The modest, impassioned 'anti-Barbie'

"Elizabeth Edwards is extremely skilled, and clearly knows politics: She knows what to say and what not to say," says Larry Sabato, a professor at the University of Virginia, who recently introduced her at an event at the University of Virginia law school. "We're seeing more and more professional women who happen to be married to men who are in politics. They're learning to avoid the minefields that Hillary Clinton stepped in," he adds.

Both Heinz Kerry and Mrs. Edwards make a point of saying they do not intend to make policy along with their husbands - a clear reference to Hillary Clinton's high-profile role in managing healthcare reform in the Clinton administration's first term.

In many ways, Elizabeth Edwards's story is as compelling as her husband's. Her decision to have two more children, after the death of her son, speaks to the high value of family in her life.

"Elizabeth and I were 30 and 26 when our first son Wade was born, and it is a glorious fact that Elizabeth was 50 when she had our beautiful son Jack," writes Edwards in his book, "Four Trials." Daughter Emma Claire is 6; daughter Cate recently graduated from Princeton.

The eldest daughter of a decorated Navy pilot who flew missions over North Korea and China, Elizabeth spent her childhood on the move, living in Japan, Florida, and Washington. It's one reason she so values home and family life, friends say. Her father, known for once flying an unarmed cargo plane like a fighter jet to avoid incoming MiGs, could hold a room with his stories, often hilarious. It's a talent Elizabeth shares.

"From the time she was a toddler, she was extremely impassioned, blazingly intelligent," says her brother, Jay Anania, now a New York film director. He recalls that while other kids sang cartoon theme songs, she would sing "Summertime," in perfect pitch.

But he adds that her capacity to excel at anything was not without effort. During a recent trip to Florida to help their mother, Elizabeth worked all through the night, while the family slept. "She says rest is an overrated activity," he says. "I thought she would be the one who was tired, but at the end, it was me."

After law school, Elizabeth practiced bankruptcy law and volunteered for community activities such as the PTA. The Edwardses' Raleigh home was a neighborhood hub, with Elizabeth holding court, friends say. Teenagers liked talking to her, especially around a box of warm doughnuts from Krispy Kreme, the unofficial state food. (An aide reports that she used to buy them for Wade's soccer games, hot from the oven, and always brought a box for the other team.)

Family note that she always talked to her children like adults, without the $10 words. "No matter how young they are, she still speaks to them like adults, as in: 'You're responsible for putting this back here. You know that, and the reason is, if you don't, some one else will have to,' " says Mr. Anania. "She loves being a mother. It's a role that she esteems more highly than any other, despite the fact that she is extremely active in other things."

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