John Edwards on "Larry King Live": No Vice Presidency

So What is Edwards Going to Do?

Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards made an appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live" on Monday night, May 12, the night before the West Virginia Primary and told King that he was not interested in becoming the vice presidential running mate of either candidate. In a short interview, Edwards told King that he was comfortable sitting the rest of the campaign out and letting Senators Clinton and Obama slug it out to the end.

Edwards is considered a pivotal player in the Democratic nomination because of his mass appeal to white blue collar workers and union endorsements. His personal endorsement has been courted by both the Obama and Clinton camps. Yet, Edwards has remained aloof from the campaign, refusing to endorse either candidate. And as time has established Senator Barack Obama as the clear frontrunner, Edwards' relevancy in the outcome of the campaign has become less.

Not that Senator Obama actually needs Edwards' endorsement to win the Democratic nomination. He does not. Obama received a couple more super delegate endorsements in the past couple days, so he now leads in every category that matters going into the last few primaries. But many fear a continued campaign between Obama and Clinton because of the potential disclosure of weaknesses that Senator John McCain and the GOP can and will exploit during the the general election campaign.

So when Larry King asked John Edwards if he had a responsibility to step in and endorse one of the candidates now, Edwards said that he had the "responsibility to make sure we're untied in the fall." Senator Edwards will speak at the Democratic National Convention in Denver and, from the way things look, may not endorse anyone until then.

Edwards said that he originally dropped out of the campaign because he thought it would shorten the process. He laughingly admitted he was wrong. But he feels that Obama has been strengthened by the lengthening of the campaign, that Clinton's insistence upon continuing has helped Obama become a stronger candidate. He also said it has made Clinton stronger but, unfortunately, her odds have grown longer near the end of the campaign.