Democrats pin 2004 hopes on folksy charmer

Like many in Robbins, Cecil Hackney has a ready solution for a bruised and bewildered Democratic Party looking for someone to lead them to victory – North Carolina's Senator John Edwards.

"I think he could be the next president, given the state of things now," said Mr Hackney. "I think Johnny could hop in there and we'd see. He would be good. He is a good man."

Though not a household figure, Mr Edwards has been a name on the lips of Washington pundits for more than 12 months as people play the political parlour game of select- a-candidate-for-the-Democrats. Youthful, handsome and with a folksy southern charm, the 48-year-old Senator has even been held up as a sleaze-free version of the young Bill Clinton, who emerged with a similar profile to seize the White House in 1992.

Mr Hackney has reason to know John Edwards better than most: the 83-year-old was principal of his high school in Robbins, and remembers him well. "He was a good student and he never bothered me," he recalled. "He was always in the right place at the right time. He was kind of laid-back. He was not arrogant."

In the aftermath of last week's disastrous mid-term elections, which saw the Democrats lose control of the Senate and cede further ground in the House of Representatives, attention has again turned to who will lead the party in the 2004 presidential race and take on the Bush steamroller.

Two of the contenders, Tom Daschle and Dick Gephardt, party leaders in the Senate and House respectively, have been badly damaged by last week's showing. Former candidate Al Gore has yet to decide whether to run, and even if he chose to do so it is not clear that the party would give him a second chance.

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts may be considered too East Coast, and people generally believe 2004 will be four years too early for Hillary Clinton. In this context people have been focusing on Mr Edwards, who grew up in this quiet, tidy town – just big enough to have traffic lights, but small enough so that one barely has to wait for them to change colour.

The permatanned son of a millworker was elected to the Senate in 1996. Before that he spent two decades as a hugely successful lawyer based in Raleigh, the state capital, becoming a millionaire several times over on the back of a string of compensation cases.

While he rapidly impressed in Washington, Mr Edwards really came to the fore after a series of glowing magazine profiles, including a largely unquestioning paean in Vanity Fair written by the usually acerbic Christopher Hitchens and headlined: "If you designed a perfect politician, the result might be John Edwards".

The Senator's seamless ascent was brutally halted, however, after an appearance on a television talk show last May in which he was shown to be very weak in many policy areas, and on which he could apparently offer no alternatives to the Bush administration policies he was criticising. Though no one doubted his charm or analytical skills, people began to question whether he offered any political substance.

"Not everyone is born with the innate political skills of Bill Clinton," said the political editor of one national news magazine. "It's a pretty steep learning curve. It's [also] hard to know where he stands on issues. That is not unique among politicians, but those who stick around tend to have a deep psychological attachment to the issues."

Mr Edwards's aides say he is still deciding whether to run, but they point out he spent last year doing much of the groundwork required, regularly visiting New Hampshire and Iowa, which will host the first primary elections. And although he could not help secure North Carolina's other Senate seat for the Democrats last week – Elizabeth Dole won easily – they say he has not been badly hurt by the party's poor showing. "He is a new face and someone not considered a Washington insider," claimed spokesman Mike Briggs. "He has experience of life in the real world."

In Robbins, where Mr Edwards' parents still live, people are proud of their Senator's achievements. They will stop and talk on the street about the handsome teenager they "always knew would do well", while others gladly provide the names of his old high-school friends.

"He had that air about him," said Cindy, an employee at the town library, who was four years behind Mr Edwards at school. "When I got married I bought a lot of antiques from his mother. I was kidding to my kids the other day that one day he is going to be the president. That dining table ... I am never going to sell it."