Concord, New Hampshire

JOHN EDWARDS is currently the trendy pick to win the Democratic nomination. According to the conventional wisdom, John Kerry is now the solid frontrunner, Dean is a has-been (albeit a has-been with money), and Clark is increasingly out of his league–making Edwards a nice dark-horse bet. The primary reason for liking Edwards is his collection of natural gifts. He’s smart and confident, but more than that, he’s a tremendous politician. When he’s firing on all cylinders, he’s polished but not slick, seamless but not prepackaged. He does not always fire on all cylinders.

Exhibit A would be last night’s debate, where Edwards treaded water until he ran up against the Defense of Marriage Act and didn’t appear to understand the law. Exhibit B would be today’s event at the Page Belting manufacturing plant.