John Edwards Quits Race

Today, John Edwards returned to the place where he began his quest for the Democratic nomination for President and announced that he was suspending, not ending, suspending his bid. It may be just a case of semantics, but the choice of words did stand out. In his announcement, he stated that he had contacted both of his opponents, New York Senator Hillary Clinton and Illinois Senator Barack Obama before hand and asked them both to make the issue of poverty a major issue in their campaign and in their administration, if they are the victor in November and both of them committed themselves to doing just that. By exiting the campaign, he may have more power than he would if he stuck in till the end.

The former North Carolina Senator has been in third place all the way from the get go and the fact that he enlisted a commitment from both of his major rivals at the lowest point of his campaign shows the power that he has and will continue to have up to and possible beyond the convention, especially since he has yet to endorse anyone else.

This did not come as a complete surprise, although many thought he would continue at least until after super Tuesday on Feb 5th, but in retrospect, his dropping out now, or suspending his campaign however you wish to look at it, will have more of an impact on the final decision. Who will his supporters switch too? At this point in time, that is just about anyone's guess. His two main sources of support are the male vote, who tend to lean towards Obama and the low income voters who tend to lean towards Clinton.

Do not look for Edwards to disappear into the background. He will continue to be a force in the campaign. He has his agenda - the issue of poverty, getting out of Iraq, health care and the economy. Also, there has been mention of him having a position, possibly Secretary of State or another cabinet level appointment, in a new Democratic administration.

The next Democratic debate is on Jan 31st on CNN. There will only be two participants. One on one. Will Edwards leaving now change anything? Will Clinton and Obama gear their comments to fit the Edwards agenda in the hope of convincing his supporters that he or she is the one they show support to get the Edwards agenda put into action? This debate could be one of the most watched of the campaign. And analysts as well as the voting public will be listening very closely to see just what, if any changes one or the other comes up with. Super Tuesday is less than a week away and there will be may polls that will focus on the issue. As we have seen, they are not always that accurate, but they will be watched nevertheless.

Up until today, the general thought was that the candidate would not be picked until the convention. Now it could very well be decided next week. We shall see, we shall see.

Sources:

John Edwards for President
CNN
New York Times