Byline: G. Robert Hillman
RACINE, Wis. _ It's a quiet campaign. No buttons. No banners. No bumper stickers. But you hear it all along the campaign trail: John Edwards for vice president.
When pressed, he claims no interest, says it would never happen, and that he would turn it down anyway. The North Carolina senator insists he's running for president, period.
Still, there's plenty of chatter about a Kerry-Edwards ticket that would pair the Democratic front-runner, John Kerry of Massachusetts, with Edwards, a fresh face from the South.
'I don't think he initially was running for it,' said Larry Johnson, an insurance claims adjuster from Kenosha, Wis., who is supporting Edwards. 'But I'm sure, right now, it has to be in the back of his mind.'
But first things first.
So far, Edwards has won only his birth state of South Carolina in the long march to the Democratic presidential nomination.
And he's scrambling to break out in Wisconsin in Tuesday's primary and emerge in a one-on-one race with Kerry, who has won 14 of the first 16 Democratic nominating contests.
Edwards struggled in two caucuses Saturday, garnering only about 10 percent of the vote in both Nevada and the District of Columbia.
But, in some ways, Edwards has campaigned himself into a corner.
Determined to travel the high road, he's running a positive campaign, in which directs his salvos at President Bush's record.
'If you are looking for the Democrat who does the best job of attacking the other Democrats _ that's not me,' Edwards told a small but enthusiastic audience last Thursday at a downtown Racine community center. 'I believe this election is bigger than that,' he said. 'This is about the future of our country.'
But barring scandal or other problems that could cripple Kerry's touted 'electability,' it will be difficult for Edwards to break the front-runner's momentum.
Wearing a wireless microphone and looking every bit the earnest courtroom lawyer that he used to be, Edwards was quick to connect with the crowd, first with a well-honed 18-minute stump speech, then in a short question-and-answer session.
He was formal, yet animated. He kept his suit jacket buttoned and used his hands skillfully to subtlety beckon his audience and emphasize his points.
He described, as he often does, 'two Americas,' one wealthy and comfortable, and the other poor and struggling. He talked of racial strife and unemployment and costly health care and of 'the country you and I are going to build together.'
His wife, Elizabeth, also a lawyer, sat up front in the audience, watching raptly.
Afterward, a reporter asked whether she believed the voters still saw a real race for the Democratic presidential standard. She politely sidestepped the question, though, with a quick 'I don't know.'
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Whatever the case, Edwards insists he has no intention of turning negative.
'Americans are tired of the same old politics that they've seen for so long _ attack politics,' he told reporters after his town hall meeting in Racine. 'They're looking for something different _ and that's what I offer.'
Indeed, during his campaign appearance, he spoke no ill of his Democratic rivals, nor even mentioned their names.
'We don't think it works,' campaign press secretary Jennifer Palmieri said of negative campaigning. The campaign trail is 'littered with candidates' who attacked their opponents, only to drop out of the race themselves,' she noted.
Edwards is relentlessly pressing on, albeit as a self-proclaimed underdog.
'Anything can happen,' said Jean Makovsky, a retired teacher from Caledonia, Wis., who came to see Edwards on Thursday.
'Look at Howard Dean,' she said. 'How quickly things can change. He was the front runner and was going to steamroll everybody.'
'All Kerry has to do is to make a mistake,' she suggested, and Edwards would have a good chance.
Dean, the former Vermont governor, has turned harshly negative against the front-runner, she noted, charging that Kerry was wholly beholden to special interests, among other things.
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With the withdrawal last Wednesday of retired Gen. Wesley Clark, Dean and Edwards are fighting to be the singular alternative to Kerry in the other caucuses and primaries down the road, particularly on March 2, the so-called Super Tuesday cluster of primaries that could signal final victory for Kerry.
Already, the Massachusetts senator is fine-turning his message toward a fall campaign against Bush. And aides are beginning to address other general election details, including travel, fund raising and, eventually, the selection of a running mate.
Rarely, though, is politics so predictable. But because of the pressing possibility that Kerry will sew up the nomination early, speculation about whom he might ask to join him on the ticket is growing.
Edwards, with his win in South Carolina and strong showings in Iowa, Oklahoma and Virginia, is near the top of most early lists. Also frequently mentioned are New Mexico's Bill Richardson, a Hispanic governor with a long Washington resume, and Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, who might be able to swing his state Democratic.
Edwards was on the short list of possible running mates assembled by Al Gore in 2000. But the senator's former campaign strategist, Bob Shrum, now works for Kerry, and their falling out could crimp Edwards' vice presidential chances.
Also, Edwards and Kerry have not developed a deep rapport in the Senate, aides say. And Edwards, in just his first term in the Senate, is not that experienced, particularly in foreign affairs.
But he would bring geographical balance to the ticket and could force Bush to spend time and resources to hold some Southern states that voted solidly Republican last time.
Edwards, a tireless campaigner, is also a quick study, with an uncanny ability to connect with voters on the stump. And he has a deep reservoir of financial support among trial lawyers, who could help raise more money for the party.
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'He's running for president,' Makovsky said. 'But I definitely wouldn't be surprised if he were offered vice president in the end.'
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Here are what some political analysts describe as pros and cons of putting John Edwards on the Democratic ticket:
PRO
He's a good campaigner who connects well with voters.
He has a proven network of trial lawyer donors.
He's at home stumping in South and could force the Bush campaign to spend resources in the region.
CON
As a first-term senator, his lack of experience, particularly in foreign affairs, could be an issue.
Having touted himself as a 'positive' candidate, he may not be comfortable fulfilling the 'hatchet man' role assumed by many running mates.
Despite his Southern roots, he's unlikely to actually tip any Southern states away from Bush.
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