CNN: Edwards quitting presidential race
.....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....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....
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....
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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."...
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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.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/30/edwards/index.html