Edwards tour wrapup: Coverage from the mountain papers to the metropolitans and networks

The purely rural day of presidential candidate John Edwards' "poverty tour," officially titled "Road to One America," produced much coverage in Central Appalachia and beyond. Here are tidbits and links:

The official end of the tour was in Prestonsburg, where the weekly Floyd County Times ran the photo above (by Ralph Davis), posted video on its Web site and YouTube and reported: "Edwards' speech focused on strengthening the lives of American workers, through higher wages, education and tax cuts. Although he spoke frankly about the broad spectrum between 'the very rich' and "everybody else," Edwards also said, 'People who are highly educated do very well.'" (Read more)

Jodi Deal of The Coalfield Progress in Norton, Va., said "Edwards didn’t make a speech when he visited the Wise County fairgrounds Wednesday. He didn’t outline the changes he’ll make if he’s elected as the country’s leader. Nor did the former North Carolina senator take questions from the dozens of local, regional and national press representatives who covered the event. Instead, on the last day of a three-day tour aimed at highlighting the plight of poverty-stricken Americans, he listened. At an hour-long roundtable discussion conducted outside at three picnic tables, Edwards asked organizers of the annual Remote Area Medical outreach, which provides free health services, to tell him stories about healthcare problems in Southwest Virginia. He asked for it, and he got it, and so did the crowd of about 200 spectators who turned out to see a presidential candidate." (Read more) Deal also has a good "behind the scenes" story.

The nearest daily paper, Pikeville, Ky.'s Appalachian News-Express, focused on Edwards' appearance in adjoining Letcher County. Reporter Loretta Tackett wrote that the overflow crowd at the Appalshop media and arts center was nevertheless "small," and didn't give a number, but said "The stopping place was fitting for Edwards' tour, as Appalshop was founded in 1969 per President Lyndon B. Johnson's declaration of the 'War on Poverty.'" (Read more)

Carrie Kirschner of The Independent, a daily in Ashland, Ky., focused on an Edwards challenge to the current president, quoting the former North Carolina senator and vice presidential nominee: "I want to invite George Bush to come here. I want President Bush to see the other America and the challenges the people are faced with. I want him to understand what’s happening out here." (Read more)

The Lexington Herald-Leader highlighted youth concerns about drugs. Cassondra Kirby wrote, "They told him that teens and young adults are overdosing at an alarming rate, while others are trapped in a vicious cycle of daily drug use. Young people described common images of high school students crushing and snorting pills on desks at school, and babies born addicted to drugs." (Read more)

For The Courier-Journal of Louisville, political reporter Joe Gerth wrote, "Tracing the steps of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards issued a call yesterday for economic and social change in America," and quoted him: ""This country needs a movement to restore our values. We need a movement that actually embraces work again, not just wealth. … We need a movement to provide hope and opportunity." (Read more)

On PBS NewsHour, Roger Simon of Politico.com said Edwards is following a "risky" strategy by focusing on poverty, because poor people are a small part of the electorate, but "He plays well in rural America." Susan Saulny of The New York Times reported in a story summarizing the three-day tour that Edwards "suggested that [his] 'two Americas' theme . . . was an appeal for help not just for the poor, but also for all working Americans bypassed by the nation’s prosperity." (Read more)

Last night, Edwards was in Roanoke -- not part of "official Appalachia," as defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission boundaries -- but the event had that theme, because it starred bluegrass-music patriarch Ralph Stanley. The Roanoke appearance wasn't part of the official tour, but Edwards' 17-minute speech was punctuated by his recent travels," The Roanoke Times' Mason Adams reports. (Read more)

Edwards is scheduling at least one more stop in rural Kentucky. The Mississippi River town of Columbus, population 229, won an online competition for an Edwards town-hall event, beating out "cities such as Dallas and Los Angeles," thanks to Columbus native and University of Kentucky graduate Shawn Dixon, Herald-Leader Political Writer Ryan Alessi reports on the paper's PolWatchers blog.