Edwards airs new ads in Iowa, South Carolina

In new TV spots starting today, John Edwards reminds South Carolina Democrats of his son-of-a-mill-worker heritage and urges Iowa Democrats not to become the first generation to leave a worse life for their children.

Edwards is running a populist campaign for the Democratic nomination, playing up his biography and railing against a Washington that he says has been corrupted by special interests.

Edwards, who was born in Seneca, S.C., and grew up in the small town of Robbins, N.C., promises not to forget where he came from. "When the mills closed, I saw first hand how devastating bad government and corporate greed can be," he says in the ad, which features photos of a family home and a shuttered textile mill. "I'm running for president to do what I've always done -- fight for people like the ones I grew up with against the powerful forces that have corrupted Washington." (Watch it here or above.)

In the Iowa ad, he also pledges to take what he calls the corrupt system in Washington. To give children a better life, "we're going to have to be willing to take on this corrupt system and change it," he says in a campaign speech used for the ad. "And if we're not going to do it, we're going to have to be willing to look our children in the eye and say we're going to leave this mess for you. This is the great moral test of our generation, and we will meet that test." (Watch it here.)