Elizabeth Edwards' Triumph Over Tragedy

Dotty Lynch is CBSNews.com's Political Points columnist. E-mail your questions and comments to Political Points.

The career vs. motherhood debate makes great fodder for reporters looking for a fight – especially a catfight. Instances of other Democrats criticizing or demeaning Hillary are another flashpoint of the '08 intramurals. Attacking her publicly, that is; behind the scenes it goes on constantly, but going public is another matter. Just ask former presidential candidate Mark Warner what happens if you even appear to be attacking Hillary, especially if you want to keep your VP options open.

Whatever Elizabeth Edwards did or didn't say isn't really my point here. After reading her autobiography, "Saving Graces," which is an honest and public recounting of two agonizing personal experiences – losing a teenage son and being treated for breast cancer – I say good for her to be able to feel any joy, no matter if it is more or less than Hillary's.

Elizabeth Edwards has always been more outspoken than her "on message" husband and her book is powerful because of its specificity and the rawness of the facts. Edwards' reprints e-mail after e-mail which she wrote to other suffering souls about her grief and, while she has moved on with her life, it is clear that her book is yet another mode of healing. She seems to spare no detail of the family's grief. It is the tell-all of tell-alls but instead of coming off as a more-than-we-need-to-know play for sympathy it is a highly credible account of pain and struggle and survival.

Mrs. Edwards is also a political animal and illustrates that she is not without an instinct for the gotcha. She manages to work in the fact that while she and her now wealthy husband go to Wendy's every year as their anniversary tradition, and did so very publicly with John and Teresa Kerry during the 2004 campaign, the Heinz-Kerrys had a backup gourmet meal waiting for then since Wendy's was uncharted territory for their palates. And she takes a jab at Democratic consultant Bob Shrum, who stole one of her better lines during preparation for the vice-presidential debate and attempted to take credit for it.

A rare thing in a politician is giving credit to others but, except for her jibe at Shrum, Elizabeth Edwards is all about giving credit. She bestows it on her husband and children, on her parents and friends, her children's teachers and classmates, and on average voters. But, maybe most uniquely, she lavishes praise on campaign staffers. Staff is rarely acknowledged by politicians, especially the "little people," except for a throwaway line at the end of a campaign speech, but Edwards names names over and over again. These are not household names and sometimes it becomes annoying to keep reading about these folks who are strangers to the rest of us. But I suspect it will mean everything to them and their families.

Edwards' discussion of her diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer is equally specific and powerful. Every detail of finding the lump, telling her husband and daughter, sneaking off to the doctors in the midst of the tumultuous end of the presidential campaign is described in full. And when she says she was serene about her cancer because she had already been through the worst thing of her life, losing her son Wade, she is once again believable. She is not afraid to admit she leaned on her husband and it seems that he was eager to take on her battle.

Edwards is starting to discover that her words in the next campaign may be scrutinized more than they were the last time and that she may have to curtail her honest and specific language. But this is no shrinking violet and she has proven that the rough and tumble of a political campaign is pretty small potatoes compared to real life.