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Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2004

Asked on NBC's "Today" show if he would accept second place on the slate to face President Bush in the fall election, Edwards said: "I think you've got the order reversed. I intend to be the nominee."

Edwards said he would not be willing to be No. 2. "No, no. Final. I don't want to be vice president. I'm running for president."

Edwards declared his virtual but distant third-place tie in New Hampshire's primary just what he needed as he headed into his native South and beyond. He climbed from low in the pre-primary polls to within 800 votes of retired Gen. Wesley Clark in nearly complete results.

"We've got a lot of energy and momentum going right now. My job is to keep it going," he said Wednesday.

Kerry won New Hampshire with 39 percent of the vote, and Howard Dean came in second with 26 percent. Joe Lieberman trailed Clark and Edwards in fifth place with 9 percent.

"In New Hampshire 10 days ago we were 20 points behind General Clark, and look at what we've done," Edwards told cheering supporters Tuesday night. "And now we're going to take this energy and momentum we saw in Iowa and this energy and momentum we saw in New Hampshire, and we're going to take it right through February 3rd."

The stakes are all on South Carolina next week for Edwards. He says he must win the state where he was born and where a recent poll showed him with a slight lead. He dismisses any discussions about what his future holds if he doesn't carry South Carolina.

But he faces an opponent who also lays claim to being the candidate from the South, Arkansas' Clark. Kerry also will be competing in South Carolina.

Despite spending a good part of the past year campaigning in New Hampshire and holding more than 100 town hall meetings, Edwards could not overcome the built-in advantages of the New Englanders.

"They're from right next door," Edwards said of Kerry and Dean. "They're expected to do that."

His tight race with Clark could portend another close contest next week. Besides South Carolina, Edwards' campaign also wants to do well in Oklahoma and possibly New Mexico and Missouri. TV ads are airing in South Carolina, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Edwards said contributions continued to flow into his campaign based on his finish in Iowa.

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