Unfortunately, over the past week, we’ve had two sad reminders of just how blurry the line is between public and private in politics. The announcements of the recurrence of cancer for both Elizabeth Edwards and Tony Snow have created many questions and spurred a lot of debate.
Some people believe that John Edwards has made a big mistake–that he should put his family before politics and withdraw from the race. But, according to the Edwards family, public service is more important–their duty to their country is a calling they must follow. You have to respect them for that. But I wonder if there is a right answer for this. If he decided to leave the race, would he have been judged as not being fully committed to the office of President? I really don’t think anyone would come out and say this. However, I could see some (rotten) politicians using a similar angle should he run for office in the future. It’s the Edwards’ decision, and if they are comfortable with it, I don’t think anyone has a right to question of it. I respect them for the importance they place on public service. It would just be nice if they could follow their hearts without their motives or family being questioned.
The announcement about Tony Snow’s diagnosis shows a more personal side of the White House and the tight knit group that supports the President. I don’t agree with this administration’s policies and question the trustworthiness of many of its officials. However, I was OK with Tony Snow and found the way he handled the press interesting, and sometimes entertaining.
Reading that deputy White House Press Secretary Dana Perino broke down into tears while making the announcement really affected me. Not to sound trite, but it’s easy to forget that the administration is made up of people too. It’s simple to paint the Bush Administration as this big nefarious monolith, working to push forward the GOP agenda. That’s probably not for the best.
You don’t often see representatives of the Bush White House become emotional or shaken. It was touching to see evidence of the close bonds between colleagues. If we’re lucky, our coworkers become like family. It’s obvious to see that these individuals care a great deal for one another and I can’t imagine how difficult it was to share this devastating news with the public while you were still dealing with it yourself. But you serve the public, so you have to put the personal aside and move forward. This is probably why many people question the Edwards’ decision–they are choosing to put themselves in the situation where their duty to the public may come before their family. They are electing to possibly go through some very difficult, very personal times on a very public stage. Most people wouldn’t choose this.
My thoughts are with both Tony Snow’s family and the Edwards, and I hope for the best.
