By MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Former Sen. John Edwards has a deadline to save his spot on the national stage.

With two weeks to go before their national convention, a number of Democrats are saying that Edwards needs to publicly address stories in the National Enquirer that have alleged he had an affair with a campaign worker and fathered her baby.

If Edwards fails to clear things up quickly, he risks party officials' deciding not to have him speak or, if they do, creating a distraction from a week focused on Barack Obama.

"If there is not an explanation that's satisfactory, acceptable and meets high moral standards, the answer is 'no,' he would not be a prime candidate to make a major address to the convention," said Don Fowler, a former Democratic National Committee chairman.

Democrats gather in Denver on Aug. 25, and Edwards, as the 2004 vice-presidential nominee who won delegates this year, ordinarily would be locked in as a speaker.

"He absolutely does have to [resolve it]. If it's not true, he has to issue a stronger denial," said Gary Pearce, the Democratic strategist who ran Edwards' 1998 Senate race.

"If it's not true, he's got to stand up and say, 'That is not my child and I'm going to take legal action against the people who are spreading these lies.' It's not enough to say, 'That's tabloid trash,'" Pearce said.

Edwards' decision not to take questions about the alleged affair has allowed doubts to linger and political bloggers to speculate.

He made no response to the National Enquirer's posting yesterday of what it said was a photo of Edwards and his illegitimate child taken during a recent visit at a hotel in California.