What Edwards brings to the Democratic ticket

"They both have a strong and deep understanding of the value of public service, but they come at it from very different backgrounds," says Steve Jarding, a former Edwards adviser. "Kerry learned it from his parents, traveling the world. Edwards [learned it] from a very different perspective. With far fewer means, he learned how to deal with the struggle of everyday life."

Edwards also injects a youthful flair - he is a decade younger than Kerry - and, as a senator still in his first term, more of an outside-the-Beltway perspective.

The biggest contrast of all, however, may be the fact that Edwards is a Southerner - something that will help give the ticket needed geographic balance.

Analysts say Edwards may not ultimately be able to deliver his home state, although it will certainly become more competitive now. But he could give Kerry a boost in more competitive Southern states such as Louisiana and Arkansas. And as a Southerner, he is likely to give the ticket a more moderate sheen, which could play well in Midwestern swing states.

"Just having a Southern accent is a good thing in the 'purple' states," says Ted Arrington, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. "People assume that a Southerner with an accent is more moderate than a liberal from Massachusetts."

Edwards does bring certain vulnerabilities to the ticket - foremost among them being his lack of foreign-policy experience. In the vice presidential debate this fall, analysts say, Mr. Cheney is likely to focus on this issue. "Whether people can imagine [Edwards] as commander in chief will be one of the issues of the campaign," says Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta. "It is one of the risks Kerry took" in picking Edwards.

In addition, Edwards's former career as a trial lawyer, along with the more protectionist stance on trade he took during the primary campaign, could stir up business interests to offer more support for Bush. Tuesday, in the wake of Kerry's announcement, the US Chamber of Commerce was threatening to revoke its neutrality in the race.

But despite opposition from the business community, many Democrats see Edwards's populist appeal as a plus. Although the economy may be growing, they note that other factors are leaving many voters feeling squeezed - from stagnant wages, to rising healthcare costs, to the high price of gasoline. "Edwards can articulate the anxiety around that squeeze better than anyone else," says Anna Greenberg, a Democratic pollster.

Edwards can also tap into rural voters' growing distrust of corporations, she adds. In the wake of recent corporate scandals, Ms. Greenberg says many rural voters have become "deeply anticorporate," and harbor a vision of "CEOs running amok" - a factor that could give Edwards an edge over Mr. Cheney, the former CEO of Halliburton.

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