Elizabeth Edwards Dies

Elizabeth Edwards,  wife of former US Senator John Edwards, died today after a battle with breast cancer. She was 61 years old.

Thoughts and prayers go out to her family.

From WRAL:

Edwards died at her Chapel Hill home, where family and friends had gathered in recent days after doctors informed her that her cancer had spread and recommended that she not undergo further treatment.

Edwards was first diagnosed with cancer in the waning days of the 2004 presidential campaign, when her husband, then-U.S. Sen. John Edwards, was the Democratic nominee for vice president. The couple didn’t disclose her illness until after the election.

The cancer went into remission after surgery and months of treatment, but it resurfaced in early 2007, as John Edwards was mounting a second run at the White House. The Edwardses agreed at the time that they wouldn’t allow the cancer to derail his candidacy.

Cleveland Browns Trade Braylon Edwards to Jets

It was announced this morning that the Cleveland Browns have traded wide receiver Braylon Edwards to the New York Jets for wide receiver Chansi Stuckey, linebacker Jason Trusnik and undisclosed draft choices.

From the Associated Press:

Edwards will combine with Jerricho Cotchery to give rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez two proven playmakers as starting wide receivers.

Edwards, in his fifth season, has 10 receptions for 139 yards but was held to no catches for the first time in his career in the winless Browns’ 23-20 overtime loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. His best season came in 2006, when he had 80 catches for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns.

The former first-round pick out of Michigan comes with his share of off-field issues. The NFL is investigating whether he violated the league’s conduct policy following accusations he assaulted a man outside a nightclub. Cleveland police are also looking into the incident.

The Jets, off to a 3-1 start, had been looking to replace Laveranues Coles in the starting lineup after allowing him to become a free agent in the offseason. They were looking into former Giants star Plaxico Burress’ legal status before the draft, and the Jets were mentioned in possible trade talks with Denver’s Brandon Marshall.

Did John Edwards Ask Aide to Claim Paternity?

According to reports, John Edwards talked a campaign aide into claiming he fathered a child born to Edwards’ onetime mistress.

From CNN:

Edwards admitted to his affair with Rielle Hunter in August 2008 after months of denials, but said he could not have been the father of Hunter’s daughter, who was born the previous February. Former Edwards staffer Andrew Young has said he was the girl’s father — but has recanted and says he made it because he believed in Edwards, lawyers and others familiar with the matter told CNN.

Young was married with children when he claimed to have fathered Hunter’s child. He never signed any affidavits or legal papers, however, and reversed his claim after Edwards, as one of the sources put it, dropped Young “like a hot potato.”

The news comes as a grand jury in Edwards’ home state of North Carolina is investigating payments made to Hunter — who had been hired as a campaign videographer — by the former senator’s campaign and supporters. Hunter was photographed entering the courthouse where the grand jury was meeting in August.

Landslide Victory For Barack Obama May Not Be In The Cards

You knew that this couldn’t be a landslide victory for Barack Obama, right?

From Politico:

From the fever swamps of the blogosphere to the halls of academia, there is a chorus of voices who have come to the same conclusion about the presidential election: Barack Obama is going to win in November, by something resembling a landslide.

Yet for all the breathless analysis and number-crunching that has convinced observers Obama is en route to an epic victory, there is one key historic fact that is often overlooked—most popular vote landslides were clearly visible by the end of summer. And by that indicator, 2008 doesn’t measure up.

In five of the six post-war landslides (defined as a victory of 10 percentage points or more) the eventual winner was ahead by at least 10 percentage points in the polls at the close of August, according to a Politico analysis of historical Gallup polls. Over the past week, however, Gallup’s daily tracking poll pegs Obama ahead of John McCain by a margin of 2 to 5 percentage points.

I don’t expect Obama to lose the election to John McCain, but I also don’t expect him to run away with the Presidency. It has been a rough couple of years for the economy, the US and its people. It is obvious that the people are ready for a change, but I’m not sure if the country is sure of who they would like to see in office.

Time will tell who will win the general election in November. This month will be very interesting as we have the Democratic National Convention in Denver in just two weeks followed soon after by the Republican National Convention.

Obama will be announcing his candidate shortly, via text message, and I for one believe that his choice of a running mate may be the ultimate decider whether he wins in November, or loses. At least now we know it won’t be John Edwards, right? Thoughts?