As I said in my previous post they did refer to the candidate as a he. I would have thought that ruled out Edwards, too. I think you are right though because he holds no current office. If he had been a governor, senator or congressman as well as a presidential candidate they probably would have asked the question that way.
I woud think ‘Out of the picture’ means a pending divorce or illness. I can’t think of a famous pol right now in the middle of a seperation