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John Edwards has predicted he can win in the South in 2008. "I think I have the strongest chance of changing the electoral map," Mr. Edwards told the Associated Press earlier this month. "I think we have a great chance to win, not just Ohio, but to win some Southern states." Mr. Edwards is right and wrong. A South Carolina native who was educated and now lives in North Carolina, Mr. Edwards has a built-in edge over his fellow Democrats, none of whom is from the South. Yet, even if he finds a way to translate that backyard advantage into...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Presidential candidate John Edwards said Monday it's silly to suggest that his wealth and expensive tastes have hurt his credibility as an advocate for the poor. "Would it have been better if I had done well and didn't care?" Edwards asked. Edwards noted that some of the most acclaimed anti-poverty advocates came from privileged backgrounds, including Franklin Roosevelt and Bobby Kennedy. "You could see and feel the empathy they had," said Edwards, speaking from his home in North Carolina during an interview on Iowa Public Radio. (snip) His credibility on the issue has been challenged...

Americans have given $160 million so far this year to the declared presidential candidates, according to recent candidate filings. [4x-2003-totals] But the great joy of digging into the campaign-finance reports is...learning how they spent it, from the $16,000 John Edwards spent on campaign paraphernalia to Obama's $10,000 on electronic equipment to the McCain's $1,600 on flowers. ... ... Romney: ($21 million raised; $13 million cash on hand.) Romney has raised the most money of any Republican, but he also likes to spend it. That money didn't go to staff perks. Romney, the richest candidate, was stingiest with his staff members'...

(CBS) When John and Elizabeth Edwards announced this past Thursday that her breast cancer had returned and spread to her bones, and that his presidential campaign would continue, they sparked a national discussion about the choices involved. At this stage Elizabeth's cancer is incurable and treatment doesn't always prolong life. Was it the right decision to stay in the race? Can John Edwards run for president and care for his wife and family, a family that has already suffered the death of a son more than a decade ago? Can John Edwards be president without being distracted by his wife's...

John Edwards is suspending his campaign for President, and may drop out completely, because his wife has suffered a recurrence of the cancer that sickened her in 2004, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, an Edwards friend told The Politico. "At a minimum he's going to suspend" the campaign, the source said. "Nobody knows precisely how serious her recurrence is. It’ll be another couple of days before there’s complete clarity." "For him right now he has one priority which is her health and the security of the two young children," said the friend. As for the campaign, "You don't...

Prominently featured on John Edwards' presidential campaign Web site is a video of conservative commentator Ann Coulter insulting him. And with just a mouse click you can hear the invective and get a chance to donate at the same time. On Friday, Coulter, a writer and columnist known for provocative remarks, told an audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington: "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I -- so kind of...

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards won't participate in a debate co-hosted by Fox News Channel and the Nevada Democratic Party, his campaign said Wednesday, as party officials tried to settle a dust-up over their partnership with the conservative cable network. Edwards' campaign said Fox News' participation was part of the decision to pass on the Aug. 14 debate in Reno, but it also cited scheduling conflicts. Online activists and bloggers quickly hailed the decision as a victory in their campaign to urge Nevada Democrats to drop Fox News as a partner. MoveOn.org Civic Action says it...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says Jesus would be appalled at how the United States has ignored the plight of the suffering, and that he believes children should have private time to pray at school.Edwards, in an interview with the Web site Beliefnet.com, said Jesus would be most upset with the selfishness of Americans and the country's willingness to go to war "when it's not necessary." "I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs," Edwards told...

WASHINGTON, March 3 — Three of the leading Republican presidential candidates on Saturday denounced one of their party’s best-known conservative commentators for using an antigay epithet when discussing a Democratic presidential contender at a gathering of conservatives here. The remarks by Ann Coulter, an author who regularly speaks at conservative events, were sharply denounced by the candidates, Senator John McCain of Arizona, Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. Their statements came after Democrats, gay rights groups and bloggers raised a storm of protest over the remarks. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference before an...

John Edwards' presidential campaign wants to make it clear that he doesn't consider Israel a threat to world peace. A spokesman for the 2008 Democratic candidate issued a statement today denying such a report on Variety.com. Columnist Peter Bart reports that Edwards told a Hollywood fundraiser last month that the possibility that Israel would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities is perhaps the greatest short-term threat to world peace. Edwards' spokesman Jonathan Prince says the article is erroneous. He says Edwards says one of the greatest short-term threats to world peace is Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. Bart and the host of...

It's too bad the brash-mouthed babes of John Edwards's campaign blog resorted to gutter-speak to make their points. Their points were lost in the netherworld of right- and left-wing truculence and in the jousting, jabbing, and parrying so prominent in today's nonstop news cycle. It's too bad because the points they meant to make were worth considering. Last month, Edwards's campaign hired two women, described by salon.com as "outspoken, potty-mouthed feminist bloggers, Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan" to blog for the campaign website. They were hired to lure lefty Democrats into the Edwards camp. As is so often the case...

The tone and the sentiment of some of Amanda Marcotte's and Melissa McEwan's posts personally offended me. It's not how I talk to people, and it's not how I expect the people who work for me to talk to people. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that kind of intolerant language will not be permitted from anyone on my campaign, whether it's intended as satire, humor, or anything else. But I also believe in giving everyone a fair shake. I've talked to Amanda and Melissa; they have both assured me that it was never their intention to malign anyone's...

John Edwards Says He's Running for President in 2008 Wednesday, December 27, 2006 E-MAIL STORY PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION WASHINGTON — Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards' campaign says he's running for president for a second time.

First there was John Edwards the book. Now there is John Edwards the movie.Last week, Edwards began posting scenes from the campaign trail on his One America Committee Web site and on YouTube.The camera catches him on planes and in cars, in jeans, and tucking in his shirt as he heads to a teachers' conference in Iowa and a union-sponsored anti-Wal-Mart rally in Pittsburgh."I've come to the conclusion I just want the country to see who I really am -- not based on some plastic Ken Doll you put up in front of audiences."During his 2004 campaign for the vice...

Against the storm-ravaged backdrop of a New Orleans district, John Edwards will this week become the first Democrat heavyweight to announce his 2008 White House run.The declaration by Mr Edwards, a former senator and his party's vice-presidential candidate in 2004, will kick off a season of official announcements in coming weeks by the major contenders for the Democrat and Republican nominations. The choice of New Orleans, where life is barely back to normal 16 months after Hurricane Katrina, is a clear signal that some Democrats will seek to tar rival Republicans with what many see as the Bush administration's inept...

RALEIGH – According to national polls and years of punditry, Hillary Rodham Clinton is the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. Someone should tell the Democratic Party. Its leaders and activists are trying to end her campaign before it begins in earnest. And many of them have settled on an alternative: North Carolina’s John Edwards.

(New Haven-AP, Aug. 17, 2006 9:42 PM) _ Former U.S. Senator John Edwards said today he made a mistake in 2002 by voting authorize President Bush to attack Iraq. Edwards was the keynote speaker at a rally with Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont, the Democrat who defeated Senator Joe Lieberman in last week's primary. He says he also believes the U.S. needs to withdraw its troops from the war torn country. Lamont criticized Lieberman's support of the war. Many Democrats also believe Lieberman, a centrist, has been too supportive of President Bush and the Republicans. Lamont defeated Lieberman, an 18-year-incumbent, by...

Democratic Wing-Ding Kicks Off With a Big Name Megan Strader MASON CITY, Iowa (KIMT) Thursday, August 10, 2006 Even at 16 years old Corrin Hatala was excited to hear that former Senator and Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards was the key note speaker at Thursday's Democratic Wing Ding. "I really like Jimmy Carter and John Edwards has a lot of the same values as him." And she's not alone. More than 350 people showed up to dig in to the wings and listen to speeches, especially Edwards'. And Edwards was quick to point out that his party is in good...

Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards said today that the United States should begin pulling troops out of Iraq immediately. Edwards, who may run again for the Democratic presidential nomination, was in Moultonboro (New Hampshire), campaigning for state Senator David Gottesman. Edwards says the U.S. should make it clear to the Iraqis that the Americans are leaving and the best way to do that is to begin removing troops. He called for a complete withdrawal within a year to 18 months. Edwards also said Israel had the right to defend itself against the Hezbollah but said there needs to be...

Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards, who is considering another run for the Democratic presidential nomination, said Saturday the United States should start pulling troops out of Iraq immediately. The former senator from North Carolina told reporters America should "make it clear (to Iraqis) we are leaving, and the best way is to start leaving. We should take 40,000 combat troops out now." Edwards, who has said he regretted his vote as a U.S. senator authorizing President Bush to invade Iraq, said he would ask the country's military leaders for a strategy "to have the (rest of the) troops out...