Elizabeth Edwards kept it real

Elizabeth Edwards passed away this week and is being warmly remembered from all corners. Many people talk about her great heart and the strength of her resilience, and it's true that she was an incredible model for anyone dealing with personal pain.

But I remember her best for being whip smart and unbelievably charming. I met her once (when the not-very-good photo at left was taken), and she was even more brilliant and impressive in person. Her death is a huge loss for Chapel Hill, for North Carolina, and for the whole country that has been a beneficiary of her health care activism in recent years.

For those who haven't been reading OP forever, here's the first of several comments she posted here in 2005 after the Edwards' moved to Orange County. And below is the text of a 2006 OP post called "Elizabeth Edwards, keeping it real."

I swear Rosemary and I didn't plan this, but I just read and wanted to post about this article by my friend Micah Sifry about Elizabeth Edwards. He says she is the "only person who I think we can genuinely say is participating in the blogosphere, as opposed to just using it." One of his supporting examples is Eliabeth's visit to OP to answer some questions I had raised about the location of their new home and the status of their voter registration.

As usual, she responded openly and directly. As I wrote to Micah, Elizabeth is so smart and fierce and charming it's scary. Further proof was seen in her graceful handling of that clown Chris Matthews on live TV recently. I sometimes have complaints about her husband's policies (the same I have of almost every Democrat), but as a person I only admire her more the more I get to know her. I wish nothing but the best to the entire Edwards family. 

Thank you for sharing part of your life with us, Elizabeth. You made the world a better place by sharing yourself with us.