Edwards Dropping Out of Presidential Race: Which Way Will His Support Go?

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CNN is reporting that John Edwards will drop out of the presidential race today. Edwards will announce his decision from New Orleans at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. He is not expected to endorse a candidate today, according to aides cited by CNN, but may do so at a later time. For supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the obvious question is that of which way Edwards' support will go. Edwards' decision is certain to have an impact on Super Tuesday results next week. Whether this shifts the balance in favor of Obama or Clinton will of course depend somewhat on whether Edwards himself decides to endorse and campaign for one or the other; but also on voters' own inclinations. I would hope and expect that Edwards' decision stands to benefit Obama more than Clinton, but this is obviously a biased perception on my part as an Obama supporter. It seems likely to me that, since Clinton is the "known" candidate (she has even been referred to as the Democratic "incumbent"), her base of support is already with her; whereas Obama and Edwards have both attracted the support of "anti-incumbent" (i.e., anti-Hillary) voters. This would seem to make Obama the natural choice for both Edwards and his supporters, but we'll just have to wait and see.