On the March 30 edition of National Public Radio's The Diane Rehm Show, host Diane Rehm asked Time national political correspondent Karen Tumulty if she was “surprised” by “the sort of backlash” in response to the decision by Elizabeth and former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) to continue his presidential campaign despite the recurrence of her cancer. Tumulty replied, “I am,” adding that the supposed reaction was a “reflection of the political climate in which we're living -- everything is deemed fair game.” In fact, while several media figures and pundits have criticized the Edwardses' decision, polling indicates that, by at least a 2-to-1 margin, Americans support their decision.
Media Matters for America has noted that in a March 22 article, Tumulty's colleague Jay Carney, Time's Washington bureau chief, referred to the Edwardses' explanation of their decision as “discomfiting.” Media Matters has also documented criticism of the Edwardses by right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh, who said they “turned to ... politics” instead of God after learning that Elizabeth Edwards' cancer had returned.
Yet, while some in the media have expressed criticism of the Edwardses, recent polls do not reflect a “backlash” from the American public against them. A recent CBS News poll found that 57 percent of respondents “said Edwards is doing the right thing by continuing to campaign,” compared with 24 percent who “said he should have suspended his campaign or withdrawn entirely.” The CBS poll was conducted March 26-27 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Similarly, a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted March 23-25 found that 58 percent of respondents said they thought Edwards “should stay in the race for president,” compared with 29 percent who responded that he should “drop out of the race.” A Media Matters for America search identified no major poll finding that a majority disapproves of the Edwardses' decision.
From the March 30 edition of NPR's The Diane Rehm Show, which included Rehm, Tumulty, syndicated columnist Steve Roberts, and Slate.com chief political correspondent John Dickerson:
REHM: And some sad news out of the White House concerning my old friend, the White House spokesman Tony Snow. Were you there at the -- were any of you there at the press conference? I'm so sorry about that. Tony began his broadcast career on this program and he has been a first-rate spokesperson for the president, it seems to me having good relations with the press, articulating well the president's perspective without alienating his colleagues.
DICKERSON: And think about what the job he came in to. I mean -- who would want that job when he took it? And it was in a series -- you know -- the previous press secretaries had taken a pasting and he came in and changed the job around and is beloved inside the White House and that was not always the case with previous press secretaries.
TUMULTY: And he had -- before he accepted the job as press secretary he had gone to his doctor and had gotten a checkup and had gotten a clean bill of health because he knew and said that it was something that he did not feel that he could take on if he didn't have a clean bill of health. And so that made it, you know, that much more sort of surprising and, you know, emotional, I think, this week. And you certainly saw the emotion on the faces of White House officials as they talked about this.
ROBERTS: You know, I share your affection for Tony. I met him as a panelist on this Friday news round-up on this show many, many years ago. What I admire about Tony -- there's not a person around this table or listening to us who has not been touched by cancer, and Tony has shown such courage and he has said, “I'm embracing life, I'm going to move forward.” It's the same thing I admired about the Edwardses last week. You know, Mrs. Edwards said, “I'm not going to go home and die, I'm going to keep doing my work.” And Tony said, “I'm going to keep doing my work. I'm going to fight and continue to make a contribution.” And he has made -- he has made a contribution not only to the White House but to other cancer sufferers who get courage from his example.
REHM: Are you at all surprised, Karen, about the sort of backlash that Elizabeth Edwards has received from her decision to go forward?
TUMULTY: I am, because I think it is as much a reflection of the political climate in which we're living, where everything is deemed fair game.
REHM: Karen Tumulty of Time magazine, Steve Roberts, syndicated columnist, and John Dickerson of Slate.com. When we come back we'll open the phones.