Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/edwards-wraps-up-eight-state-poverty-tour Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., ended his three-day "Road to One America" tour on Wednesday after visiting 12 cities in eight states to highlight issues facing Americans living in poverty. A professor and political columnist discuss his campaign. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Oh, yeah, just fine. JOHN EDWARDS: Now, where are you living now? GWEN IFILL: John Edwards chose the Katrina-ravaged Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans to launch a three-day, eight-state tour on Sunday. His goal: to draw attention to the roughly 37 million Americans living in poverty.Likening the tour to ones undertaken by Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, Edwards traveled through Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. He ended the trip today in Prestonsburg, Kentucky, the same place Kennedy wound up nearly 40 years ago.The former North Carolina senator has made poverty his signature issue, focusing on the expansion of health care coverage, educational opportunity, affordable housing, and the minimum wage. JOHN EDWARDS: It will be a $7.25-an-hour, based on what Congress has done, but it ought to be at least $9.50 an hour. GWEN IFILL: But in recent months, the Edwards campaign has spent more time off than on its anti-poverty message. The wealthy former trial lawyer was accused of hypocrisy when his campaign expense report was found to include a $400 haircut. And yesterday, Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, became the news by taking a few critical shots at Hillary Clinton, saying her husband would be a better advocate for women's rights.In national polling, John Edwards remains well behind both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the race for their party's nomination. But he leads all rivals in Iowa, where the first votes will be cast next January.