Thanks to last Thursday's debate, the rest of the country is learning what most North Carolinians have known; John Edwards isn't the brightest bulb. Senator Edwards thinks the Federal Defense of Marriage Act means exactly the opposite of what it does, and has no clue about Islam. For a successful lawyer to be unfamiliar with this law is surprising, but to know so little about Islam, in the midst of the War on Terror, is shocking. Can you imagine a Senator being so uninformed about Nazi Germany during World War Two?

To give Edwards his due, he is a phenomenal public speaker. He could have been a sideshow huckster, or a salesman of 80 proof Indian elixirs in dry counties. For instance, he once claimed to channel the spirit of a child. "I feel her, I feel her presence," he said in a malpractice lawsuit on behalf of Jennifer Campbell. "She's inside me and she's talking to you. And this is what she says to you. She says, I don't ask for your pity. What I ask for is your strength. And I don't ask for your sympathy, but I do ask for your courage." Such tacky techniques of persuasion earned this champion of the poor between $12.8 and $60 million, according to financial disclosure forms. It is little wonder that Senator Edwards is often confused with the famous psychic, John Edward. Unfortunately for Mr. Edward, hosting a maudlin television show is not as lucrative as practicing those same skills of mysticism in court.

The Senator is a skilled politician. Edwards portrays himself as a friend of the farmer and workingman, even though his campaign has raised millions, with nearly two-thirds of his cash coming from attorneys. Greedy lawyers have devastated North Carolina. Tobacco farming was a way of life for rural North Carolinians, even before America's founding; now it is largely a thing of the past. The resulting economic decline and staggering unemployment is fodder for Sen. Edwards claim that there are two Americas, one comprised of the wealthy (like Sen. Edwards) and the other of the poor. I wonder how many of the poor were once employed by the tobacco industry.

Edwards' good looks have earned him the title of "Sexiest Politician" (People Magazine) and caused him to be dubbed "The Breck Girl," by Rush Limbaugh. In his only Senate race, he beat his opponent, Lauch Faircloth, by only 51% of the vote. To view the candidates side by side, Faircloth (age 70) and Edwards (age 45), was to recall the Kennedy/Nixon debates; youth and charisma carried the day. In a historically Democratic state, this was hardly an impressive victory. Considering that his approval ratings have been frozen around 35%, it's not surprising he chose not to run for a second term.

His campaign of eyelash batting "uplift" is as phony as his increasingly syrupy drawl. My family has been active in American politics since my ancestor, Charles Carroll, signed the Declaration of Independence, and has been a cornerstone of the Democratic Party in North Carolina since the Civil War. Edwards sought the endorsement and friendship of my uncle, a Democratic Party County Chairman. My uncle worked hard to get Edwards elected. When my uncle passed away two years ago, condolences came from officials and office holders in every level of the party. Edwards' office was notified, but he sent no card or flower, made no phone call, and did not appear at the funeral. This was poor form, and evidence of self-serving callousness.

The closer you get to Edwards, the more his flaws are revealed. As Americans become familiar with him, more will come to agree with Sen. Santorum, who said of the Democratic candidates, in an interview with the Manchester Union Leader, "I'm the least impressed with John Edwards. In his time in the United States Senate, he distinguished himself by arguing for things I would have thought he would have been an expert on — things like the Patients' Bill of Rights and medical liability — but was as remarkably uninformed as any general member of the United States Senate on these issues. The basic perception in the Republican caucus was that this guy is just an empty suit, that he just simply doesn't understand."

Judson Cox is a college student and political columnist.