The Washington-focused national press corps has anointed Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama as front-runners in the Democratic presidential race. They’re making a mistake overlooking John Edwards.

Here’s what Edwards has going for him:

• Strong labor ties, which are important in the early Iowa and Nevada contests;

• A good glow left in Iowa from 2004, when he nearly beat John Kerry;

• South Carolina’s primary is early;

• He’s not pinned down by a Senate schedule or controversial votes. He can run the way he’s comfortable – as an outsider.

Edwards approaches this campaign with his normal meticulous preparation. He and his team know what they’re doing, and they’ve run a presidential campaign before.

(Note: I’m not involved in his presidential campaign, so I claim some objectivity.)

Hillary and Obama are getting all the attention now. That’s fine. The media will look for another story soon enough.

The only real negative I see for Edwards: Democrats may be determined this cycle to make history by nominating either a woman or someone who is half African-American.

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