A Stirring Goodbye, an Uncertain Future

John Edwards made a heartfelt departure from the presidential race Wednesday, with aides saying he likely would agree to serve as John F. Kerry’s running mate on the Democratic ticket if such an offer were made.

Edwards, who brought passion and optimism to his 14-month candidacy, bowed out at a rally at the high school two of his children attended, including a son who died in 1996 at age 16 in a car accident.

The North Carolina senator spoke onstage in the gymnasium, flanked by his family, staff members and friends. About 1,300 people filled the floor and bleachers -- a bigger audience than Edwards usually attracted during his months on the road.

“I have never loved my country more than I do today,” Edwards said on a sunny afternoon. “All my life, America has smiled at me, and today I am smiling right back.”

He promised to do “everything in my power” to win the presidency for Kerry, the Massachusetts senator who effectively sewed up the Democratic nomination with victories in nine of Tuesday’s 10 primaries and caucuses.

Edwards stressed his common interests with Kerry in urging supporters to work for him.

“Sen. John Kerry has fought for more jobs, better healthcare, cleaner air, cleaner water, a safer world,” he said. “They are the causes of my party, they are the causes of America, and they are the reasons we will prevail come November.”

Even as he sought to focus his supporters on the fall showdown with President Bush, Edwards’ own future remained unclear.

Despite his earlier insistence that he was interested only in the presidency, aides said privately that Edwards probably would accept the vice presidential slot on Kerry’s ticket. Many Democratic leaders, impressed that Edwards emerged as Kerry’s last major rival in the primaries, are pushing for that combination. But Kerry has given no hint about whom he might select.

The end of Edwards’ campaign leaves the first-term senator at a political crossroads. He announced last year that he would not seek reelection to his Senate seat this fall, and he kept to that pledge.

Now, the uncertainty over who will be in the White House next year leaves Edwards’ future somewhat in limbo.

A successful Kerry-Edwards ticket would position him for a future presidential run. At the end of a second Kerry term, Edwards would be only 58. A Kerry victory with another running mate would open the possibility of a Cabinet post for Edwards.

But if Bush wins reelection, Edwards’ prospects as a presidential contender would become more clouded, especially if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) decided to seek the party’s nod in 2008.

“I’m not sure what he would do -- but he’d want to be relevant and credential himself for a further presidential run,” said Stuart Rothenberg, a Washington-based political analyst. “He has to show Democrats that he’s informed. He could look for some sort of group to run ... and take international trips.”

Other options: landing at a think tank or as a college president, jobs that could give him a pulpit outside elective office.

“There’s the Bill Bradley route, going out and speaking around the country, talking to people, writing a book,” Candice J. Nelson, director of American University’s Campaign Management Institute in Washington, D.C., said of the New Jersey Democrat who unsuccessfully sought the party’s presidential nomination in 2000 after leaving the Senate.

Nelson added, however, that Edwards has “only been in the Senate for one term. Bradley had a long and distinguished career. Edwards may be kicking himself right now that he got out of the Senate.”

Edwards’ aides said Wednesday that he had mapped out no contingency plan in case he didn’t become president.

“He’s not a ‘Plan B’ kind of guy,” said spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri. After the death of his son, Wade, she said, Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, exhibited a capacity for moving on. “They have a very good perspective on change,” she said.

Edwards spoke to his supporters for about 13 minutes Wednesday, expanding on his stump speech in an effort to rally Democrats for the November election. He cited the faces of the workers and the poor that he had met in his campaign across the country, people whose lives were uncertain but whose faith, he said, was being restored.

“I see all these faces turning from skepticism and despair to inspiration and hope because they believe in this country, they believe in themselves and they know that you and I together are going to change this country,” Edwards said. “It has been my greatest honor, though, to walk with you. From the beginning, this has never been my campaign. This has been your campaign, and I am blessed to have been a part of it.”

Edwards, true to form, was half an hour late for his speech. Waiting supporters mulled what the future might bring. Many said they wanted him on the Kerry ticket, and a few expressed regret about his decision not to run for reelection to the Senate.

“I don’t see how he goes from only doing well this time [in a presidential bid] to being more highly regarded next time,” said Peter Honig, 48, of Chapel Hill. “In that regard, I wish he had gone back to the Senate.”

A few minutes later, photographs encapsulating the campaign were projected on a large screen behind the stage, set to the song “Take Me Home.” People in the audience stood silently, as though they were watching a neighbor’s vacation pictures.

Off to the side, a black curtain parted slightly and Edwards peeked out, unnoticed for the moment. He smiled softly, watching the last few months of his campaign flicker by.

Times staff writer Maria L. La Ganga also contributed to this report.