Obama sneaks down to NC for meeting with former rival

CHICAGO (AP) — Barack Obama sneaked into North Carolina and met with former rival John Edwards, who has yet to decide if he will back the Illinois senator or New York Senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The Obama campaign confirmed the meeting. Although reporters normally travel everywhere with Obama, he left them behind to fly down in secret from his hometown of Chicago.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the senator visited this morning with John and Elizabeth Edwards at their home in Chapel Hill. Burton wouldn’t comment on the possibility of an endorsement.

People close to the Edwardses say the couple is torn about whom to support. The former North Carolina senator is concerned that Obama may not be ready for the presidency and that his health care plan is inferior. But Edwards was highly critical of Clinton during his campaign, making it more difficult to support her now.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)