Edwards is out

[Spin Echo]

...of the electon, not the closet. Sorry Ann.

Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina is dropping out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, two sources inside his campaign said Wednesday.

Edwards has told top advisers about his decision. It is expected he will announce it in a speech at 1 p.m. ET Wednesday in New Orleans, Louisiana.

An Edwards aide said the candidate was not getting the media attention he needed to get his message out and win delegates, especially with races coming up in 22 states next Tuesday.

Edwards has amassed 26 delegates for the Democratic nomination.

Campaign money was not an issue, the aide said.

New Orleans is the same city in which Edwards declared his run to be the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee.

Edwards' campaign Web site said he was to deliver an address on poverty and work on a Habitat for Humanity project Wednesday in New Orleans.

Edwards has trailed Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois in the early contests, including a third-place finish in Tuesday's Florida primary with 14 percent of the votes. He also came in third in key races in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

An aide said Edwards does not plan to endorse either Clinton or Obama at this time but he may do so in the future.

A top Edwards aide said the former senator contacted Obama and Clinton on Tuesday, telling them he was considering dropping out of the race and asking them to make poverty a top issue of their campaigns and -- if either reaches the White House -- a central part of their administration.

Both candidates agreed, the aide said.

Reacting to the expected announcement, Obama praised Edwards.

"At a time when our politics is too focused on who's up and who's down, he made a nation focus again on who matters -- the New Orleans child without a home, the West Virginia miner without a job, the families who live in that other America that is not seen or heard or talked about by our leaders in Washington," Obama said Wednesday.

Some political pundits predict Edwards' supporters are more likely to lean in Obama's direction.

"The conventional wisdom is that Barack Obama will pick up maybe 60 percent of them, and in some places, that makes a huge difference," former presidential adviser David Gergen said.

Time magazine journalist Joe Klein said, "I don't think he endorses Hillary Clinton. The question is whether or not he endorses Barack Obama."

Klein contends that Clinton "represents a lot of the things that [Edwards] campaigned against, you know, the old Washington Democratic establishment that he believes got too close to the corporations in the '90s."

Edwards had campaigned on the message that he was standing up for the little guy, the people who are not traditionally given a voice in Washington, and that he would do more to fight special interests.

Commenting on his New Orleans trip, Edwards said Tuesday the city symbolized why he chose to run for president.

"It's a living, breathing example of the heart of my message, what I'm talking about," Edwards said. "I mean it's the failure of government to be there when people need it. It's a perfect indication of the conditions of poverty that exist in America."

In a reaction to President Bush's State of the Union address Monday, Edwards said, "The truth is that Washington is out of touch with what's happening across the country. Between now and January of 2009, Democrats must stand up to this president, stand up for what's right, so he does not continue to forget about the middle class in this country."

Klein said Edwards played a positive role in spurring his competitors during the early part of the campaign.

"On a lot of substantive issues like health insurance, he was the first one out of the box with a very ambitious universal plan, and I think he forced the others to become bolder in a lot of their policy prescriptions, energy dependence and so on," Klein said.

The remaining Democratic contenders face off in a debate at 8 p.m. ET Thursday on CNN.

One Edwards aide said he is not dropping out of the race due to his wife's health. Elizabeth Edwards announced last year that her breast cancer had returned.

She was first diagnosed with breast cancer during her husband's 2004 vice presidential campaign as John Kerry's running mate.

Edwards is a South Carolina native with an undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University and law degree from the University of North Carolina.

Before entering politics, winning a Senate seat from North Carolina in 1998, Edwards was a lawyer representing families "being victimized by powerful interests" and gaining "a national reputation as a forceful and tireless champion for regular, hard-working people," according to his campaign Web site.

[General Zod]

Good. Hopefully this means more votes will be going towards Obama since there's less competition in the mix.

[Mr Bean]

Ohshitohshitohshit it's ON! The question is, who will Edwards give the nod to?

[Crossroads Inc.]

Ohshitohshitohshit it's ON! The question is, who will Edwards give the nod to?

Im betting no one.. if he does it might not be till it won't make a differance.. for all the talk about him "dealing'; with clinton or Obama.. I doubt hed comprimise himself and do it

[Guardsman Bass]

The New York Times article says that he's not giving an endorsement to either candidate (which seems to be a pattern in both Primary Races so far).

This is weird, since I would have thought he would at least stick around until February 5th to see if he would win enough delegates to potentially play Kingmaker. Better half a loaf (in the form of policy concessions or even the Vice Presidency spot) than no bread at all.

Assuming Giuliani actually drops out today, it'll make two. So much for the hopes of this going to the Convention.

[Covenant]

It's possible Edwards could save his endorsement of either candidate for a bit later, to give him some time to barter with them about polices and such, right? Try to wring some commitments out of them? It'd also be a good way to get his chosen candidate a 'bump' before Super Tuesday. A big endorsement like that would be an emotional uppercut right before the votes.

[brianeyci]

Well the rumor is Edwards for Attorney General.

If Edwards wants to get commitments that mean anything from Obama or Clinton, he's going to need specifics. And that is hard when you're not in government. I don't know about American government, but in the parliamentary system opposition leaders make tons of promises and end up not keeping them. This isn't always because of deceit, but because when you're in government the pressure to do certain things from civil servants is very strong. Civil servants after all are the career bureaucrats and politicians are just revolving door bullshit.

Edwards being a savvy politician knows this. He knows even if he gets a promise from Obama or Clinton for a specific initiative, there's a myriad of factors that could destroy it even if the commitment is an extremely, super specific one like fund x or table y. So unless he's stupid, he'll know there's no point asking for anything except a position like Attorney General. And if he wanted that, why not wait until after the superday?

Edwards already called Clinton and Obama to get them to promise more commitments, and they both already said yes. But that is just for the press, publicity, good show. Inside, Eddy has to know he's given up a ton of leverage dropping out early.

I'm betting this is less politics and more Edwards knows what's good for the party. His aides made a blunderous, half-hearted attack on the media not covering Edwards enough as being the reason why he dropped out. That's bullshit -- an intelligent politician would never say such a thing. Attacking the hand that feeds you is as embarassing as when that General (what the fuck was his name?) stood up in reply to Kerry's military service and said "He was only a lieutenant and I was a General!" It's just not the kind of thing a seasoned politician says, which means Edwards aides made it up. Which means Edwards gave no real reason to his closest men why he dropped out, probably because he thought they wouldn't buy the die on the sword for the party and would make too big a deal of it. Whatever reason it is, it is probably deep in his heart and genuine.

[Patrick Degan]

Sort of figured he'd be dropping out after South Carolina. His campaign, which effectively was his full-time job for a whole year, as a BBC America commentator observed, simply was getting nowhere.

And I think that's Wesley Clark you're thinking of with the rank-comparison dickwaving he tried pulling with Kerry.

[The Original Nex]

I'm betting this is less politics and more Edwards knows what's good for the party.

Given Edward's idealism this may very well be, but I'm willing to bet he was running low on cash too...

[Mlenk]

I'm betting this is less politics and more Edwards knows what's good for the party.

Given Edward's idealism this may very well be, but I'm willing to bet he was running low on cash too...

Yes, given that he refused to accept any corporate sponsors or donations.