I would suppose those concerned about protectionism/outsourcing as their primary voting issue have made up their minds. Those opposing outsourcing/free trade will vote against Bush, so why expend energy on an automatic win?
Outsourcing elicits a very personal political view when it directly affects someone. Part of that political view is the supposition that the issue should be at the forefront of the presidential debate. Unfortunately for those people, I do not believe it will get a big role in the campaign.
Being from the south and being a southerner are two different things. Even NC would be more of a border state. I think Edwards was basically to add some "spice" to the ticket. However, I may be wrong. I do suspect CBS or NBC will have a poll by end of day Wednesday showing a big bump for Kerry overall, and that they are now leading in NC and possibly some other states.