| Former
Democratic North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who ran as John Kerry's vice president
in 2004, continues to touch on a theme of "Two Americas" he outlined
during his campaign, putting himself forward as an advocate for America's working
class. Edwards has described poverty, affordable health care and withdrawal
from Iraq as his main issues of concern. He has called the problem of poverty
in the United States "the great moral issue of our time." The
son of a blue collar family, Edwards worked his way through college and law school
to become a trial lawyer. He made his fortune from settlements against large corporations
during his 20 years in practice. Edwards turned his attention to politics
in 1998, successfully ousting Republican Lauch Faircloth from the Senate. During
his term, Edwards helped lead the call for a patients' bill of rights and served
as a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence. He decided not to seek
a second term in the Senate to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
After losing the nomination, Edwards was asked to join Kerry as his running mate. Most
recently, Edwards served as director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity
at the University of North Carolina School of Law. | 
