The Edwards Poverty Tour

This is a damn good idea:

John Edwards plans to visit parts of the country beset by poverty, a leading issue in his Democratic presidential campaign.

Edwards' three-day swing on his "Road to One America" tour will take him through New Orleans, Memphis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and eight other cities and eight states, beginning July 16.

The former North Carolina senator said the makeup of the poor has changed in the past 40 years to include a wide range of ages and a variety of ethnic and regional backgrounds.

"Many are hardworking men and women with full-time jobs who are still struggling to make ends meet. And their numbers are growing," he said.

The President has to be the President of the entire country, and yet we have large swaths of the population who are denied access to the national conversation. It's not strategically wise to visit economically depressed areas. Those people can't donate money to your campaign, they can't be expected to vote in large numbers. It's just the RIGHT THING TO DO. And John Edwards in 2008 is motivated by what's right.