A weakened Edwards will carry on

'Stay with us in this fight,' he urges, heading into tough battles in N.H., S.C

DES MOINES, IOWA -- Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards' run for the White House hung in the balance Thursday as he finished second in the crucial Iowa caucuses.

Edwards vowed to continue his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination, saying Iowa voters provided a mandate for change.

"The one thing that is clear from the caucus tonight is that the status quo lost and change won," Edwards told several hundred supporters. "Now we move on to New Hampshire and the other states to determine who is best suited to bring about the change that this country so desperately needs."

Edwards and his strategists put the best face they could on his second-place finish, saying Edwards had bested New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and finished second to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama despite being outspent by his Democratic rivals.

But despite the optimism expressed by Edwards, there was a mood of disappointment in the ballroom of the Renaissance Savery Hotel in Des Moines, where his supporters gathered to watch the returns.

No candidate had more at stake in Iowa than Edwards, who placed a huge stack of his political chips on the Iowa caucuses.

Edwards now faces the daunting task of regrouping in two states where polls suggest he is starting way behind -- New Hampshire and South Carolina. And Edwards must do it without having the deep financial pockets of Obama and Clinton.

"Edwards is in big trouble," said Peter Francia, a political science professor at East Carolina University. "He put nearly all his resources in Iowa, and he needed to come out of Iowa with a first-place finish to have a legitimate chance for the nomination. Iowa sorted things out. The anti-Hillary candidate is now Barack Obama."

That was the role that Edwards hoped to carve out when he officially began his second presidential campaign a year ago. But Edwards has struggled to get out from behind Obama's shadow.

Jim Zeller, 57, of Des Moines came to the caucuses Thursday night uncommitted, but considering Edwards, Obama and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.

"What I saw was a huge wave of enthusiasm for Obama," Zeller said. "I decided to ride that wave. As much as I admire Edwards, Obama might be the guy."

Doug Dieck, 38, of Des Moines also chose Obama over Edwards.

"I just think on a national scale he has a better chance," Dieck said.

"Edwards is a great guy," he said. But he was swayed by Obama's "message of hope.

"I think he is a little more worldly."

'We are going to keep going'

Joe Trippi, Edwards' chief strategist, said Edwards would have the money to mount competitive campaigns in the next three battle states and perhaps beyond.

"It's a long fight," Trippi said. "It's a marathon. This is the first stage. They have written us out for 12 months as a Clinton-Obama race. We are going to keep going. Every day you go out and make the case."

Edwards was likely to take little time to reflect on the Iowa results. He was planning to board a jet early this morning to whisk him to Manchester, N.H., where he will have five days to make his case before that state's primary Tuesday.

Edwards, 54, poured time and money into Iowa in the hope that a win would give him momentum heading into primary voting in other states.

That is what happened in 2004, when Edwards' strong second-place finish in Iowa transformed him from a little-known one-term senator from North Carolina into a serious presidential contender and eventually put him on the national ticket as John Kerry's vice presidential running mate.

Because of the lingering good will from 2004, Edwards started the Iowa race with a lead. But by summer he was eclipsed by Clinton and Obama, who had greater star power and more than twice as much campaign money.