An Elizabethan Tale
“After the story broke, things went from bad to worse. John and Elizabeth were fighting all the time, sometimes all night long. On more than one occasion, she announced to the staff that she could no longer speak in public on her husband’s behalf or stay in the same hotel with him. Once, in the middle of the night, she woke up a trip director and commanded, ‘Get me out of here! I’m not campaigning for this asshole another day!’”
“At the terminal, the couple fought in the passenger waiting area. They fought outside in the parking lot. Elizabeth was sobbing, out of control, incoherent. As their aides tried to avert their eyes, she tore off her blouse, exposing herself. ‘Look at me!’ she wailed at John and then staggered, nearly falling to the ground.” Saint Elizabeth and the Ego Monster, New York, January 18, 2010, adapted from Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime, by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, 2010.
Elizabeth Edwards has not led a charmed life. Her son was killed in a car crash. She has cancer. Her husband’s ego exploded out of control, he had an affair and fathered a child with his mistress.
If the account in the book Game Change is accurate, Elizabeth Edwards is deeply angry (“Why the fuck do you think I’d want to sit outside a Wal-Mart and hand out leaflets?”), abusive (“She called her spouse a ‘hick’ in front of other people and derided his parents as rednecks”) and delusional.
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Geri,
I am not sure I agree. Yes, John is a bum. But, Elizabeth has had a rough go with her breast cancer battle. She still has two young children and will not have the gift of a long life. Who knows how much this factors into her choices. I think she is so brave. I wont judge her.
Best,
Debbi
Hi Debbi,
The book gives us a perspective on her that none of us knew. She may be brave, but it paints her as a shrew. It’s sad for her that she has such anger. That’s what I was trying to convey.
Geri
Hard to walk in her shoes. I’ve always felt that she stayed with John so that her children would have a father when she is gone. But right now I think the anger she is feeling may be doing her mind, body and spirit more damage then the cancer.
No one can predict the future, even with a cancer diagnosis, but surely she could claim her happiness by not allowing her marriage to make her a victim any longer while still maintaining close contact for her children with their father?
Women over 50 have learned we are not only responsible for our happiness, but more importantly, our unhappiness.
You don’t know her. I’m kind of sick of your judging so much. Enough, Geri.
I didn’t feel anyone was judging, just making a point that while bad things happen to good people, it’s how we rise above and take full responsibility for our lives that makes us not only survivors but happier women.
Hello Susan,
I just looked at your blog. It’s wonderful. Your comment gave me a chance to learn about it.
Geri
Hi Helen,
That’s what I was trying to convey. Although I can be judgmental, I wasn’t aiming to be.
Thanks for your thoughts.
G.