The Road Warrior

Edwards, who had retired from the Senate to run for president and didn't have (or need) a full-time job, geared up for a second run at the White House. He started a poverty center and immersed himself in policy to combat criticism from the last election that he was a lightweight on the issues. He also made some questionable choices for a champion of the underprivileged. He built a 25,000-square-foot house, the most expensive in North Carolina's affluent Orange County. He got caught paying a ridiculous sum for a haircut. More seriously, he took a part-time, $500,000 consulting job with Fortress Investment Group, a hedge fund of the type that has become a symbol of Wall Street excess. Edwards invested nearly $16 million of his own money in the fund. This summer, it was revealed that Fortress invested in two major subprime lenders that had sought to foreclose on victims of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana—an unflattering detail for a candidate who launched his campaign with a speech in the Lower Ninth Ward. Edwards, who had resigned from the fund in December 2006, before he formally announced his candidacy, said he didn't know of the firm's involvement in the subprime lending industry and had requested that his personal funds be invested elsewhere. He pledged a donation to help those in Louisiana who had lost homes.

His campaign was almost halted before it began. In March, Elizabeth announced that her cancer had spread. She says she and John agreed that it was important he keep running. She is now back on the campaign trail several days a week.

Last month Edwards seemed to have a moment of doubt about his trademark good cheer and humor on the campaign trail. Seemingly out of nowhere, he began harshly attacking Hillary Clinton as a tool of lobbyists. It was a risky move in friendly Iowa, where going negative can backfire. To make sure he didn't go too far, his campaign gauged the reaction by quietly poll-testing his attacks with voters, says an Edwards campaign aide who didn't want to be named talking about internal tactics. (Edwards himself brushes off a question about whether he tested his tone with voters. "I don't want to talk about what other people do on my behalf," he tells NEWSWEEK. "My best feedback is what I feel in these events, what I hear and see in these events, which are real.")

Then, just as suddenly, he went back to being the happy optimist and has purged all references to Clinton. Instead, he's launched a new "America Rising" slogan that hits on his theme of protecting the middle class from corporate greed. He calls his vote for the Iraq War a mistake, says he will protect American jobs from going overseas and says free-trade agreements like NAFTA have hurt more than helped. "We want this war ended," he says. "We want universal health care. We want to get off our addiction to carbon-based fuel …" As he ticks off his list of issues, his grin stays firmly in place. Edwards says he made a foray into negative territory because "I thought it was important for people to understand the differences" between him and Clinton. Now, he says, that time has passed and he wants people to hear why he wants to be president.

There aren't many days remaining to do that. If the nomination passes him by again, it's doubtful he'd mount another run for the White House. There are plenty of second chances in American political life, but thirds are harder to come by. Then again, there is always the chance that when John and Elizabeth Edwards check into a hotel on the night of Jan. 3, they'll rest their heads behind door number 2012.

In "The Road Warrior," (Dec. 24), Newsweek stated that "Under Iowa's arcane caucus rules, a precinct where 25 people show up to vote gets the same number of delegates as a place that packs in 2,500." That is incorrect. Under Democratic rules, Iowa's precincts are allocated delegates according to past voter turnout. Precincts that turned out more voters in previous elections have a greater number of delegates to choose this year. If a small precinct has an unusually large turnout in January, the number of delegates will not change. Newsweek regrets the error.

With Holly Bailey, Jonathan Alter, Eleanor Clift and Jessica Ramirez

© 2007