Well said! It is absolutely true that there's no love lost between Edwards and NC Democrats, and obviously no NC Republican holds him in high esteem. He came out of nowhere, with a self-financed campaign, and took the Dem Senate nomination away from party stalwarts who had "paid their dues," unlike Edwards. He won a flukish election in 1998 over Lauch Faircloth, who ran the worst campaign I've ever seen (and the fact that Faircloth was/is nearly deaf didn't help in debates and appearances before large crowds).
After President Bush's election in 2000, Edwards realized that his re-election chances were slim, given that he'd have to run in a Presidential election year with Dubya at the top of the ticket. So, he decided to roll the dice on a long shot bid for the Top Job. If headed for defeat in the Senate, why not? Even a failure would probably lead to something good for Edwards -- the VP nomination; or a Cabinet position in a (God forbid) Democrat administration; or a position as a DC lobbyist; or maybe General Counsel for the DNC. At absolute worst, his hourly rate as a personal injury attorney would skyrocket.
Edwards reminds me of a junior executive at a big corporation who, getting wind of his impending firing, applies for the position of CEO. Nothing to lose, so, again, why not?