In one of the twists of the 2008 race, Democratic nominees for president may end up spending the summer in a serious discussion about poverty. Although no one can doubt Obama's lifelong commitment to fighting poverty and I am a supporter, I do give Edwards some credit for helping to really bring this issue to the fore. This is shaping up to be one of the most serious conversations about poverty in a presidential primary in quite a few years, and it's not over yet:

During a speech in Washington last week, Obama laid out his urban poverty agenda, announcing that he would be coming out with an agenda to fight rural poverty "in the coming weeks":

But poverty is not just a function of simple economics. It's also a matter of where you live. There are vast swaths of rural America and block after block in our cities where poverty is not just a crisis that hits pocketbooks, but a disease that infects every corner of the community. I will be outlining my rural agenda in the coming weeks, but today I want to talk about what we can do as a nation to combat the poverty that persists in our cities.

Obama's Rural Poverty Agenda:
From the AP:
In a move that is likely to keep the discussion about poverty going through the summer, Obama today announced a rural policy summit in Iowa in mid-August and laid out some of the issues he's planning to address with his agenda, listing his three top issues as improving broadband access, creating jobs with green technology, and improving the community college system:

The Democratic presidential candidate plans a rural policy summit in Iowa in mid-August that will focus on rural economic development, quality of life and agriculture and renewable energy policy.

"People in the rural economies suffer from many of the things people do all across the country," he said in a telephone interview Sunday with The Associated Press.

He noted common problems with health care access, failing school systems and lack of livable wages. But the Illinois senator said there are unique issues that must be addressed as well.

He mentioned spotty rural broadband and wireless coverage, underfunded community colleges and a need to make the most of the growing alternative energy industry.

The announcement of a policy summit follows Obama's pattern of soliciting public comment and putting together his agenda. It's good to see that two of the three major candidates will have laid out serious and progressive challenges to poverty with targeted solutions for urban and rural America.

For a start, Obama plans improving community colleges and providing training to help the rural economy benefit from green technology:

We've got to provide, I think, some seed money to help boost not just the production, but also the distribution of alternative fuels," he said. "We've got to train people to have the skills" that are needed in those new industries."

In the Senate, Obama has focused on ethanol and biofuel production as a way of creating jobs and growth in southern Illinois. Edwards has also released an expansive proposal for developing the "green collar" economy.

There's more...