Now here's some good news, the Washington Post published an article yesterday on John Edwards's potential to derail Hillary Clinton in Iowa. What's particularly promising about this concern is that it seems to have prompted Senator Clinton to argue that those who care about fighting poverty ought to support her. Admittedly, she's referring to President Clinton's record on this front--but she's basically right about what happened: the poverty rate fell by 25% in just 8 years, hitting a now 32-year low.
On Wednesday, Clinton took Edwards on over his signature issue, indicating that she may view the Edwards improvements as quite real. "People talk about poverty in this campaign," Clinton said during a crowded event here, noting that her husband's administration was an era of great progress on the issue. "Well, we lifted more people out of poverty during the 1990s than at any time in our history.
"We had policies that actually helped to create 22.7 million new jobs. The typical Iowan family saw an increase of $7,000 in their incomes during the '90s."
During an appearance in Portsmouth, N.H., on Wednesday, Edwards responded sharply. "There are 37 million people living in poverty in America. Alleviating poverty is the cause of my life," he said. "What I would ask Hillary Clinton and the other candidates to do is to join me for calling for an increase in the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour, and to put forth a comprehensive plan to eliminate poverty, which I have done."
For more on presidential candidates plans to address poverty, visit the new Spotlight on Poverty website.
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