Edwards Says Farewell as Senator
ZAHN: John Edwards has been out of the public eye ever since the day after the election. Now he is spending some of his last days as a U.S. senator on a farewell tour of his home state in North Carolina. So what does his future hold, political or otherwise? Here's Judy Woodruff.</s>SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The truth is, when I cross that line into North Carolina, my blood pressure drops automatically.</s>JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": John Edwards, former presidential candidate, former running mate, soon to be former senator. He came back home this week to say thank you, but not good- bye.</s>EDWARDS: Not only is this fight not over, I'm not through fighting.</s>WOODRUFF: Which begs a lot of questions, at least for us reporters. The senator's supporters, who gathered in Greensboro yesterday, seemed to know what he's getting at.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the question is will you be on the ticket in 2008?</s>WOODRUFF: He didn't answer.</s>EDWARDS: Bless your heart. Thank you.</s>WOODRUFF: It's almost as if Edwards' disciples are in a holding pattern. Talk in Greensboro yesterday afternoon and Raleigh last night was not of what could have been, but of what still will be.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, our future sovereign (ph) and my good friend, John R. Edwards.</s>WOODRUFF: Edwards basks in the praise but won't take the bait, won't talk about his political future beyond saying that he's weighing options: speaking engagements, foundation work.</s>EDWARDS: And I also want to say just a word about Elizabeth.</s>WOODRUFF: The senator's first priority is tending to his wife, recently diagnosed with breast cancer.</s>EDWARDS: She's been strong, as all of you would expect, and she says to me over and over, "Yes, this is tough. But there are millions of women across this country who are just like me."</s>WOODRUFF: The family will be moving back to a new North Carolina home in the spring, and from there, John Edwards will rededicate himself to that fight he keeps talking about.</s>EDWARDS: There is a common set of values around which we can unite this country, and I'm also here to tell you there's a common set of values around which we are going to unite this country.</s>WOODRUFF: John Kerry, the Boston Brahman, wasn't able to do that. Now Edwards, while heaping accolades on his one-time ticket mate, is drawing subtle distinctions.</s>EDWARDS: Everywhere you go, they'd have all this great fancy food. And of course, what I always wanted was pinto beans and cornbread.</s>WOODRUFF: When he talks about what America needs...</s>EDWARDS: The values you grown -- you learn growing up on a farm or in a small town in North Carolina...</s>WOODRUFF: ... he seems to be talking about himself. His advice to the Democrats?</s>EDWARDS: Reach out to all those red parts of America to make sure that people know that we believe in faith. We believe in family. We believe in hard work and responsibility.</s>WOODRUFF: And who better to do that than a battle-tested son of the south? No hard promises yet.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep fighting, senator. We're behind you.</s>EDWARDS: Oh, don't worry.</s>WOODRUFF: But stay tuned.</s>ZAHN: That's what they always say. That was Judy Woodruff reporting, whose "INSIDE POLITICS" is not to be confused with the kind you have get on late night TV. Here are a few examples.</s>DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Down in Washington, Christmas down there is pretty exciting because it's our nation's capital and they have the White House. They have it all decorated and stuff. And they have -- finally they have the big White House Christmas tree. And it's beautiful, quite a sight. Big huge 20-foot free. They have 200 glass bulbs on the tree, 75 tinsel garlands, 50 letters of resignation. Wonderful, wonderful tree. Very nice.</s>JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Well, let's see what's going on at the White House, or as President Bush calls it, home alone. Well, another cabinet member resigned today. Tom Ridge, director of homeland security, he resigned today. When they asked him how he was feeling, he said, he was a little red faced, then a little blue, but he's going to upgrade to yellow later in the day.</s>ZAHN: And the results from our question of the day right after this. We'll be right back.