Thank you, whoever you are

(Reuters photo)

From Jenn Abelson, Globe staff

MEMPHIS -- What's his name again? Ted Kennedy? Barack Obama?

As Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards kicked off his three-day poverty tour yesterday, local residents thanked him for paying attention to the plight of the have-nots. But they didn't always use the right name.

In Marks, Miss., where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Poor People's March began in 1968, Mayor Aubrey Collums yesterday evening called him "Senator Kennedy" when presenting him a key to City Hall. Edwards made no mention of the mistake, graciously accepting the key at a barbecue with more than 100 Marks residents. In a speech to the crowd, Edwards said it was an honor to walk in the shoes of King and bring attention to the plight of the poor.

"But we still have work to do," Edwards said. "Our responsibility is to finish his work."

Two stops later in Memphis, a 38-year-old single mother speaking about the good works of a local faith-based group called him "Senator Obama." She quickly realized her mistake looking out at the audience, and instead thanked "Senator Edwards" for his attention to poverty. He took it all in stride, giving her a hug on the way out.

Today, Edwards starts the second day of his three-day "Road to One America" tour, with stops in Cleveland and Youngstown, Ohio, and Pittsburgh. Edwards will announce a new proposal to promote economically diverse schools, based on a model in Wake County, N.C., where his eldest two children have been educated. The plan calls for providing $100 million for school districts implementing economic integration programs and doubling funding of federal magnet schools to $200 million a year.