What the heck happened to Edwards?

I'm just adding this piece from Slate about the Iowa caucus because it highlights one thing I really noticed when watching the first Iowa debate: John Edwards is really heating things up. Up to this point Edwards has been off my list of people to support almost for one reason, because he kept referring to his 'roots' in such a way that really, really seemed like a pander. The whole 'son of a millworker' thing just didn't resonate with me at all, seeing it both as a sort of pathetic attempt for a trial lawyer to be something that he probably isn't and sort of a throwback to class politics.

But now he's dropped that and taken a new stance as a principled debater not attacking other candidates (which, I must say, isn't all that much of a deal since he's not in the position where negative attacks would work well), he's becoming quite impressive. Is it too little too late? Slate seems not to think so. It should make the primary contest in the next little while interesting though - I'd watch for a little bit of a breakthrough for him in Iowa, coming third behind Dean and Gephardt.