Choice of running mate draws praise and fire

Kerry, 60, the presumptive Democratic nominee, announced in an e-mail to supporters that he had chosen his former rival out of some 25 candidates after a closely-guarded process.

Edwards, 51, a former trial lawyer first elected to public office in 1998, gave the Massachusetts senator his toughest challenge in the Democratic nomination race but suspended his campaign in March after failing to win crucial southern primaries.

"He has a unique appeal that will energise our party and attract crossover votes. This is what South Carolina Democrats have been saying ever since Edwards dropped out of the presidential race," said Michelle Macrina, executive director of the Democratic party in South Carolina, Edwards's birthplace.

"He will appeal culturally to some people who feel that they don't know John Kerry very well yet. I think that will help him in a lot of southern and border states to be a more competitive candidate," former president Bill Clinton told National Public Radio.

Republicans however quickly slammed Edwards as too inexperienced to be vice president and said his record was nearly as liberal as Kerry's.

In a 31-page collection of quotes entitled "Who is John Edwards?" and released on the heels of Kerry's announcement, the Republican National Committee resurrected sharp campaign exchanges over Edwards's lack of experience, including one in which Kerry said: "This is not the time for on-the-job training in the White House on national security issues."

Republicans in Edwards's home state meanwhile noted that their senator had missed 43 percent of all Senate votes cast while engaging in a "Pick-Me-For-VP-Tour" since suspending his campaign in March, and derided him as out of touch with voters.