Elizabeth Edwards, who became a national figure in her fight against cancer and as a partner in her husband John's political career, died today, the Raleigh News and Observer reports. She was 61.
Politico: "Edwards was the driving force behind her husband's steep rise in half a decade from gifted trial lawyer to the Democratic Party's 2004 vice presidential nominee, and she was the strategist, the campaign manager, surrogate, and public interpreter for a man who never seemed to emerge fully from behind his pitch-perfect political performances. While John Edwards began and ended his public career as a cipher to the American public and even to some of his close aides, Elizabeth's charm, intelligence, and even her public vindictiveness put her on a first-name basis with the nation."