Edwards hasn't made his case with Tar Heels.

• Author: Cline, Ned
• Position: Capital

John Edwards is a crackerjack trial lawyer. His won-lost record in courtrooms across North Carolina makes him the envy of plaintiff's attorneys and puts him in the upper echelon of those who have collected millions of dollars for clients and, not insignificantly, for themselves. He is so good that other lawyers have discreetly slipped onto back benches at trials just to watch him work.

But he's no longer practicing law. He is busily practicing the art of politics as North Carolina's senior (by virtue of Jesse Helms' retirement) senator. And his high marks for effectiveness aren't what they used to be, especially among business leaders. This time, a different jury is judging him, and his own vulnerability - some call it shallowness -- casts a growing shadow over his future.

Edwards' rise in politics has been meteoric. In five years, he has leapt from being a lawyer who sometimes didn't bother to vote to a United States senator who some Democrats believe is a serious presidential contender. His ambition and ego have made him the talk of the town in political circles across the nation. Primarily, though, the talk relates to questions about just who this wonder boy is and how he has come so far so fast.

First, and perhaps foremost, Edwards, 50, is a brilliant, telegenic fellow who projects a fresh-faced image with a vision of a better America. He has been labeled a Bill Clinton with morals, and he comes across as the anti-Helms. Just as the national media loved to hate Helms, many seem drawn to Edwards as if he were a magnet.

Second, he has been awfully lucky. Luck has been defined as preparation meeting opportunity. He came to Washington with the former and quickly latched onto the latter: Clinton's liabilities turned out to be Edwards' assets. In his first months in office, the impeachment debacle dropped into his lap. He quickly showed himself to be a master of handling legalistic minutiae. He voted straight down the line to keep Clinton in office and wowed his colleagues in both parties with his persuasive arguments. Here, everybody agreed, was one shrewd lawyer.

Then he quickly signed on as a strong supporter -- no doubt sincerely so -- of legislation to give people leverage against insurance companies and others seeking to crimp individual freedoms involving health-care coverage. The lead sponsor of that legislation, called a Patients' Bill of Rights, was Sen. John McCain, and Edwards gained some more mileage out of that association. The...