We get so caught up in the rhetoric and passion of politics that I fear we often forget the human beings behind the headlines.

The announcement today that Elizabeth Edwards' cancer has returned has made me particularly sad.  There is very little with which I agree with when it comes to  John Edwards idealogy.  But as someone who has had every single member of his immediate family shattered by cancer while I was growing up, I certainly can relate to what the Edwards family is going through. 

My radio producer wants me to devote some time on the next show I host to discuss whether John Edwards is making a mistake by continuing his campaign, now that he knows that she has cancer that has spread to the bone.  I just can't really go there right now.

Right now, I just feel like praying for her.

Politics aside, shouldn't we all do that?

It was so refreshing to see President Bush lash out at his critics by defending Alberto Gonzales.   Finally, Mr. Bush is standing up for one of his own.   Forget the partisan attacks by rabid Democrats -- Gonzales has done nothing wrong, the U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President who can dismiss them any time, anywhere, any place, for any reason he wants.

When President Bush showed a bit of a flash of temper in defending Gonzales yesterday, many of us breathed a sigh of relief.  He promised a constitutional showdown if Democratic leaders attempt to force White House aides to testify under oath about the federal prosecutors.

Let the fur fly, Mr. President.  Fight back and fight hard.  This is precisely why we elected you.  Twice.

Many callers to my radio show are constantly asking, "What is wrong with Republicans?   Why are so many of them afraid to stand up to the Demcrats and fight?"

I wish I knew the answer to that question.  The Alberto Gonzales "controversy" is a perfect example of weak-kneed Republicans who are cowering and bowing and scraping over this total non-issue of the legitimate dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys.

Forget going through the obvious hypocricy of Democrats who seem to forget the political firings that Bill Clinton engaged in during the 1993 purge of 92 U.S. attorneys.  How about Republicans like John Sununu who are joining the liberal pack and calling for Gonzales' head on a platter?

I don't get Republicans like Sununu and John Cornyn and others who are piling on over this concocted, contrived story.

Is Gonzales becoming a liability to the Bush Administration?  Sure he is.  But only because he won't fight back and a few Republicans are bailing.

And the media's role?  Appalling as usual.   Try to stomach George Stephanopoulos of ABC grilling Gonzales on TV while apparently forgetting to mention that Georgie boy was Bill Clinton's right hand man in 1993 while he was firing 92 U.S. attorneys.  Or seeing other network anchors interviewing Madame Hillary, giving her all the opportunity in the world to rail against "political firings", and not bothering to ask her about her husband's decision to clean house in 1993, doing the same thing President Bush is doing, only more than ten times over!

C'mon, Republicans.  Get your sea legs back.  Stop acting so shell-shocked over the midterm elections.  Grow up and fight back.  Don't let the schoolyard bullies of the Democratic Party and the mainstream press get away with this garbage...

I'm positively amazed at all the serious American conservative voices who are throwing right-wing flamethrower Ann Coulter under the bus for her schoolyard joke about political correctness and the word "faggot."

The snorts of disapproval and huffs and puffs are pouring in.  "I was not amused."  "She hurts the conservative movement."  "We should never name-call."  "She was a distraction from the serious straw poll that featured strong showings by Romney and Guiliani."   And on and on...

Why are so many conservatives afraid to fight back?

Time and time again, we're called a variety of names by liberal Democrats.  We wag our finger at them and warn them to stop calling us Nazis and liars and warmongers and the like.

So when one of our own gets under the skin of wimpy liberals, we burn her at the stake?

I hope everyone who wants to bash Ann Coulter had a chance to see her on "Hannity and Colmes" last night.   As the videotape proved, her entire speech to the CPAC crowd included a series of zingers and punchlines and potshots at the other side.  And as she said on the show, her joke was intended to be a commentary about the idiocy of sending a Hollywood actor into rehab because he used a bad word.  Besides, unless John Edwards was preparing to announce that he's coming out of the closet, the happily married man with children should have no real worries about being called something he's not.  She intended it to be the schoolyard taunt of "wuss", something said all the time.

Well, I'm not going to cave with the rest of the weenie liberals and pompous conservatives who like to eat their own.   I think Ann Coulter is gutsy and terrific.  Besides, she's a commentator, not a U.S. Senator.   

I've been on vacation for the past week or so -- this was one of those times where my wife and I didn't go anywhere:  we moved into a new house we've been building for the past 7-8 months or so.

Moving is an amazingly draining experience.  Unpacking boxes, trying to track down the phone company (which simply can NOT seem to get our order right), dealing with all the new things one has to deal with, it can just be maddening.

But right when I think I'm ready to throw in the towel, I remind myself how blessed I am to live in a country that gives us such opportunity.

I admit to being touched by the Oprah Winfrey TV special the other night where she showcased her academy for young South African girls.   To see those children live in such abject poverty is sobering.   And then, to realize that I've been able to achieve the American dream by actually building a house and moving in this weekend, is truly a gift from God and an American ideal.

It's great to be back in the saddle again.