably has more inner strength in her little finger than those who are condemning their joint decision have in their entire bodies.

Part of being able to successfully mount a defense against cancer is one's mental/emotional wellbeing. If she could not be happy with the fact that she made him give up his campaign this early in the race, that could impact her overall ability to sustain a good quality of life. I think whatever the two of them have decided has surely taken into account her emotional/mental wellbeing as well as her physical wellbeing. He has said that he will be there with her when he needs her, so who is anyone to doubt that?

I hardly think that he arbitrarily made the decision to continue and then dictated that to her--their marriage doesn't appear, looking in from the outside, of course, to be one like that.