The Edwards Boomlet

Forgetting for a second that a trial lawyer should do well in system that has candidates go into rooms full of undecided voters and tell them how to vote, John Edwards still has to do well in the South Carolina primary on February 3 in order to sustain his campaign into the spring. And that's a lock for a senator from North Carolina, right? Maybe.

Edwards will have to cope with both Wesley Clark and Al Sharpton in a South Carolina primary that should see heavy African-American participation. Clark is busy making a pitch for black votes in the state and that effort coupled with the state's large defense-connected population could make the retired general attractive at the expense of Edwards. Or not.