Who is John Edwards?; Front Page Faux Pas
WHITFIELD: Democrats John Kerry and John Edwards take their new campaign for a test drive this morning. The two appear before the media near Pittsburgh. Then they'll head to Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio. And finally, they go off to St. Petersburg, Florida. President Bush and Vice President Cheney hit the campaign trail as well today. They are traveling to Raleigh, North Carolina and then to Pontiac, Michigan. John Edwards has already traveled the country several times over as a presidential candidate. Now he'll go to many of the same places as the Democratic Party's No. 2 man. But do voters outside of his southern base really know who he is? CNN's Kelly Wallace takes a look at the man who could be the next vice president.</s>KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We know him as John Edwards, but he was born Johnny Reed Edwards in 1953. At the time, his father couldn't afford the $50 hospital bill and had to take out a loan.</s>SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My father worked at a mill all his life, has a high school education.</s>WALLACE: He grew up in Seneca, South Carolina, near the mill where his father worked, telling "The Boston Globe," "It was a rough little town. You either fought or you got the crap beat out of you." And he fought those battles on the football fields and later in North Carolina courtrooms, earning multimillion dollar awards as a young personal injury attorney. David Kirby went to law school with Edwards. The two were partners at the same law firm.</s>DAVID KIRBY, EDWARDS' FMR. LAW FIRM PARTNER: There's a feeling of self assuredness. Sometimes you have people enter public office that you have questions about their ability to lead or their ability to make good decisions when they're in difficult times, and I have no hesitation about John's ability. I have no...</s>WALLACE: But not everyone agrees. Some business groups accuse trial lawyers of frivolous lawsuits.</s>MICHAEL DUBKE, PRESIDENT, AMERICANS FOR JOB SECURITY: John Edwards is a poster child for the trial lawyer industry.</s>WALLACE: His hometown in North Carolina could be considered hostile territory, many of his neighbors supporting Republican candidates, but they make an exception for Edwards.</s>MARTHA CRAMPTON, NEIGHBOR OF EDWARDS IN NORTH CAROLINA: I know John personally, and I know what he would bring to the office.</s>WALLACE: He met wife Elizabeth at the University of North Carolina Law School at Chapel Hill. A few days after taking the bar, they wed. She wore an $11 wedding band, he a $22 ring. He became a litigator, she a bankruptcy lawyer until 1996 when their 16-year-old son Wade was killed in a car accident, a death the family rarely discusses. Elizabeth stopped working, taking care of daughter Kate. Two years later at the age of 48, she gave birth to Emma Claire, now six, and then Jack, who's four. Not long after that, Edwards entered politics and became U.S. Senator from North Carolina and now a vice presidential running mate. Elizabeth didn't believe it when she heard it on the news at the family home in North Carolina. Her husband called and put Emma Claire on the phone. She said her daddy's going to be vice president. Then Jack got on the line to say he just learned how to swim on top of the water. Elizabeth said, "That's wonderful. Now can I talk to daddy?" Kelly Wallace, CNN, Washington.</s>WHITFIELD: Well the folks at Gallup are fast. We have a new CNN-"USA Today" Gallup Poll for you on Kerry's choice of a running mate. Fifty-four percent of the 553 registered voters surveyed say they have a favorable opinion of Edwards, 16 percent unfavorable, 30 percent say they are unsure. Sixty-four percent call Edwards an excellent or pretty good running mate, 17 percent say he is only fair as a candidate, while 11 percent call him a poor choice. The margin of error is plus or minus 5 percentage points. You can hear much more on the Kerry-Edwards partnership and learn more about John Kerry tomorrow night. He and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, are Larry King's guests right here at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific. For more on the Kerry-Edwards ticket, be sure to log on to CNN.com. We have analysis and a special look at the so-called V.P. bump in the polls. Also, you can vote in our poll if you think Edwards is the right choice. So far, 75 percent of you have said yes. So log on and join in at CNN.com. Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 46 minutes after the hour, and here is what's all new this morning. Iraq's interim government has just imposed new harsher security measures. It comes as insurgents launch several attacks, including one on the offices of the interim prime minister. In Yemen, six suspected al Qaeda members have been charged today with the October 2000 attack on the USS destroyer Cole. The attack killed 17 sailors. In money, shrimp lovers better get ready to pay more. The Commerce Department is imposing fees on shipments from six countries. A move that an alliance of seafood distributors says could increase prices by 44 percent. Nothing shrimpy about that. In culture, "USA Today" reports Canteen Vending Services, one of the nation's largest vending machines operators, is planning to install healthier foods in dozens of cities in the next five years. In sports, the Boston Red Sox were hot last night. They crushed the Athletics 11-zip. Johnny Damon had five singles and scored twice. Were you up watching that game -- Chad?</s>CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm afraid not. I was in la-la land by that point. Hey, good morning, everybody.</s>WHITFIELD: Yes, I understand.</s>WHITFIELD: It is hot out there. All right, thanks a lot.</s>MYERS: You're welcome.</s>WHITFIELD: Those are the headlines. Well talk about jaw dropping publications, you probably think John Kerry picked John Edwards to be his running mate, right? Well the readers of a certain New York tabloid got an entirely different story on their front page yesterday. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports on a presidential-sized blooper.</s>JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "If John Edwards says yes," sounds like a marriage proposal. Well, here's the happy couple. Unless you happen to be reading the "New York Post." (on camera) See this this morning?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Isn't that a joke? Isn't that a joke?</s>MOOS (voice-over): Even among normally blase New Yorkers, jaws dropped.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.</s>MOOS: You couldn't blame folks for getting mixed up. (on camera) Did you hear the news this morning?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About Gephardt?</s>MOOS (voice-over): Kerry picks Gephardt. It was a "New York Post" exclusive. (on camera) It was exclusively their error!</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a big boo-boo, isn't it?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oops!</s>MOOS: Did you see this?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I love that. That's the Dewey versus Truman of our time.</s>MOOS: You've seen the picture: victorious President Truman gleefully holding up the "Chicago Daily Tribune's" whopper of a mistake. We had to imagine Senator Edwards holding up the "Post," because he wasn't waving it in fellow Democrat Dick Gephardt's face. Gephardt himself seemed to suggest he wasn't convinced when he heard reports of the "Post" saying Kerry had chosen him.</s>REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D), MISSOURI: I guess I'm from Missouri: "show me."</s>MOOS: Missouri, the Show Me State. Show me the money.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll buy that off you for 50 cents, double your money right now.</s>MOOS: Double it? On eBay, the price for this rare "New York Post" blunder was $26 and rising. The conservative leaning "Post" explained the error by saying the editor in chief made the decision after the "Post" received information it believed to be correct. "We unreservedly apologize to our readers for the mistake."</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh!</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh!</s>MOOS: Hours after Kerry picked Edwards, the front page faux pas was still being sold on the street. A competing tabloid tweaked its nemesis. (on camera) The "Daily News" sent the "Post" a case of champagne.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would have, too.</s>MOOS: Technically, it was sparkling wine, Cold Duck, accompanied by a note that said, "Have a nice day." In the race to be first, sometimes it pays to say...</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoa! That's too much.</s>MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.</s>WHITFIELD: Oops. Well in the next hour of DAYBREAK, breaking the cycle one child at a time. What doting parents can do to help their kids lose weight. And teens and sex. Are kids going too far too fast these days? A special report straight ahead. This is DAYBREAK for Wednesday.