In 2004, John Edwards was the optimist with the winning smile. Today, the former Senator from North Carolina still flashes that smile, but his combative talk on poverty and big business has remade his image as the Democrats’ fiery economic populist.

The message may be working: Running a close third in Iowa, where Edwards has staked his campaign, there’s evidence of new momentum.

This hour we talk with him about his fierce brand of populism, and why he thinks it can still carry him to the White House.

This hour, On Point: John Edwards makes his case.

-James Hattori

Guests:

John Edwards, Democratic presidential candidate and former U.S. Senator from North Carolina.

Thomas Beaumont, chief political editor at The Des Moines Register.

Paul Krugman, Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University, and author of “The Conscience of a Liberal.”