2008: Edwards is in

Democrat John Edwards has finally ended the non-suspense this morning and officially announced his candidacy for president in 2008. He also kept the location of the event in a Katrina-devastated NOLA neighborhood instead of at a "special town hall" in Des Moines tonight. That one's now just a kickoff party.

John Edwards, whose presidential campaign two years ago emphasized the growing divide between America's rich and poor, came to a hurricane-ravaged neighborhood of New Orleans to announce he is running again.
Edwards, 53, said he chose New Orleans as a backdrop to demonstrate that ``Americans can make a huge difference'' in helping those who need it most. Edwards stood in front of a home flooded in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina where repairs are just now nearing completion.
``New Orleans, in so many ways, shows the two Americas that I have talked about in the past,'' Edwards, a former Democratic senator from North Carolina, said. ``It also exemplifies something I've learned since the last election: It's great to see a problem and understand; it's more important to take action and do something about it.''

That's nice.

Edwards continued his quest for left-wing support with barbs aimed at the Iraq policy of Pres. Bush and some GOP candidates.

''It would be a huge mistake to put a surge of troops into Iraq,'' Edwards said on ABC's ''Good Morning America. ''It sends exactly the wrong signal. We can maximize our chances for success by making clear we are going to leave Iraq and not stay there forever.''

Those lefty blogs must be loving that. John Nichols at The Nation is already trumpeting Edwards as the candidate for progressives; even if JRE is not completely perfect for the left-wingers in in the Democratic party.

His announcement had no surprise factor due to his campaign spilling the beans on it yesterday sand JRE's obvious campaigning for several months. But the event was covered by every cable news outlet, giving the Edwards 'ob folks a shot of buzz and publicity to counter the public infatuation with both Hillary and Obama.

His One America Committee website has already changed over to johnedwards.com, and he's trying to go the Dean route with lots of blogs, user-generated video and live web chats to come - so they say. Speaking of live chats, the site will host a live session with Edwards himself at 12PM Eastern. He and his posse appear to have all campaign bases covered exceptionally well; from heartstring tugging and sappy announcement to the instant transformation of his OAC site from simple PAC to fully functioning campaign hub. Makes one wonder if Hillary and Obama are this far along when they announce. Edwards has officially jumped from Dem also-ran to top contender between his skyrocketing poll numbers and now this A+ announcement.