John and Elizabeth Come Out Fighting

4/21 Update: Just when was starting to like a Democratic candidate they go and get a $400 haircut :(

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3/25: I am sitting here watching Katie Couric interview John and Elizabeth Edwards on 60 Minutes and I decided to blog about the experience. Of course, the interview is all about the Edwards' announcement last week that Elizabeth's cancer had come out of remission and they were once again facing the big C.

Having been through family health issues myself I sat very interested in what this couple had to say. Firstly I have to say "What an impressive couple". As I listen I am sensing a couple that have come out fighting. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:

Elizabeth Edwards:
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.

Katie Couric:
I think some people wondered if you were in denial, if you were being realistic about what you were going to be facing here.

Elizabeth Edwards:
I think that it is our intention to deny cancer any control over us.
...
Cancer took a lot away from us a few years ago. It took a year of my life and a lot of John's. I didn't want it to take this away not just from me but from those people who depend on our having the kind of president he would be.

Katie Couric:
Here you're staring at possible death...

Elizabeth Edwards:
Aren't we all though.

John Edwards:
I think every single candidate for president, Republican and Democratic have lives, personal lives, that indicate something about what kind of human being they are. And I think it is a fair evaluation for America to engage in to look at what kind of human beings each of us are, and what kind of president we'd make.

You can read the entire transcript here.

On the whole I think that Katie asked the hard questions and I think that John and Elizabeth answered in a very transparent and vulnerable fashion. Whether they are living in a bit of denial God only knows ... but whether they have courageous hearts seems to be undeniable. My prayers are with them both during this difficult season.

Of course I do share a last name with them both :)