Apart from Hillary (and Bill) Clinton, I can't think of any person in the Democratic race who possesses Elizabeth Edwards' total calm and control. She never prevaricates, always projects 100% sincerity, and frankly, and this may be the ultimate point, outshines out her husband, who, by comparison, sometimes sounds rather slippery on tough subjects. (One of John Edwards' claims—that all but comes with a wink—that he's "not there yet" on equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian Americans, provokes an eye roll from me, and puts him over there in the politics-as-usual category with Obama and Clinton as far as I'm concerned). Elizabeth Edwards is so refreshing (even if I don't always agree with her) it's hard not to wonder why she is not the candidate. (Photo Reuters/Brian Snyder)
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