Edwards changes the equation

The battle for the Democratic nomination officially became a two-person race this week, when former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards announced he was ending his candidacy. Having come in third place in most of the early contests, Edwards

The battle for the Democratic nomination officially became a two-person race this week, when former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards announced he was ending his candidacy. Having come in third place in most of the early contests, Edwards’ decision was not unexpected. But the timing, just days before the 22 contests on Feb. 5, altered the landscape of the primaries in an unpredictable way, and sent Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama scurrying for the votes of his supporters. Edwards declined to endorse either candidate.

Obama is heading into Super Tuesday with a burst of momentum from a landslide victory in last week’s South Carolina primary. In that contest, Obama won 80 percent of the African-American vote and about 25 percent of the white vote, prompting Bill Clinton to liken Obama to Jesse Jackson. The racial connotations of that comment angered many Democrats, and helped lead to liberal lion Sen. Edward Kennedy’s endorsement of Obama this week. Caroline Kennedy also threw her support behind Obama, describing him as the most “inspiring” leader since her father, John F. Kennedy.

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