Essential Estrogen

When Edwards supporter and Cedar Rapids resident Harvey Ross was given opportunity to ask the daughter of Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards a question, he wanted to expand on something her father brought up during the most recent debate in New Hampshire.

"I've been raising two teenagers," he said when given the microphone. "Teenagers, in general, seem to spend a little less time with parents than they do at an earlier age. I have two questions. One, how much time did you feel deprived of having with your father during the time he's been in public service and how has that affected your relationship? I also want to ask you about the differences that were mentioned during the debates about you and your mother having a different opinion on the issue of gay marriage."

Cate Edwards, now 25 and a student at Harvard Law School, made quick work of the first question, explaining that she was 16 when her father first launched his bid for U.S. Senate. and that she never felt neglected or deprived because of her father's launch into a career of public service. She added that both her mother and father make the necessary sacrifices and compromises while on the campaign trail to ensure both her younger siblings -- Jack, 7, and Emma Claire, 9 -- continue to receive as much one-on-one time as they need with both parents.

"I do have a very different view of gay marriage than my dad," she said. "Children don't always agree with their parents -- it might be a little creepy if they did."

Cate went on to explain that she feels her father is very progressive on the issue of gay rights including civil unions, but that he remains unable to make the leap to gay marriage. She summed this up as a generational divide and her traveling mate, actor James Denton (pictured above with Cate), agreed.

"I think Cate is right about this," he told the audience at Coe College in Cedar Rapids. "I'm from roughly the same generation as John Edwards and also have a difficult time using the word marriage for gay couples."

After the event, Ross said he was satisfied with the answer.

"I really suspected that John Edwards has a good sense of fairness on this issue," he said. "He doesn't always give us the words that the GLBT community wants to hear, but I've seen him at least twice in debates -- not only this year, but in the debate four years ago -- and if you really listen to his answers he has a wonderful sense of fairness about how no one should be able to be discriminated against and equal justice under the law."

He added that he understands about children taking views and stances that are different from their parents.

"My daughter will be caucusing this year and she is looking at the candidates in relation to her own values and ideas," he said. "She is making up her own mind and, really, isn't that what we as parents want?"

Despite the tour through Iowa on college campuses being geared toward younger voters, many older Iowans were on hand at Coe to hear what Cate Edwards and Denton had to say.

"I was very interested to see what the younger generation of the Edwards family was like," said Bob King, a local Democratic activist and one of the older people in the audience. "I wanted to know where they were politically and personality-wise too.

King said he enjoyed the event and was leaving with a lot of respect for Cate.

"She was a very personable young lady," he said. "She answered the questions very well and is obviously someone who thinks very quickly on her feet. I admire her very much because she isn't ashamed or too proud to say 'I do not know.'"

In addition to Coe College, Cate Edwards and Denton met with Iowans on the campuses of the University of Iowa, Grinnell College and Drake University.