US Democratic
Presidential candidate and former Senator John Edwards (D-NC)
shakes his fist as he campaigns at the Friendship Haven Celebration
Center in Fort Dodge, Iowa January 1, 2008.
US Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards announced on
Wednesday to quit his bid for the White House, becoming the first
major player to drop out of the race.
Edwards announced the decision during a speech in New Orleans,
Louisiana, where his advisor said earlier he would join a housing
charity and work with a rebuilding project.
"It is time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its
path," Edwards said, adding he believes that Democratic party would
make history.
The 54-year-old former North Carolina Senator has been left far
behind by New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Illinois
Senator Barack Obama in the four states' primaries or caucuses for
the Democratic nomination for the November general election.
Only in Iowa, he surprisingly exceeded Clinton to reach the
second place.
After losing the South Carolina primary on Saturday, Edwards
vowed not to leave the race at least before Super Tuesday on
February 5 when a total of 22 states will hold their Democratic
contests.
One of the two candidates left in the race, Illinois Senator
Barack Obama, bade farewell to Edwards and his wife Elizabeth on a
Wednesday statement, saying "John Edwards has spent a lifetime
fighting to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the struggling,
even when it wasn't popular to do or covered in the news."
The speculation has been on for days whether Obama or Clinton
would benefit from Edwards' 26 delegates to the party's nomination
convention and support if he leaves the game, which was fueled by a
private talk between Edwards and Clinton after the last Democratic
presidential candidate TV debate in South Carolina.
On the other hand, Edwards has once shared Obama's message to
bring changes to Washington.
However, Edwards has not yet disclose whether he would endorse
any candidate.
According to a poll by Yahoo last month, 40 percent of Edwards's
supporters said that their second choice in the race is Clinton,
and about 25 percent prefers Obama.
Edwards dropped out of the presidential race for the party's
nomination on March 3, 2004, as the end of his first bid for
presidential candidacy. Then he endorsed the winner, John Kerry,
and became the vice presidential candidate.
As the son of a millworker, Edwards has appealed to voters with
his "underdog" story and vowed to protect labor rights. His wife,
Elizabeth, who is suffering from cancer, also boosted support to
him.
Among his populist messages, the cores are fighting poverty,
affording universal health care coverage and reducing influence of
special interest groups in Washington, which were embraced by a
number of voters.
(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2008)
