It may be a coincidence but just as John Edwards is redirecting the focus of his campaign away from the war and back to his crusade against poverty, the New York Times has published a scathing report about Edwards’ anti-poverty foundation, the Center for Promise and Opportunity. The Times reports, “The main beneficiary of the center’s fundraising was Edwards himself, federal tax filings show.”

One thing the Times said Edwards’ non-profit paid for was his political travels.

Jonathan Price, Edwards’ deputy campaign manager, waxed eloquent responding.

One of the Center for Promise and Opportunity’s main goals was to raise awareness about poverty and engage people to fight it. Of course, it sent Senator Edwards across the country to do this. It’s patently absurd to suggest there’s anything wrong with an organization designed to raise awareness about poverty actually working to raise awareness about poverty.

Edwards traveled to China, India, Brussels, Uganda, and Russia. Was he alerting the Chinese, Russians, and Belgians about poverty? And, for that matter, it seems the major poverty area he focused on in the Unites States was Iowa. Home of the first presidential caucus.

Once, when I criticized Edwards’ anti-poverty posturing, a reader wrote, ‘Well, there’s no reason a rich man can’t care about poverty.’ That’s true. And that is the picture Edwards’ campaign is painting: John Edwards is a poor mill town boy who pulled himself up by his bootstraps and retains a burning passion about poverty.

Here’s the other picture: John Edwards is an ambitious politician who is posturing about poverty to get votes.

Which is true?

I guess it all comes back to those trips to Iowa. Fighting poverty in Des Moines sure sounds like Edwards’ real passion was getting himself elected President.

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