Edwards relies on gentility, diligence

Vice presidential hopeful John Edwards' longtime friend said the senator has an "iron butt" when it comes to his devotion to working out the kinks in Washington, D.C.

"There are some students that can work. This wasn't the kid who was easily distracted," said Donald Beskind, a lecturer at Duke University and a lawyer who has been a friend of the Edwards family for 20 years.

"This man has laser-like focus."

Oftentimes, though, that side of Edwards is hidden from the public.

Instead, the media - and Edwards himself - have focused on his Southern roots. The son of a mill worker and post office employee, born in Seneca, S.C., and raised in Robbins, Edwards has taken his down-home charm to heights most Tar Heel politicians never reach.

But friends say that behind the public face, Edwards has unusual intelligence and strong political instincts.

"I have never met a human being in my life that was such a quick study," Beskind said, adding that Edwards embodies the "American ethic" of working hard and getting what you want.

Now, in the final days before the 2004 election, the lawyer-cum-politician is using those skills to help Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry win the White House.

But as Edwards likes to say, it's been a long way from the mill town in Seneca to the national stage.

He met his wife, Elizabeth, while he was in law school at UNC. The two eventually started a family. Son Wade was born in 1979; daughter Cate came in 1982.

During the next decade and a half, Edwards made his fortune as a trial lawyer, advocating for those who could not speak for themselves and winning large sums of money for both his clients and himself.

In those years, he made plenty of friends and lots of enemies - but it wasn't until Wade died in a 1996 car accident that he decided to act on a festering ambition and run for public office.

Two years later, Edwards defeated incumbent Lauch Faircloth for one of North Carolina's Senate seats. Two years after that, he made former Vice President Al Gore's short list for running mate.

"Edwards rose faster then most public officials," said Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC's Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life. "What gave his candidacy some bounce is he is an exceptionally fine campaigner."

Edwards won only one primary, South Carolina's, before his presidential campaign collapsed this year. But he struck a chord with Democrats when he made promises to improve the lives of working families, much like the one in which he grew up.

Soon, he was Kerry's pick for running mate. And now, in just four days, he could become the vice president-elect of the United States.

Beskind said that as much as Edwards' charm got him where he is, his diligence also carried him.

"Many lawyers try to do many things. Whatever he's doing - his work life, practicing law, service to country - the other piece of his life is work and children."

Guillory said that when Edwards raised poverty as a campaign issue, people took notice. Edwards spoke of "Two Americas" across the nation, noting that 3 million more Americans are living in poverty since President Bush took office.

"The argument he offered about the disparities in Bush's economic policies elevated his campaign," Guillory said.

Still, Edwards has faced some criticism as a first-term senator, and now as a vice presidential nominee. Many people from both parties worry that he lacks the seasoning needed to deal with foreign policy.

Schorr Johnson, communications director for the N.C. Democratic Party, refutes that belief, saying Edwards' work on the Senate Committee on Intelligence more than qualifies him.

Guillory said it also is important to look at Edwards' other qualities when evaluating experience.

"The question about John Edwards doesn't begin and end with experience," he said. "You have got to weigh all of his qualities, his judgment, leadership and integrity."

Beskind said Edwards, in a nutshell, is all about work and family. The senator's reaction to Wade's death is proof of this commitment.

"I have never seen such a closer family unit in times of tragedy," Beskind said. "The level of love he had for his son ... These folks are real, the relationships are real."

He said Edwards' experiences and knowledge make him the best man to stand beside Kerry in the White House.

"Edwards is not the kind of person who has trouble remembering. He is someone who will learn from history or already knows it, to make sure we don't repeat the mistakes of the past."

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.