John Edwards makes his exit official

As the North Carolina senator throws his support to the party's front-runner, some see the next vice president.

RALEIGH, N.C. - Speaking to a crowd of glum faces and at least one person holding an "Edwards for VP" sign, Sen. John Edwards dropped out of the Democratic race for president Wednesday and vowed to "do everything in my power" to help the likely nominee, Sen. John Kerry.

Edwards said Kerry "served his country courageously in Vietnam" and "has what it takes to be president of the United States."

Edwards supporters and political analysts offered a variety of explanations why the North Carolina senator lost to Kerry. Some said Kerry got such a boost from winning Iowa that Edwards could not catch up.

Others attributed it to the compressed schedule of presidential primaries or Edwards' unwillingness to change his campaign speech. Some said the news media was so focused on Howard Dean's scream that reporters ignored Edwards' strong second-place finish in Iowa.

"We really should have had co-star status coming out of Iowa," said David Axelrod, Edwards' media adviser. "When Kerry got going, it was very difficult to stop him."

An Edwards supporter, Bora Zivkovic, said Edwards' refusal to criticize other candidates hurt his chances.

"It's politics. It's dirty," said Zivkovic, a biology graduate student from Chapel Hill who attended Edwards' speech Wednesday. "I think he played too clean."

Chuck Todd, editor of the Hotline, a daily journal of political news coverage, said Edwards "never changed his stump speech and his issues. You can't change the dynamics of the race unless you are willing to change what you're saying."

Todd and Craig Crawford, a political commentator for MSNBC and Congressional Quarterly, said Dean's scream played a big role. It drew so much press attention that there was less coverage of Edwards' strong performance in Iowa.

Crawford said the media coverage after Iowa was that "Kerry won, Dean lost his mind and oh, by the way, Edwards did pretty good too."

At the speech Wednesday, which was delivered at the high school Edwards' son attended before he was killed in an automobile accident, supporters said they were saddened that the candidate had to drop out.

Joyce Wilson, a real estate manager from Raleigh, said she liked Edwards because "he's very compassionate. That is what this country needs - someone who cares about the middle class."

So what's next for Edwards?

Many Democrats consider him a good choice to be Kerry's running mate because he is from the South, he has national security experience from serving on the Senate Intelligence Committee and is considered one of the party's most charismatic speakers.

Kerry went to great lengths to praise him Tuesday night, saying Edwards "brings a compelling voice to our party" and has "great promise for leadership for the years to come."

Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report, said Edwards "stands a decent chance" of being chosen because he and Kerry complement each other. "They match in terms of the Brahmin and the populist, the New Englander and the Southerner."

But Rothenberg said Kerry may not want to choose Edwards because of his lack of seasoning, his career as a trial lawyer (which would make him an easy target for Republicans) and the fact that it would mean two senators on the ticket.

Crawford said Edwards is an unlikely choice because he is not popular enough in North Carolina to assure Kerry could win the state and because Edwards does not have enough political experience.

"I don't think John Kerry thinks Edwards is ready for prime time," Crawford said. "I think he views Edwards background as too thin for the major leagues."

Edwards did not discuss his future, except to say he would campaign on Kerry's behalf.

Axelrod, Edwards' media consultant, said it was premature to discuss Kerry's running mate but said that Edwards "has proven himself to be the most effective campaigner" in the Democratic Party.

"I think he'll do what's asked of him," Axelrod said. "I think he'll have a very busy eight months."

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