I’ll be honest: I’ve never been crazy about John Edwards. With his million-dollar smile, his finely groomed hair and his good-old-boy charm, the man has always reminded me of a used-car salesman — though I’d probably respect him more had he made his millions selling lemons instead of suing doctors.

That said, there are two things about Mr. Edwards that I can’t help but admire, if only because they are so rare in the highest echelons of American politics. One, he worked his way up from very modest beginnings. (That’s more than I can say for George Bush, Al Gore, John Kerry or Ted Kennedy.) And two, he’s had an enduring marriage to a woman he clearly loves and to whom — I presume — he’s always been faithful. (That’s more than I can say for Bill Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain or, well, Ted Kennedy.)

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You can tell a lot about a man by the woman he’s chosen to spend his life with. A wife can bring out her husband’s best qualities or his worst. I believe that one of the most unappreciated reasons that George Bush won a second term was Laura — because she reminded voters of the good-humored qualities they liked about her husband. Theresa Heinz Kerry, on the other hand, reminded voters of what they liked least about her husband: his patrician snobbery, his cold-blooded detachment and his incurable case of foot-in-mouth disease. Switch the spouses, I contend, and we’d have a President Kerry.

Like Laura Bush, Elizabeth Edwards has always brought out the best in her husband. She reinforces public perceptions of John Edwards as down-to-earth, affable and articulate because she, too, embodies those qualities. Watching the two of them on the 2004 campaign trail, I always got the impression that Elizabeth was far happier when the spotlight was on her husband than on herself. She knew that she was there in a supporting role — none of this Clinton “two for the price of one” nonsense — and she relished it.

And so it was with sadness that I watched one week ago as the couple emerged from a Chapel Hill hotel — the one where they married 30 years ago — to announce that her cancer had returned and that it was no longer curable, only treatable.

For me, there was something painfully familiar about the situation. I felt as if I had been transported back to that fateful night during my senior year of high school, when my father knocked on my bedroom door to inform me that the breast cancer we thought my Mom had beaten was back — and that this time it was terminal.

Watching the ever-upbeat Edwards, I saw my father, trying to keep a smile on his face despite the realization that his life would never be the same. Watching Elizabeth, I saw my mother, determined not to let a death sentence ruin what time she had left, let alone the lives of her husband and children. And watching the two of them together —taking cues from each other, smiling at each other, laughing with one another — I saw two people who, like my parents, had never fallen out of love. They were, it appeared, secure in the knowledge that they would face whatever lay ahead together.

The big surprise, of course, was that despite initial reports, Edwards would neither suspend nor end his presidential bid — indeed, that it would continue with nary a snag.

What, then, is the prognosis for the Edwards campaign? In the near term, good. Suddenly, the man who had been lost in the duel between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has been thrust once again into the national spotlight — not as politician, but as loving husband. And for that reason, none of the candidates will dare say anything but the most glowing things about their North Carolina rival. Obama and Clinton will continue throwing mud at each other while Edwards glides by with a halo. He’ll likely surge in the polls, with people voicing at least temporary support to show their solidarity. Bleeding hearts will bleed for John and Elizabeth Edwards.

Over the long run, however, questions and concerns about Elizabeth’s health will hang over the campaign like a dark cloud. When they enter voting booths next year, even John Edwards’ strongest supporters may find themselves pondering whether they’re prepared to elect a man who could lose his wife during his first term. John Edwards made it clear during the press conference that if he found himself forced to choose between being with Elizabeth and doing something else, Elizabeth would always come first. That should be an easy choice for him so long as that “something else” is speaking at a rally or signing autographs — it may be a bit more excruciating if “something else” becomes running the country. It’s ironic, and unfair, that what makes John Edwards a good husband could make him a bad president.

Of course, nobody has a crystal ball because cancer is unpredictable. Many women with Stage IV breast cancer, like Elizabeth, live on for years. Some die within months — like my Mom. I don’t regret the classes I skipped during those last few weeks to be at her bedside. And I know that John Edwards won’t regret the time he takes away from his campaign to be with his wife when she needs him — even if it ultimately costs him his last shot at the presidency.

Politics is important, but not that important.

Ben Birnbaum is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at bhb9@cornell.edu. Infomaniacs Anonymous usually appears Tuesdays.