I was born and reared in Greensboro, NC, graduated from NCSU (like Edwards) and I live in Chapel Hill (where he wenr to law school) AND I STILL CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHERE THAT STUPID ACCENT COMES FROM!!! BOY, IS IT IRRITATING!
It is most certainly not typical of any of the NC dialects that I'm aware of, except that of the few gay North Carolinians I've met.
It's not just a southern accent..it's especially drippy and sappy...