John Edwards suspended his run for the White House today in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans where he launched his campaign in Dec. 2006. He said it was time to step aside “so that history can blaze its path” in a campaign now left to a woman and an African-American, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Glynn Wilson

John Edwards ends his campaign for president where he started it, in New Orleans

“With our convictions and a little backbone we will take back the White House in November,” Edwards said of the Democratic Party.

Clinton and Obama both pledged in phone conversations that “they will make ending poverty central to their campaign for the presidency,” Edwards said. “This is the cause of my life and I now have their commitment to engage in this cause,” he said before a small group of supporters in Musician’s Village, joined by his wife Elizabeth and his three children, Cate, Emma Claire and Jack.

Edwards told a story about his drive over to make his statement, where he stopped and talked to a number of homeless people living under a bridge. One woman asked him never to forget the homeless and the plight of the poor.

“Well I say to her and I say to all those who are struggling in this country, we will never forget you. We will fight for you. We will stand up for you,” he said, pledging to continue his campaign-long effort to end what he frequently said was “two Americas,” one for the rich and powerful, the other for the poor and struggling, working middle class.

The former North Carolina senator did not immediately endorse either Obama, the strongest black candidate in history, or Clinton, who is seeking to become the first woman president.

Both of them praised Edwards - and immediately began courting his supporters, according to the Associated Press.

“John Edwards ended his campaign today in the same way he started it - by standing with the people who are too often left behind and nearly always left out of our national debate,” Clinton said.

Obama praised Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth.

At a rally in Denver, Obama said the couple has “always believed deeply that two Americans can become one, and that our country can rally around this common purpose. So while his campaign may have ended, this cause lives on for all of us who still believe that we can achieve that dream of one America.”

The impact of Edwards’ decision will be felt next week, when Democrats hold primaries and caucuses in 22 states, with 1,681 delegates at stake.

Four in 10 Edwards supporters said their second choice in the race is Clinton, while a quarter prefer Obama, according to the latest Associated Press-Yahoo poll.

Edwards amassed 56 national convention delegates, most of whom will be free to support either Obama or Clinton.

As expected, Edwards said he was suspending his campaign rather than ending it, but aides said that was simply legal terminology so that he can continue to receive federal matching funds for his campaign donations.

After the announcement, Edwards planned to work with Habitat for Humanity rebuilding one of the homes in Musicians’ Village.

His recent loss in South Carolina, where he was born and he had won in 2004, may have had a lot to do with his decision, along with his wife’s influence.

Democrat John Edwards is dropping out of the presidential race on Wednesday, ending a scrappy underdog bid in which he steered his rivals toward progressive ideals while grappling with family hardship that roused voters’ sympathies, according to the Associated Press and other news organizations.

McCain Edges Out Romney in GOP Primary

Hillary Clinton has won the Florida Democratic primary, according to the Associated Press and other news organizations, in an event that drew no campaigning by any of her presidential rivals in part because the state will award no delegates as punishment for moving its primary ahead of Feb. 5.

Clinton Wins Primary but No Delegates

Meanwhile today, John McCain and Mitt Romney squared off in a hard-fought Florida primary, seeking campaign momentum before the race for the Republican presidential nomination turns into a nationwide delegate chase on Feb. 5. But the race is shaping up so close that the talking heads on cable news are making jokes about a possible recount and hanging chads, reminiscent of what happened in Florida in the general election between Bush and Gore in 2000.

Romney, McCain in Tight Florida Race

Ad 1: But in the end, it looks like McCain will edge out Romney, with Giuliani coming in third.

McCain Edges Romney to Win Florida GOP Primary

Time magazine’s Website is reporting that Giuliani will drop out and endorse McCain, and with Hickabee still in, that causes all kinds of problems for Romney. Not a bad thing…

ThePage

Ad 2: Look at the aggregated national polls now. Giuliani has fallen and McCain is surging, while Obama gains on Clinton and Edwards remains flat…

2008 National Republican Presidential Primary

2008 National Democratic Presidential Primary without Gore

Glynn Wilson

Obama to visit Birmingham Sunday

Barack Obama bested Hillary Clinton in the South Carolina primary Saturday night, regaining campaign momentum, according to the Associated Press at least in what the wire service called a “prelude to a Feb. 5 coast-to-coast competition for more than 1,600 Democratic National Convention delegates.”

John Edwards finished a distant third, a sharp setback in the state where he was born and scored a primary victory in his first presidential campaign four years ago. Even so, he vowed to remain in the race, his goal, he said, to “give voice to all those whose voices aren’t being heard.”

AP: Obama Wins in SC, Regaining Momentum

With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Obama had 295,091 votes, 55 percent, to Clinton’s 141,128 votes, or 27 percent, while Edwards only received 93,552 votes, or 18 percent, according to the Washington Post.