More On John Edwards: “What Would I Do?”

When I worked on the staff of the San Diego Union as a reporter I was lucky enough to get to work with Michael Grant, one of the paper’s best writers and columnists. He’d often frame an issue or write about a story in a way that left you thinking long after you read it. He also has a jewel of a weblog.

He has recently been thinking about John Edwards. And here’s a small taste of the piece on his website:

If my wife came home tomorrow with a diagnosis of breast cancer, I know exactly what I would do.

I would support her.

How? I don’t know. The only way I could, I guess. Be with her.

An old pal of mine has been through it, and he says it’s like the two of you, after hearing the news, being escorted into an unfurnished, featureless room with a wide window overlooking the world outside. Behind you, he says, the door closes, no knob on the inside, and the room becomes hermetically sealed. In this room the two of you live, until death do you part, looking out at a life you will never again be a part of.

He told me he read that many husbands in that situation cut and run, refuse to go with her into the room, leave the marriage. I can’t imagine that. On that, John Edwards and I agree. Three years ago, when his wife Elizabeth received her diagnosis, he walked with her into the room that my pal describes. That is the coolest thing I could ever say about John Edwards, even if he were elected president, Pope, ruler for life, entertainer of the year, Oscar winner, Nobel Prize recipient, all on the same day.

He continues to ponder the issue then asks:

It makes you wonder: what would I do?

Read it in FULL and find out.