<p>NORTH CAROLINA Senator John Edwards says he is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination to champion ''regular folks.''</p>
<p>That phrase, and those interchangeable with it - ''working men and women,'' ''the little guy,'' ''ordinary citizens,'' or, simply, ''the American people'' - are stump speech staples for politicians trying too hard to convince the electorate that they are not in the grubby business of politics.</p>