Washington - Senator. Vice presidential nominee. Leading presidential candidate. Political outcast. It was a rapid career ascent for John Edwards. Then it all came crashing down when the North Carolina Democrat on Friday admitted that he had an extramarital affair, though he denied fathering a daughter with the woman. The revelation shattered the family-friendly image he had cultivated and drained the reservoir of sympathy he had built up when he campaigned side by side with his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth. The political damage is so severe that Edwards, mentioned as a possible running mate to Barack Obama, is not expected to...