What if former North Carolina Senator John Edwards had captured the Democratic nomination last year, and then the sex scandal broke?

So speculates Christopher Beam in Slate, the online political blog. Beam says an Edwards victory in the Democratic primary was more plausible than many people might think, especially if Barack Obama had listened to those who said he was too inexperienced to run, Rob Christensen reports. Beam assumes that Edwards could not have kept the sex scandal covererd up for ever.

“It's safe to assume that if Edwards had won the nomination, (John) McCain would be president,” Beam said. “It's hard to overstate the ripple effect on American politics, especially the Democratic Party. Democrats would have blown their best shot at the presidency in a generation.”

More after the jump.

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Elbridge Gerry would be proud of North Carolina.

A piece in the online magazine Slate this week included four of the state's districts in its list of the 20 "Most Gerrymandered Congressional Districts" in the country.

The districts include the First, held by Democratic Rep. G.K. Butterfield; the Second, held by Democratic Rep. Bob Etheridge; the Third, held by Republican Rep. Walter Jones; and the 12th, held by Democratic Rep. Mel Watt. 

An accompanying article notes that computer programs have made it easier for legislators to gerrymander districts that fit their needs.

"As the amount of information and computing power available to the gerrymanderers has ballooned, they have gotten much better at surgically crafting districts to their precise desires," it says. 

North Carolina had the most districts of any state in Slate's round-up. California and Pennsylvania each had three districts, Maryland and Illinois had two, while Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts, New York and Texas each had one.

Hillary Clinton spent more time in North Carolina than Barack Obama.

According to a tally by Slate magazine, Clinton had 24 stops in the state over 10 days, while Obama had 15 stops over nine days.

Both candidates spent more time in Indiana.

Clinton made 37 stops over 14 days visiting with Hoosier voters, while Obama made 25 stops over 16 days. 

Still, Clinton had emphasized smaller venues in both states than Obama, who has been on a "steady diet of large rallies," according to Politico.

John Edwards spent a lot of time this week with low-wage workers and their families to highlight one of his central campaign issues, fighting poverty in America.

But the anti-poverty campaign is risky, reports Rob Christensen. The emphasis on poor people invites contrasts with the Democratic candidate's own wealth, and opens him to criticism that he is a Johnny-come-lately to the issue.

Elizabeth Edwards' campaign ad for her husband, running in New Hampshire, continues to make news. Slate's John Dickerson wrote the ad line where she refers to him as someone who can "stare the worst in the face and not blink" references the family's hardships, including her cancer.

She responds, writing that Dickerson needs to consider the clients her husband represented when he was practicing law.

A Slate writer argues that Edwards made his case Sunday.

In a review today, political writer John Dickerson notes that Edwards needed to "cement his position" on the left of the top three candidates.

His forceful positions on the war in Iraq and universal health coverage will help him raise money in the weeks ahead, Dickerson argues.

Edwards, who lacks Clinton's mammoth organization or Obama's star power, helped himself make that case by showing he can take risks and can be a forceful advocate for liberal positions who is willing to take on the others.

The debate was held in Goffstown, N.H.