Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards wife, dies of Breast Cancer at 61

Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former Senator and Presidential Candidate John Edwards, has died of Breast Cancer at the age of 61. This news is both shocking and sudden, as it was just Sunday that Mrs. Edwards was taken off her cancer treatments as doctors told her they were no longer effective.

Mrs. Edwards cancer had metastasized to her liver.

Elizabeth Edwards Was A Political Wife

Elizabeth Edwards (photo by www.sugarslam.com) was every bit the political wife of John Edwards. I've never met her, but did have the pleasure of being in the same room as she: the Pepsi Center for The Democratic National Convention. 

What I can't help remembering, because as a blogger, I was in the middle of it, was just how her husband was cheating on her as was diagnosed with had Breast Cancer. That was back in 2007 going into 2008, as Edwards was seen to be the rising star of the Democratic Party, and the front-runner for the Democratic Primary. They, the Democratic Party establishment, gave "that Obama guy" little chance of winning.

But for me, all of that changed when we got word from, of all places, the National Enquirer, that Edwards had established a relationship with a woman named Rielle Hunter. There were only a handful of blogs - The Huffington Post, and what I then called Zennie's Zeitgeist - that ran with the story. And being an open and very aggressive supporter of Obama for President, I pushed the blog post with gusto on January 8th 2008.

Why?

Because the news that Hunter was about to have a child by Edwards was being swept under the rug by too many people.  A number of big donors saw Edwards as their "Golden Boy" and didn't want the news of his affair known.   They were also standing in the way of Obama's assent at the time.

And yes, even with these problems, their was a powerful pull for an Obama / Edwards ticket, even as then-Senator Clinton was the front runner.

But all of that changed when Edwards finally admitted to his affair on August 8th 2008, and just days before the 2008 Democratic National Convention.   That was the game-changer that put Obama firmly in the driver's seat and Clinton at number two, with Edwards' delegates searching for a new home.

But what was sad to witness was John Edwards basically turn his back on Elizabeth Edwards.  And as a person who's Mom's a Breast Cancer survivor, and lost both a Stepfather and Father in 2005 to Prostate Cancer, the last thing a cancer patient needs is more stress.  John was bringing just that to his wife.

Sad.

It's good to read that he was by her side, but what he did will live with him forever.  Edwards can't get a do-over now.