ANALYZING THE ANALYSIS OF JOHN EDWARDS

The Average Man feels bad for John Edwards and his family. First, he loses his son in a car accident in 1996. Then, he and Kerry lose the presidency in 2004 (I felt bad for me, too). Then, his wife is diagnosed with breast cancer immediately after. And finally, Elizabeth's cancer returns and is "incurable." Much has been written about this latest revelation; mostly about the fact that Edwards has chosen to continue his presidential bid. If you watched their interview on 60 Minutes last night, you saw two courageous people who have chosen to live life to the fullest and not let this disease keep them down.

I'll leave the debate on whether he should or should not run to other people, but I would like to focus on one question that seems to keep popping up: towards the end the Katie Couric interview, she asked if Edwards could stay "focused" as president with his wife's health being what it is. I filed that question away in the back of my brain, but it was pushed to the front this morning when Meredith Viera asked John Kerry if Edwards would be "distracted" as president due to Elizabeth's condition.

Okay, so now I'm angry. Has everyone forgotten that bush holds the record for the most vacation days of any president in history? Oh, and let's not forget about bush playing guitar during Katrina. Heck, I'll even throw in 7 minutes reading My Pet Goat for good measure. I can't think of anyone on the freakin planet more distracted and unfocused than george w. bush!

The media and the conservatives lost their right to ask this question a long time ago. It's just not fair or just that they hold everyone up to a higher standard than our current two term president. Remember back in 2004 when everyone was harping on Edwards' "experience" for a possible VP candidate? Did we forget that bush had never even been to Europe and couldn't name the leader of any nation outside of the US? I wonder if he could even today.

Vote or don't vote for Edwards based on his policies, his beliefs, his honor, and all that stuff. But leave the talk of distractions for those that deserve it.