Edwards takes view of poverty to Fayetteville State

[Catchawave]

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/article?id=224857


By Andrew Barksdale
Staff writer

Staff photo by David Smith
Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards speaks about poverty Friday at Fayetteville State University.

John Edwards said he saw two Americas when he campaigned for president two years ago. He saw a country where the gap between rich and poor was widening and the number of hungry people was growing.

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According to the 2000 census, 12.8 percent of Cumberland County’s population live below the poverty line, which is defined as a family of four earning about $19,000 a year. Statewide, the poverty rate is 12.3 percent.

A charismatic politician with a youthful face and trim fit, Edwards has taken on a new campaign by visiting college campuses, signing up students to volunteer and touring the world to fight poverty, which he calls a “great moral issue.”

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About 200 students at the historically black university filled chairs and stood in a crammed section of the student union to hear Edwards and U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge of Lillington during an hourlong presentation. Both are Democrats.

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