Edwards kicks off anti-poverty tour

(AP photo)

From Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff

NEW ORLEANS -- Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards kicked off his "Road to One America" anti-poverty tour here today with a "Good Morning America" Town Hall event. During the two-hour interview with Diane Sawyer and about 100 New Orleans residents, Edwards faced questions on everything from improving conditions for the working poor to the $400 haircuts he became famous for.

"Some lessons you learned the hard way. I've learned my lesson. I got a very cheap haircut a few days ago and I'm going to keep getting cheap hair cuts," Edwards said to the laughing crowd.

But Edwards defended himself as a sincere advocate for the poor, pointing to his work in urban ministries in North Carolina before ever entering politics, and his help organizing unions and leading campaigns to raise the minimum wage over the years.

"I came from very little to having a lot. There's no question about that," he said. "I'm proud of the fact that I lived the American dream. Nobody gave it to me. I worked for it. But I want that chance to be there for everybody."

Edwards, who has made poverty a central focus of his campaign, is taking a break from fund-raising to visit 12 towns and cities over three days to highlight the plight of the poor, with stops in Marks, Miss., where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. launched his 1968 Poor People's March, and Prestonburg, Ky., where then-senator Robert F. Kennedy concluded his poverty tour in 1968.

Edwards's wife, Elizabeth, joined him at the Town Hall and answered questions about having breast cancer, which returned this year. She said she's feeling well and that a recent scan showed nothing new.

"It's great to be talking about other people's health care other than my own," she said of touring with her husband.

John Edwards said he and his wife plan to renew their wedding vows to celebrate their 30th anniversary on July 30, along with their usual trip to a Wendy's fast-food restaurant.