Changing perspectives on Edwards

LAS VEGAS -- John Edwards's critics have had some unkind descriptions of the former North Carolina senator: a slick, fast-talking trial lawyer and the "Breck Girl," whose boyish good looks made him seem less substantive. A video on the YouTube website depicts Edwards grooming himself before a television appearance with the song "I Feel Pretty" playing in the background.

But this week, with the revelation that Edwards's wife, Elizabeth, is again struggling with breast cancer, the Democratic presidential candidate has showcased a side of his character that friends and backers say many voters don't know. As a man facing a grave illness with his wife, Edwards has revealed more about his personal life and presented himself as strong and determined -- both in his campaign for president and in his support for his wife, friends of the couple say.

"It humanizes the political," said Kathleen Sullivan , who finishes her term today as chairwoman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. "One of the things my husband and I have always liked about John and Elizabeth Edwards is that they are regular folks. They come from the same sort of roots most Americans do."

Sullivan, who has not endorsed a candidate, said Elizabeth Edwards's cancer underscores the Everyman quality.

"What people saw is the real John Edwards," said Representative Albert Wynn , Democrat of Maryland. "People assume that because of his good looks," he is "packaged," but "he has a real core, a real moral center."

Edwards might well suffer a backlash if voters conclude that his decision to plunge ahead with the campaign is selfish or indifferent to his wife's condition, analysts cautioned. Both John and Elizabeth Edwards said this week they agreed that the former senator should not interrupt his political path, and so far, the couple has received great sympathy for their struggle against an illness the National Cancer Institute estimates will hit 1 in 8 women born today.

As he returned to the campaign trail yesterday, in preparation for a joint appearance with his Democratic rivals in Nevada today, the 2004 vice presidential nominee received countless expressions of sympathy. And the concern for his wife's condition put Edwards back at the forefront of a campaign that in recent weeks has been dominated by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.

Even conservative websites have displayed an outpouring of support for the Edwardses -- unusual for a venue that can be extremely cynical and vicious in comments on candidates, said Howard Mortman , director of New Media Strategies Public Affairs Practice, which helps political and advocacy groups with online communications.

"They're treating it like a human story. You rarely see that in the blogosphere," Mortman said. And Edwards's handling of the tragedy could make him a more appealing candidate, depending on how the next year progresses, Mortman said.

"You never know, when you elect a president, what they'll be like in a time of crisis," Mortman said. "In the next year, we will see how [Edwards] deals with an immense family crisis."

Many conservative activists and bloggers, while noting that they do not support Edwards for president, praised the former senator for his stalwartness and expressed their concern for the couple.

"I can't tell you how bad I feel for Elizabeth and John Edwards," wrote Dean Barnett , a conservative columnist who himself fielded the "body blow" of being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. "Whether they still find presidential politics at the center of their lives a few months from now is an open question. Regardless, the journey is theirs, and one would have a heart of stone to wish them anything other than good luck and Godspeed."

A contributor to freerepublic.com , another right-leaning site, said: "I'm not an Edwards fan either. In fact, I've said some downright nasty things about him virtually every time I hear his name. Nevertheless, I shall pray for the health of his wife and for peace/comfort to be brought to the Edwards family." And a writer on the heavily ideological RedState.com urged fellow conservatives to put politics aside.

"No longer do we (or should we see) Mr. Edwards as a politician from the other side, but instead as a husband helping his wife fight for her survival," the anonymous poster wrote.

If Edwards seems distracted -- or if his wife's health deteriorates further -- he may appear callous to voters for barreling ahead, analysts warned.

But with the campaign unfolding at hyperspeed and first-quarter fund-raising reports due at the end of this month, "it would be hard for him to put things on hold," said Dean Spiliotis , a political specialist at Saint Anselm College in Manchester , N.H .

Edwards has been reluctant in the past to discuss his family and personal life; most voters probably did not know during Edwards's 2004 campaign that his son Wade was killed in a car accident at age 16, said Democratic consultant Peter Fenn.

Elizabeth Edwards's first diagnosis with breast cancer -- revealed the day Edwards and Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry conceded the presidential race to President Bush -- delivered a second tragedy to the family, but with Edwards out of office, his wife's battle with cancer was less public.