Edwards urged to clear up affair report

RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Fellow Democrats are reportedly advising John Edwards to publicly address allegations of an extra-marital affair or risk losing the national spotlight.

The National Enquirer has alleged in a series of stories that the former U.S. senator from North Carolina had an affair with a campaign worker and fathered her baby.

With the Democratic National Convention two weeks away, Edwards is being told that if he fails to clear up the story in short order, he risks being shunted aside by party leaders and not being asked to address the convention, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer said.

"If there is not an explanation that's satisfactory, acceptable and meets high moral standards, the answer is 'no,' he would not be a prime candidate to make a major address to the convention," Don Fowler, a former DNC chairman, told the Observer.

Democrats gather in Denver on Aug. 25 and Edwards, as the 2004 vice presidential nominee and a presidential candidate this year, ordinarily would be locked in as a speaker, the newspaper said.