Ever since National Public Radio announced that it was replacing Bob Edwards as host of “Morning Edition,” listeners have been howling. NPR is standing by its decision to take the program “in a new direction,” but senior managers are admitting that they could not have bungled the situation more completely. For Edwards’s part, he seems to be enjoying the attention, and is making no effort to alleviate the discomfort of his NPR bosses. From the listener who set up a “Save Bob Edwards” website to the defendant at the Tyco fraud trial who began badgering the NPR reporter covering him, the NPR faithful are creating a groundswell, and Edwards is loving every minute of it.