Edwards rallies supporters in St. Paul Tuesday; quits race Wednesday

Update: MSNBC is reporting that Edwards is quitting the race, with a formal announcement scheduled for noon CST today.

Before a crowd of more than a thousand supporters who braved plummeting temperatures to hear him speak, former Sen. John Edwards made clear his intention to stay in the presidential race as long as it took to accomplish his goals.

Or until there simply aren’t any delegates left to win.

Edwards’ supporters at Tuesday’s event at the Carpenters’ Union Hall in St. Paul seemed unconcerned with his results in the early primary states. Several supporters declined to be interviewed on camera, but expressed their confidence that Edwards could overcome a media narrative that’s excluding their candidate as well as the millions of dollars his opponents, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), are putting into Super-Duper Tuesday, now less than a week away.

More after the jumpIn the span of four years since serving as John Kerry’s running mate, Edwards has become the voice of the Democratic Party’s populist wing. The heavily union crowd cheered lustily when he hit on keywords like universal health care, standing up to big corporations, and a national service plan for graduating high school students that would allow them to attend college on the taxpaying community’s dime.

But time is running out for his White House bid, with his two major Democratic opponents both outpolling him and outfundraising him at every turn. One volunteer told me  she doesn’t have a second choice in the race for the Democratic nomination, and in a previous election she might not have needed one, given the crowds Edwards has attracted and the money he has raised. But for every supporter at an Edwards rally, there are three at an Obama rally; for every Democratic National Convention superdelegate endorsement Edwards received, Hillary Clinton receives more. For every dollar Edwards raises, both Obama and Clinton hit their fundraising lists and outdo him. From outside, it seems a noble but ultimately doomed effort.

Which raises the question: what office is Edwards running for?

Supporters at Tuesday’s rally generally seemed unwilling to discuss the possibility of what Edwards would do after the campaign: Act as a kingmaker at the DNC convention? Endorse one of the frontrunners early and make a move for one cabinet position or another? Perhaps it’s just red meat to scare the corporate wing of the Republican Party into action, but columnist Bob Novak recently published rumors that talks were under way to make Edwards Attorney General in an Obama administration.

If Edwards can pull off several upsets next Tuesday and somehow stay in the race, his supporters might not have to contemplate those possibilities. If those surprise victories are not coming, however, the race for the Democratic nomination really will be down to the two-horse race being hawked by the Edwards campaign’s favorite punching bag: the traditional media.