Perhaps you’ve seen the clip below. If not, it is worth watching for its honesty and passionIt is easy to see John Edwards as a slick, rich, glossy politician defined not by the substance of his campaign – economic justice, compassion, challenges to corporations – but by the gaffes – expensive haircuts – and the reality of his personal wealth. But to dismiss his message because of the gaffes or because he is wealthy is to miss someone who is truly challenging the status quo. There are certainly things he says that give me gas – the idea that we are going to “eliminate” poverty in 30 years seems utopian; his answer to a forum in the gay community about what a mistake it was for faith to inform his opinion was a true head scratcher. All that being said, however, his message is important and his passion is unquestionably real. This is not a man posing by poverty’s side for electoral gain. This is real stuff.