Will Katie Ever Ask Gingrich About His Choices?

Suzie Madrak has a great column at Huffington Post about those who choose to either judge the Edwards or put them in a position, a la Katie Couric where they were made to feel as if they are in need of defending themselves against a barrage of ignorance. What could have been a shining moment for Ms. Couric was dulled by undue cynicism.

I left a comment at the New York Daily News today, only to be dismayed to see it had been scrubbed from the website for unknown reasons. No one wrote to me to tell me why they erased or lost the comment that had taken me so much time and thought to post. I was responding to a person who was passing shame-judgment upon the Edwards' personal choices and decision:

To the 'retired teacher' - your judgment of "shame" upon the Edwards is totally off-base and I'll tell you why. Mrs. Edwards means what she says when she says she wants her husband to be in the White House where he belongs. What good is a life not lived to the fullest? This is what she wants! We are gifted with one life, and Elizabeth's life is shining and full. She is not enamoured with the thought of languishing. You say "some people don't have a choice at a time like this"....and that makes no sense. Of course they have a choice - and they have made it with love and devotion to one another, with their eye on the fulfillment of their vision and their hearts filled with commitment to our nation. In the novel "Death Be Not Proud" by John Gunther, there is a line that says, "I have so much to do! And there's so little time!" We can all relate to this, but there's no one who can relate better than a person who knows their time is precious. Elizabeth's time is precious and she's determined to do what she wants with the rest of her beautiful life. Who are any of you to place your own assumptions and values onto her choices? You can either respect her choice or not..but you have no right to shame the husband who adores her and shares a vision with his beloved partner.

Lydia Cornell causes me to wonder if Newt Gingrich will ever be asked about his personal and conscious choice to abandon his wife when she was faced with a battle against cancer. Now there's question I'll bet Katie won't be asking anytime soon! The corporate taskmasters likely wouldn't allow it. Jerry Falwell praises the character of the louse. Don't you just love double standards?


Benny is reporting about South Carolina leaders who are getting on the Edwards train.

UPDATE: Sen. and Mrs. Edwards Say Couric "Tough But Fair"

John Edwards for President Statement on the Edwardses' Interview with Katie Couric:

Chapel Hill, North Carolina - John Edwards for President Deputy Campaign Manager Jonathan Prince released the following statement today following criticism of Katie Couric for her interview with Senator and Mrs. Edwards. The interview, which took place on Saturday and lasted 90 minutes, aired last night on 60 Minutes.

"The Edwardses appreciated the opportunity 60 Minutes afforded them to respond to tough questions which have been raised in response to last week's diagnosis that Mrs. Edwards' cancer had returned. Mrs. Edwards also called Ms. Couric today to thank her for the interview and to say that she and Senator Edwards thought theinterview was both thorough and fair."

During a roundtable today in San Francisco to discuss his plan to halt global warming, Senator Edwards was asked about the matter and said: "My reaction was that Katie Couric asked questions that the American people are asking themselves, and I think they were completely legitimate questions. And I think the American people deserve answers from me and from Elizabeth to those questions. I mean, I'm asking America to support me and vote for me as their next president, and I think part of the evaluation of a candidate for president is a personal evaluation of the character and integrity and honesty of a candidate. So, no, I thought the questions were fair. Tough. I thought they were tough, but they were fair."

I had a very different view from "out here," but the Edwardses have responded with grace, as always. Ms. Couric was markedly "kinder" on the CBS News this evening, [someone at Daily Kos referred to it as "pooper scooper" coverage indicating the need for salvage]. Couric devoted much more careful coverage to the Edwards campaign, although today's Cleveland stop by Elizabeth was still not handled with a fair journalistic hand in my opinion. According to MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, CBS has received at least 12,000 e-mails complaining about Sunday night's Couric interview.