"Decent and strong"

"Decent and strong." What powerful words, cleansing in their simplicity and in their very ordinariness.

I'm watching Elizabeth Edwards on Larry King Live and these are the words she used to describe her husband. King turned around and used the same words to describe Mrs. Edwards herself.

"Decent and strong." After all this couple has been through together, in light of the future they are facing together, she is comforted by knowing she has a partner who is "decent and strong." This moves me.

If I end up supporting John Edwards, it will be because he has maintained healthcare, economic equality, the environment and Katrina as his focus. While Clinton and Obama seem to stuck rehashing Iraq, who was for and who was against, finger-pointing and speaking about what they'd do as President instead of what should come next, Edwards has kept domestic issues on the radar. It won't be because of his shiny hair or blue eyes (which I lust after), it won't be because of his wife (who I admire) or his marriage (which I envy). It will be because his political concerns are closest to my aspirations for my country.

But that doesn't mean that the spare, dignified and sincere way his wife described him didn't touch me. It did.