Breaking News: John Edwards to drop out of presidential race today!

Following a third-place finish in the Florida Primary, Democrat John Edwards is exiting the presidential race today, ending a scrappy underdog bid in which he steered his rivals toward progressive ideals while grappling with family hardship that roused voters' sympathies but never diverted his campaign, The Associated Press has learned.

The two-time White House candidate notified a close circle of senior advisers that he planned to make the announcement at a 1 p.m. EST event in New Orleans that had been billed as a speech on poverty, according to two of his advisers. The decision came after Edwards lost the four states to hold nominating contests so far to rivals who stole the spotlight from the beginning -- Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

That’s too bad, I kind of liked Edwards. Ooh, maybe he’ll latch onto Barack’s VP ticket (I’m calling it for Obama right now).