Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards denied the speculations on Friday that he would be Barack Obama's running partner.

"No," Edwards said in an interview with NBC's Today show. "Won't happen ... It's just not something I am interested in."

But the former North Carolina Senator did not rule out the possibility to take a role in an Obama's administration should he elected president in November.

"I don't really want to get involved in that speculation," he said. "Right now we have to focus on getting Barack Obama elected to President of the United States, then we'll worry about those things."

But he said that Obama had told him, "I want you on my team. I want you to help both in the campaign and with the work we want to do when I'm the president."

Edwards was named Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2004. In his second bid for the White House in 2008, he dropped out of the presidential race in January after failing to win any early primaries.

Eight of the 19 delegates Edwards gained in the race have pledged their support to Obama since he endorsed the Illinois Senator to become the first African American president in the country.

Edwards denied his endorsement, which came a day after Obama's rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, overwhelmingly won the West Virginia primary, had been deliberately timed to take the wind out of her victory.

"It was the right time to do it. I made the decision that the public should know at this point what my view is," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2008)