And we have nothing to say she wasn't either... We have a lack of proof of her being a good or a bad person. She was purposely created that way so we could form our own opinions. I based my opinion on how she was in the beginning of the game, not how she was 10 updates later (or whatever it was). The old saying about having only one chance to make a good first impression thing. Elaine had years to try to show she was a good person to the MC and didn't have a change of heart until it was too late for me to want to change my opinion of her.
The only issue I have with the writing of the game is the nebulous nature of Don's "assholeness". Everyone except for Elaine agrees that Don was an asshole, he is called an asshole by a few of the characters, but we don't know anything about how he was other than the custody battle/keeping the MC away from Monica/the fact that Don had cheated on the MC's mom. We don't know if Don was emotionally, verbally, or physically abusive... We don't know if Elaine stood by while Don yelled at, beat, or in some other way abused the MC. Elaine is guilty by association but we don't even know what she is "associated" with in the years the MC was living at home with his dad. If the dad wasn't abusive in anyway then is he an asshole only for the past events and the will conditions?