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The New York Times
Politics
As North Carolina
Primary Looms,
Eyes on Edwards
By JULIE BOSMAN,
nytimes.com on the Web, April 29, 2008
WILMINGTON, N.C. — What will
the Edwardses do?
As the Democratic candidates and their surrogates traipse through North Carolina
in the final days before its primary, some people here are wondering: Why
so quiet in Chapel Hill?
That is where John and Elizabeth Edwards retreated after he dropped out of the
race for the Democratic nomination on Jan. 30. Neither Mr. Edwards, a
former senator here, nor Mrs. Edwards, a political activist herself, have
endorsed a candidate, despite the growing intensity of the race between Senator
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator Barack Obama and the fact that the contest
has now landed in the Edwardses’ own back yard.
“I don’t get it,” said Kathi Lewis of Wilmington, as she waited with two friends
for Senator Clinton to arrive at a campaign event Sunday evening. “We were
just talking about it on the way over here. It’s too bad he’s not the
candidate, but if he endorsed, it would sway people in one direction or the
other.”
Mrs. Clinton’s supporters, in particular, are anxious for the Edwardses to speak
up about who they support. Senator Obama has held a significant lead in
the polls here for months, and Clinton supporters are hoping that an Edwards
endorsement would narrow the race and bolster Mrs. Clinton’s chances at a
crucial moment.
Theories abound: They’ll endorse before the primary. Or after there
is a nominee. Or Mr. Edwards will endorse Mr. Obama and Mrs. Edwards will
endorse Mrs. Clinton. Or none of the above.
“People talk about it all the time,” said Alina Szmant, a professor at the
University of North Carolina-Wilmington, a little bit conspiratorially.
“The rumor on the street is that he’s holding out for a V.P. position.”
Mary Smith, of Carolina Beach, N.C., predicted that the Edwardses would make a
joint endorsement. “I wish they would hurry up and pick Hillary,” she
said.
The silence is strange, particularly from Mr. Edwards, said Mott Blair, a family
physician from Wallace: “One way or the other, he needs to endorse.
It’s time for him to make the statement. Sometimes you just need to come
forward and do the right thing.”
But except for an opinion article by Mrs. Edwards in The New York Times on
Sunday, which criticized the news media’s coverage of the primary campaigns (and
gave no hint of where she is leaning), the Edwardses have been staying out of
the race. And this week, the family planned to decamp for Disney World,
away from the campaign events grabbing headlines throughout the state.
Mr. Edwards has hinted to friends that he will not offer an endorsement before
the North Carolina and Indiana primaries on May 6.
One former aide said that Mr. Edwards is angling for a role in a Democratic
administration, and with the contest still undecided, he is hesitant to commit
to a candidate.
“He doesn’t want to pick the loser,” the aide said.
John C. Moylan, a longtime friend and adviser who directed Mr. Edwards’s South
Carolina campaign, was more diplomatic.
“He thinks very highly of both Senators Clinton and Obama, and I do not think he
is inclined to spend the next three months engaged in the small politics of
who’s the better bowler or beer drinker,” Mr. Moylan said.
Many of Mr. Edwards’s North Carolina supporters have been quietly pressing him
to endorse Mr. Obama, and a large group of them, led by Ed Turlington, his
former national general campaign chairman, came forward publicly last week to
support Mr. Obama.
On the other hand, Mrs. Edwards, her husband’s closest and most trusted adviser,
has made it clear that she favors Mrs. Clinton; aides said she has recently
tried to persuade Mr. Edwards to do the same.
Even if he remains neutral, her endorsement would carry weight, some voters
suggested.
“I read in the Raleigh paper that Elizabeth likes Hillary’s health care plan, so
we know who she’s for,” said Judy Campbell, of Wilmington.
“People are waiting to see what she says,” said Elizabeth Highfill of
Wilmington. “In North Carolina, Elizabeth is more important. I’m not going
to be surprised if she endorses Hillary and he endorses Obama.”
Mr. Edwards and Mrs. Clinton hardly appear to be natural allies.
Throughout the campaign, the two clashed repeatedly, particularly in televised
debates. He criticized her for accepting campaign contributions from
lobbyists, a practice that he fiercely opposed.
His campaign pitch often centered on the notion that establishment Washington
politicians have become corrupted by the influence of lobbyists for drug
companies, oil companies and other corporate interests. And one of his
lowest moments in the campaign occurred when he seemed to mock her — perhaps in
a flip remark gone awry — for her clothing during a debate.
But more recently, their relationship has warmed, and they speak on the phone
regularly. (Mr. Obama is also in touch with Mr. Edwards, and spoke to him
as recently as last week.)
Paz Bartolome, a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, said
that even though she supports Mrs. Clinton, she would prefer that Mr. Edwards
remain neutral. “I hope he doesn’t endorse anybody,” she said. “He
should let people make up their minds.”
Joni Barnes, of Wilmington, said she believes he is waiting for a nominee to be
chosen. “I think he doesn’t want to create any more division within the
party,” she said.
Some, though, said the Edwardses’ influence is overstated.
“We don’t wake up every day wondering who John Edwards is going to endorse for
president,” said Dan Baden, the director of the Center for Marine Science
Research in Wilmington. “I don’t think it’s a factor at all.”
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