NEW ORLEANS - As he launches his second White House bid here today, John Edwards faces a different political landscape than he did three years ago when he was North Carolina's little-known freshman senator.

Last time, the Democratic primary was a wide-open affair, and Edwards intrigued some voters as a new face. This time, Edwards is a former vice presidential candidate who must contend with assumptions that New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is the favorite to capture the Democratic nomination and that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has eclipsed his fresh-faced appeal.

"Before Barack Obama, it was clear Edwards was going to be the biggest hurdle for Hillary to overcome and had the best shot at stopping her," said Chuck Todd, editor-in-chief of the Political Hotline, a Washington-based Internet newsletter. "Obama complicates his run. ... If it wasn't for Obama, I think we'd say this is a two-person race."

Edwards, 53, of Chapel Hill, enters the race with considerable assets. Polls show he is among the best known of the Democratic contenders after being on the national ticket in 2004 with Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. Edwards, a successful trial lawyer before he entered politics, is the only announced Democratic hopeful who has been through the presidential marathon and has an organization. He seems likely to receive solid financial support from trial lawyers, and appears poised to pick up significant support from organized labor.

The Democratic nominee could be determined in January 2008, when caucus and primary voters in Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina make their choices. The new early nominating schedule seems to favor Edwards, who has strong ties in some early battlegrounds.

Edwards is also the only Southerner in the race, with the possible exception of former NATO Gen. Wesley Clark, who is considering a run. The last Democrat from outside the South to win the the presidency was John F. Kennedy in 1960.

But Edwards has plenty of skeptics.

"He has got a lot of problems," said Allan Lichtman, an American University presidential scholar and Democratic Senate candidate in Maryland this year.

"He didn't do much for the Kerry-Edwards ticket. He came in with a lot of promise, but he didn't pan out. He lost the debate to Dick Cheney. He is going to be way outspent by Hillary Clinton. He doesn't have a natural base."

The Democratic primary can be viewed like the NCAA basketball tournament, said political analyst Charles Cook, publisher of The Cook Political Report, a Washington-based newsletter. In one bracket, everybody has penciled in Clinton. She has name recognition and a high-profile platform in the U.S. Senate, is a proven fundraiser and has a powerful political organization.

The question, Cook said, is who will survive to face Clinton in the opposing bracket.

"He's dealing, as all the candidates are, with the looming presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton and the recent excitement over Barack Obama," said Lee Miringoff, director of the New York-based Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which has done extensive presidential polling. "That having been said, there is still a following for his more progressive populism. He is certainly a force to be reckoned with down the road."

Edwards is announcing his campaign in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The location underscores Edwards' emphasis on poverty, which could be a political gamble. The theme is an extension of his "Two Americas" message from his 2004 campaign, in which he talked about the nation's inequalities. Two years ago, Edwards created the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Next page >