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WATCH: Hundreds Say Goodbye as Elizabeth Edwards is Laid to Rest

More than 1,000 family members and friends gathered Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina to honor the life of Elizabeth Edwards. The 61-year-old mother of four and estranged wife of former U.S. senator and two-time presidential candidate John Edwards, died Tuesday after a long battle with breast cancer. Edwards was a strong and vocal ally of gay rights and bravely faced her husband's very public infidelity in the last years of her life.

Her estranged husband did not speak did not speak at the funeral but their oldest daughter, 28-year-old Cate, delivered the eulogy, reports WRAL. "She could bring out the brave in anyone. She brought it out in all of us," Cate Edwards said. "All of the grace and strength she showed during her whole life will hold us up in the days ahead."

Those in attendance included U.S. Sens. John Kerry and Kay Hagan; North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue; Iowa First Lady Mary Culver; former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta and Vicki Kennedy, the wife of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.

R.I.P.

Watch WRAL's report AFTER THE JUMP ...

National Enquirer Claims John Edwards in Extra-Marital Affair

The National Enquirer leads with an "exclusive" that alleges a "PRESIDENTIAL CHEATING SCANDAL" in 50 point Helvetica Condensed Bold. The report isn't much of a presidential scandal—the man in question is Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and the alleged "mistress" is a totally anonymous staffer.

The details are silly and almost fan girlish. The Enquirer does not claim to have met the woman, but, says "she confessed to having" an 18-month affair with the presidential candidate "in phone calls and emails." "When they met at a bar," a friend says the woman confessed to her. "Sparks flew immediately.” Well. That settles that.

Not surprisingly, the John Edwards campaign has comment. On the other hand, right-wing harpy Ann Coulter—who has been quite busy lately—is peddling this trash to anyone who will listen. On last night's Tucker, it was no coincidence the conservative pundit knew the ridiculous details even before the Enquirer's website published the story. (Video here) Last spring, Coulter grabbed headlines by infamously calling Edwards a "faggot" and now she claims the former senator is having a long-term affair with another woman. Not very logical, but then again, Ann Coulter is obsessed with John Edwards so it's entirely likely she is the woman having a delusional affair with Edwards in her own head.

More John Edwards here.
More Ann Coulter here and at Media Matters.

Presidential Cheating Scandal [National Enquirer]

Some Background ...
Fourth Newspaper Dumps Coulter [R20]
Sixth Paper Drops Coulter [R20]
News Blackout After Ann Coulter Calls John Edwards a "Faggot" [R20]
News: Ann Coulter's Jockstrap [R20]
Elizabeth Edwards on Gays and Ann Coulter [R20]
Christians to Coulter: You're Godless [R20]
News: Hillary Clinton Leads, Ann Coulter [R20]
Edwards Campaign Launches 12-City Poverty Tour [R20]
John Edwards "Unaware of Wife's Position [R20]
Elizabeth Edwards: "Comfortable with Gay Marriage" [R20]
Democratic Debate Addresses Homopohobia, Race [R20]
SCOTUS Rejects School Diversity [R20]
Clinton, Edwards Oppose Surgeon General Nominee [R20]
Behind the Gay-Friendly Faces [Advocate]

News: Larry Craig Latest, David Vitter, Jonathan Capehart, HBCUs

· The latest attempt by Sen. Larry Craig toward career rehabilitation: A Minnesota court will hear the senator's request to withdraw the guilty plea made after his arrest in a men's room sex sting. "The Hennepin County District Court said the hearing would be held on September 26, just days before the September 30 deadline the Idaho Republican set for himself to resign if his name is not cleared." The three-term senator maintains he was incompetent to enter the plea signed almost two months after arrest.

· 50 Cent butches it up to drive album sales.

· Internal Revenue Service upholds the tax-exempt status of the anti-gay Focus on the Family after complaints against founder James Dobson's endorsement of President George W. Bush in 2004.

· A former New Orleans escort passes a polygraph test after maintaining family values lawmaker "[Sen. David] Vitter paid to engage in sex with her two to three times a week between July and November 1999." This is separate to the other charges that Vitter patronized a New Orleans brothel and called the DC Madam.

· Former NBA player John Amaechi and staff at the Human Rights Campaign will train LGBT students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) "to build viable student-led LGBT-friendly organizations on campus." Some HBCUs such as Hampton University have not allowed gay-straight alliances on campus.

· John and Elizabeth Edwards building grassroots base in ruby red Texas: "We have a saying in our family that you're never going to win a football game you don't play in."

· The Advocate talks to Jonathan Capehart about the groundbreaking HRC/Logo Presidential Forum: "It was a great honor to even be asked. They could have gone to any number of out gay journalists to sit on that sofa... How extraordinary to have a possible president of the United States not be afraid to talk about LGBT issues on live TV. Too bad the Republicans didn’t avail themselves of the same opportunity."

Elizabeth Edwards Talks About Gays, Marriage and Ann Coulter

Joan Walsh, who is one of our favorite writers and pundits, has an excellent interview with Elizabeth Edwards at Salon. The wife and chief strategist to Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards sheds some light on her recent appearances in the gay and lesbian community, and, her challenge to right-wing harpy Ann Coulter.

Why do you support gay marriage? Why not civil unions?
I remember hearing [former GOP Sen. Rick] Santorum ranting about how homosexual marriage threatens heterosexual marriage. I could be wrong, but I think heterosexual marriage is threatened more by heterosexuals. I don't know why gay marriage challenges my marriage in any way.

But your husband feels differently; he's a civil unions guy.
Well, I think it's a struggle for him, having grown up in a Southern Baptist church where it was pounded into him. I was raised a Methodist in military churches. Poverty was talked about; I don't remember homosexuality ever being mentioned... But in churches, in political season, there's plenty of ginning up this issue.

You came to San Francisco and gave a speech before the gay pride parade, but then you were criticized for not being on a float or marching in the parade ...
I don't care, it doesn't matter to me. People who are going to be critical about that probably aren't for my husband to begin with.[...]

Why did you bother to phone [Ann Coulter]?
Ignoring the fact that she exists doesn't make her go away. If it did, you wouldn't hear me utter her name. So I think maybe the better thing to do is simply confront people like her. Are you going to stop them? Under no circumstances will you stop them. But maybe you empower other people to stand up, and maybe that has an effect. When I travel, so many older people thank me for what I did. Because the vile kind of way Ann Coulter thinks and talks, that was not ever part of the public discourse until recently.

Elizabeth Edwards raises three important points. First: Politics is a dynamic and positions are fluid and can be moved. Second: Much of the needless criticism directed toward her and John Edwards, especially around LGBT outreach, is probably by people who will never cast a vote in their favor. Why placate them? The third point, regarding Coulter: Take a memo from the Bill and Hillary School of Hard Knocks. Always confront the opposition with a rapid response. Never allow them to define you. You go girl.

Moving onto the John Edwards campaign. Last week, you'll recall we chatted up his 8-state trip, stopping in 12 cities to raise awareness and increase news coverage on poverty issues. Last night on CNN, Anderson Cooper 360 devoted two segments to the campaign and the poverty tour. Very compelling because it's always exciting to witness Sen. Edwards talking about poverty, race and class, which are his strong suits. Cooper's video has not yet been posted but you can watch the Tom Foreman spot from the Situation Room HERE. AC 360 Transcripts are below.

The Salon Interview: Elizabeth Edwards [Salon]
AC 360: Edwards Campaign and Poverty Tour [CNN]

Some Background ...

Christians to Coulter: You're Godless [R20]
Edwards Campaign Launches 12-City Poverty Tour [R20]
John Edwards "Unaware of Wife's Position [R20]
Elizabeth Edwards: "Comfortable with Gay Marriage" [R20]
Democratic Debate Addresses Homopohobia, Race [R20]
SCOTUS Rejects School Diversity [R20]
Clinton, Edwards Oppose Surgeon General Nominee [R20]
Behind the Gay-Friendly Faces [Advocate]

Christians to Ann Coulter: You're the One Who is Godless

Christians on both the left and right denounce right-wing harpy Ann Coulter and her hate speech that masquerades as "political commentary."

Last week, Coulter grabbed more headlines after revising her previous "faggot" remarks directed at Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. "Bill Maher was not joking and saying he wished Dick Cheney had been killed in a terrorist attack. I'm gonna say anything about John Edwards in the future, I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot." A few days later, Elizabeth Edwards challenged the author of Godless to a public debate. Coulter declined.

Christian blogger David Kuo—who once directed the Bush Administration's faith-based initiatives—says "conservative Christian activists need to publicly distance themselves from her for the sake of the Gospel. What most Christians do is to love God and their family and their neighbors. But so long as the conservative Christian activists are in bed (metaphorically speaking) with Ms. Coulter it sends a very different message."

Darrell Bock—editor-at-large of Christianity Today—was just as blunt: "The godless author needs to clean up her act. Making fun of the tragic death of a child, teasing about sexual orientation, or joking about wanting to see a terrorist at work against someone is wrong, whether it comes from the left or the right."

Dr. Bock is a professor of theology and one of the world's leading New Testament scholars. If you wanted to ask anyone "WWJD?", this would be the man.

More Ann Coulter HERE.

Darrell Bock takes on Ann Coulter [J Walking]
Christians and Ann Coulter, Part 2 [J Walking]

John Edwards "Unaware of Wife's Position on Gay Marriage"

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and wife Elizabeth appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and acknowledged the obvious: They disagree over same-sex marriage. But some reports indicate the candidate only discovered the high-profile split after reading news reports.

On Sunday, you'll recall that Elizabeth Edwards kicked off Gay Pride in San Francisco by speaking to some 300-plus people at the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club’s pride breakfast and remarking, "I don't know why someone else's marriage has anything to do with me. I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage."

Last night on Leno, the candidate expressed surprise. At least according to the Associated Press:

The former North Carolina senator, with his wife at his side on Leno's couch, said he was unaware of her position on gay marriage and was surprised to learn about it while reading the newspaper.

"A lot of people I love and care about feel the same way Elizabeth does," Edwards said. "I'm very strong about ending discrimination against gay and lesbian couples. But I'm not quite where Elizabeth is yet," he added.

Compare this to a joint December 31, 2006 appearance on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, when the host asked Elizabeth "whether she was pro same-sex marriage, she responded, 'Well, it's not particularly important whether I am, but I guess I come from a more eclectic background and so it’s less problematic, I think, probably for me.' "

"It's not the only thing we disagree about," the Democratic presidential candidate joked last night on Jay Leno."She actually says what she thinks."

You could say that again.

Edwards, Wife Split on Gay Marriage [AP]
Edwards Says He Didn't Know Elizabeth was Pro-Same-Sex Marriage [Advocate]

Some Background ...

Elizabeth Edwards: "Completely Comfortable with Gay Marriage" [R20]
Clinton, Edwards Oppose Surgeon General Nominee [R20]
Obama and Edwards on DOMA [R20]

Elizabeth Edwards at San Francisco Pride: "I'm Completely Comfortable with Gay Marriage"

Elizabeth Edwards raises the bar for presidential candidates and their spouses. Yesterday she kicked off San Francisco's annual gay pride parade by breaking with her husband over same-sex marriage: "I don't know why someone else's marriage has anything to do with me," Mrs. Edwards said at a news conference before the parade started. "I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage."

Mrs. Edwards says her husband, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, "has a deeply held belief against any form of discrimination, but that's up against his being raised in the 1950s in a rural southern town. John believes that couples in committed long-term relationships should enjoy the same rights, benefits and responsibilities regardless of whether they are straight couples or same-sex couples. He supports civil unions."

The high profile policy split comes as the Edwards campaign recently strongly re-positioned itself on some LGBT issues. None of the top three Democratic candidate support same-sex marriage. John Edwards—a former senator from North Carolina—and Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama support civil unions for gay couples and scrapping portions of the Defense of Marriage Act. That last position is a dramatic departure for all three candidates.

This is not the first time a candidate's spouse veered from the party line. Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush were pro-choice, as their husbands had previously been. Also, in 2000 and 2004, Vice President Dick Cheney, whose daughter Mary is lesbian, famously said he supported same-sex unions and was against a proposed marriage amendment.

Mrs. Edwards Comfortable with Gay Unions [AP]

Some Background ...

Clinton, Edwards Oppose Surgeon General Nominee [R20]
Obama and Edwards on DOMA [R20]