Sounding a call to restore the “great promise of this country,” John Edwards bowed out of the presidential race Wednesday afternoon in New Orleans, ending a spirited underdog bid that was watered down by his distant third finish in the South Carolina primary on Saturday.

In his closing remarks, Edwards underscored his central campaign themes of lifting up the working class, expanding health care, ending the Iraq war and striving “to make the two Americas one.”

“It’s time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path,” Edwards said. “We do not know who will take the final steps to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but what we do know is that our Democratic Party will make history.”

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