JOHN EDWARDS

For whatever reason I have found myself more wrapped up in the democratic primaries than I normally would. So today's announcement from John Edwards that he is quitting his Presidential campaign is sad for one primary reason - he really cared about poverty. So much so that I would have seriously considered voting for the guy.

From John Edwards --

"I know some people see [poverty] as complicated, and it's not. It's wrong in a country of such wealth to have 37 million people in poverty."

"Fighting poverty is a job for government, but it is also a job for all of us in our own communities. I believe our nation is up to this challenge. Hurricane Katrina exposed us to heartbreaking images of extreme poverty but it also reminded us of the extraordinary compassion of the American people -- millions opened their hearts, homes and wallets after the storm. We need to speak up when we know something is wrong."

"Global poverty is not just a moral issue for the United States – it is a national security issue for the United States."

Did Edwards have his faults? Certainly. But show me someone who doesn't and I'll show you someone who isn't trying hard enough to find a solution to a problem.

His last quote that links poverty and terrorism is dead on. Think about the uprising in Kenya or the extremist in the middle east. A great majority of them are fighting for their own survival because of the poverty they find themselves in. Poverty is at the very root of a lot of the global problems.