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Edwards Making Another White House Bid
In his message to supporters, Edwards listed his priorities to change America. Among them: "Guaranteeing health care for every single American," "Strengthening our middle class and ending the shame of poverty," "Leading the fight against global warming," and "Getting America and the world to break our addiction to oil."
Edwards has been working to build his campaign ever since he and John Kerry lost a close race to the Bush-Cheney ticket in 2004.
  John Edwards smiles as he is interviewed by reporters during a break while working with student volunteers in the backyard of a house in an area affected by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006. The former Democratic vice presidential nominee is running for president for a second time, his campaign said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Charles Dharapak - AP) Special Report
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The campaign could pit Edwards against his former partner on the Democratic ticket. Kerry has not said yet whether he will run, nor have other big names like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but Edwards did not wait to find out who will be his competition.
Asked about how he will compete with Clinton and Obama, Edwards simply encouraged others to run if they want to serve like he does.
"I want the best human beings possible to run for president of the United States," Edwards said. "We need a great president in 2009 because of all the problems and the challenges that we face."
Edwards has positioned himself as a serious contender. He's been strengthening his ties to labor and other Democratic activists behind the scenes, rebuilding a top-notch campaign staff and honing his skills. The efforts have made him the leading candidate in early polls of Iowa Democrats who will get the first say in the nomination fight.
Edwards' advisers scheduled a six-state announcement tour between Christmas and New Year's Day with the hopes that news would be slow and he could dominate media coverage. Over three days, Edwards also planned to travel to Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and his home state of North Carolina.
Edwards kicked off his campaign at the home of Orelia Tyler, 54, who has been living in a Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer in her yard while her home was rebuilt.
Edwards' challenge over the next year will be to show that he can keep up with front-runners Clinton and Obama, should they get in the race, in terms of fundraising and support. Unlike officeholders who may run, Edwards does not have a federal campaign account and will have to start raising money from scratch.
He also has hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt from his 2004 campaign.
The son of a textile mill worker, Edwards has been on a fast track most of his life despite his up-by-the-bootstraps roots.
A standout law student who became a stunningly successful trial lawyer and millionaire, Edwards vaulted from nowhere politically into the U.S. Senate and then onto the 2004 Democratic presidential ticket _ all in less than six years.
In 1998, in his first bid for public office, Edwards defeated incumbent Sen. Lauch Faircloth, R-N.C., a leading advocate for impeachment of President Clinton.
Edwards launched a bid for the Democratic nomination in 2003 and quickly caught the eye of Democratic strategists. Although he won only the South Carolina primary, his skills on the trail, his cheerful demeanor, and his message of "two Americas" _ one composed of the wealthy and privileged, and the other of the hardworking common man _ excited voters, especially independents and moderate-leaning Democrats.
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