Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards says his wealth should not prevent him from being an effective advocate for the poor.
Edwards, his party’s 2004 vice presidential nominee, has often repeated his rags-to-riches personal story — the son of a mill worker who became one of the country’s leading trial attorneys. "I come from nothing and now I have everything," Edwards said when questioned about the topic on an Iowa Public Radio program.
Critics complain Edwards is a poor candidate to carry the anti-poverty message because he’s just built a sprawling mansion in North Carolina and was in the news for paying a Hollywood hairdresser $400 to fly to meet him on the campaign trail and cut his hair. "The question I always want to ask people when they seem critical about this: ‘So would it be better if I had done well and now I didn’t care about people who are struggling?’" Edwards said. "I mean this just doesn’t make any sense to me. I have a little trouble following it."
Being criticized is just part of politics, according to Edwards, but he said this particular criticism is off the mark. "Feels a little silly to me, to be perfectly honest with you," Edwards said.
According to Edwards, some of the country’s leading champions of anti-poverty measures have been among America’s most wealthy citizens. "People like FDR and Bobby Kennedy, both of whom didn’t come from the kind of background I came from. They came from very priviledged backgrounds," Edwards said. "(Both) cared very deeply about those around them and you could see and feel the empathy they had for their fellow Americans."
After the 2004 election Edwards and his wife founded the Center for Poverty, Work and Opportunity the University of North Carolina. Edwards is the editor of a just-released book entitled "Ending Poverty in America." It’s a collection of essays. "This is an issue that I care deeply about and as long as I’m alive and breathing and Elizabeth’s alive and breathing, we’re going to stand up on it," Edwards said.
Courtesy of Iowa Public Radio, you can listen to Edwards’ full response to the question of his work on poverty — and his wealth — by clicking on the audio link below.