CAP Loses a Friend and Champion

Statement by John D. Podesta on the Passing of Elizabeth Edwards

By John Podesta | December 7, 2010

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SOURCE: Center for American Progress

The Center for American Progress had the great privilege to call Elizabeth Edwards one of our own. It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to her today.

Elizabeth was a doer. After the 2008 primaries she joined CAP to continue her fight as a champion for all Americans to have access to health care as she did. If you’ve had the good fortune to read her writing or see her speak or hear her infectious laugh, you would know that Elizabeth had a special knack for making complicated topics less so, for being clear on her views without fuss.

This is why so many here in Washington and around the country were drawn to her, and why she had such an impact in the debate over the most transformative public policy issue of her generation.

Elizabeth also set an example for us all—about never giving up. She was a woman with a keen sense of purpose and drive, who always had an opinion, yet strived to find the common ground even with the most difficult issues. That’s an essential quality if you work in public life.

We will dearly miss our friend Elizabeth. But her legacy is the passion, resolve, and optimism that she brought to her work, and it will give us the sense of renewed purpose to keep fighting for fairness.

John D. Podesta is President and CEO of the Center for American Progress.