All in the Family: Cate Edwards

Presidential politics is nothing new to Cate Edwards, the 25-year-old daughter of John and Elizabeth Edwards. She was 16 when her father first ran for United States Senate in North Carolina. She was also on the stump for her dad in Iowa in 2003 and 2004 and has returned to campaign for him again during this bid.

“I worked in the press office of his Senate campaign,” she said. “We spent hours clipping from newspapers, trying to get all the information we could. I also did mail stuffing and envelope licking, but, at that point, I wasn’t really out there on the campaign trail.”

As her father, a successful attorney, moved from the courtroom to Congress and launched bids to move further up the political ladder, Cate says the entire family was involved in the decision.

“We have a policy that we talk about things as a family,” she said. “No big decisions are made without the input of the entire family. I thought my dad really wanted to [run for Senate] and I thought it would be great. Although I didn’t actually know at the time what it meant. I knew that he wanted to go into public service and I knew that he wanted to the same types of things he’d been doing with his law practice for the entire state of North Carolina — giving a voice to people who didn’t necessarily have one. Since I knew that was why he wanted to do it, of course, I said yes.”

How does running for the Senate then translate into running for president?

“We had heard — there were sort of mumblings that he might run from people who didn’t actually know, but who thought he would be a good candidate,” she said. “So, I had an idea that the opportunity was there. But we did sit down as a family — for a number of conversations, not just one. I also know that my mom and dad had separate conversations without me as well where they talked about the well-being of their children.”

Because of how well she knew her father and his reasons for wanting to serve, Cate says she didn’t have hesitation with her support of his bid for the White House.

“I completely supported him,” she said. “I knew the reasons he wanted to do it and I knew that he’d make a great president. I knew that not only in terms of his policies, but I knew that he was a fighter, someone who had fought for other people his entire life. As a young person — at that time I was 20 or 21 — I knew that’s what I would want in my president. I thought, ‘Why would I ever deprive the rest of the country.’”

Cate said that growing up in the public spotlight wasn’t as bad as some might think, but concedes that the spotlight on her wasn’t nearly as narrowly focused as it has been on others.

“It wasn’t actually so bad,” she said. “At first I was in college and just did a few trips with my parents and a couple of trips on my own. That was during the primary season in 2003. The spotlight really wasn’t so bright at that time. In the general election, as I began to become more and more involved in the campaign and went to colleges all around the country, there was a little more attention. I do think that you quickly adjust to that. It’s good to have your family and it’s good to have your friends who keep you completely grounded.

“I think part of the reason [the spotlight wasn't so bright] is that I wasn’t there to talk about myself. I was there to talk about my dad. So, it was much easier to deflect because I was talking about him and the things he wanted to do. That was much more interesting for me and for everyone else. So, I didn’t really feel the glare that the Bush daughters certainly have felt throughout their dad’s presidency.”

Sitting down for the interview, Cate was in the midst of her first trip into Iowa for the 2008 presidential campaign.

“I spent a lot of time here in 2004,” she said. “I was working during this past summer and didn’t get to make trips, but I plan to be coming out here plenty. Iowa is very important to us.”

Looking back over the time she has spent in Iowa, she says that Davenport holds a special memory.

“It has to be Davenport,” she said and laughed. “After all, I won $115 at the riverboat casino, playing black jack there for the first time ever when I was 21 or 22.”

She said, in looking at her father — the man who affectionately refers to her as Catie-Did — there are so many reasons why he would make the best president.

“I think his policies are well thought out and well layed out,” she said. “He has specific ideas and is not skirting any issues. He is presenting to the American people the things that he wants to do. The reason he wants to be president is to provide opportunity to as many people as he can. That doesn’t come from a place of ‘Well, this sounds good’ or ‘This would be good for my political career if I said this.’ It comes from his own life experience. So, I know that he will spend every single day in office fighting for the American people to have educational opportunity, economic opportunity and career opportunity. His experience growing up is completely reflected in the kind of president he wants to be and the kind of policies he is presenting.”