A BIG START: John Edwards was the first of the Big Three to announce his bid for president. It came Dec. 28, 2006, in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. The surroundings symbolized from Day One that Edwards would pin his hopes on a populist campaign that emphasized the voiceless.

INFLUENTIAL POVERTY TOUR: His eight-state poverty tour in July garnered plenty of media coverage -- plus attention from his rivals. In evidence that Edwards' work was influencing the presidential conversation, Barack Obama went to an inner-city Washington community to talk about his commitment to ending poverty.

A COVER STORY: In December, Newsweek pronounced Edwards "the Sleeper Candidate" and put him on the cover. At the time Edwards was surging in Iowa, and his blue eyes looked out at voters from newsstands across the country.

THE DEFENDER: Edwards had one of those what-the-heck moments in the debate before the New Hampshire primary. There was Hillary Rodham Clinton, going off on Obama's message of change, when Edwards jumped into the fray to defend the man.

THE GROWN-UP: His other debate moment came in South Carolina, when Edwards stood above the fray as Obama and Clinton bickered. The next day, he said he represented "the grown-up wing of the Democratic party."

LOWS

HOUSE BLUNTS POVERTY MESSAGE: Edwards' $6 million house irked critics. The family's new estate on the outskirts of Chapel Hill wasn't fancier than the homes of some other candidates -- Mitt Romney's vacation house is worth $10 million -- but other candidates didn't tackle poverty as Edwards did.

BLASTED BLOGS: Edwards chastised two staffers who had been dinged for anti-Catholic writings on personal blogs. Within days, the bloggers quit on their own.

CAMPAIGNING THROUGH CANCER: News came in March that Elizabeth Edwards' cancer had returned. This time, the diagnosis was grim: treatable, but incurable. Elizabeth stressed that she insisted that her husband stay in the race. But some voters grumbled that Edwards ought to be caring for his family.

NOT QUITE COST CUTTERS: Then there was the $400 haircut -- actually, two of 'em -- that Edwards reported on his campaign finance report in April. They came in California, courtesy of stylist Joseph Torrenueva, who said the cuts cost so much because he traveled to Edwards. Other candidates touted their $10 barber cuts.

HEDGE FUND CONNECTION: Soon after, it was reported that Edwards was paid nearly half a million dollars in 2006 for working as a part-time adviser for a New York hedge fund. News of his work for the hedge fund, a type of investment fund that usually benefits the wealthiest of clients, didn't sit well.