Letter to the editor published in the
Des Moines Register.
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Edwards tackles hard issuesOnce again, John Edwards has shown the courage to address an important public-policy issue others avoid or speak of in generalities.
In Grinnell recently, Edwards spoke directly to the growing dilemma of prisons, drug treatment and criminal sentencing. ("I Will Shake up D.C., Edwards Thunders," Nov. 21). As with poverty, Edwards takes a lead in reminding us this problem is real and not going away.
Political operatives would advise Edwards to avoid this issue like the plague. They would tell him he risks being labeled "soft on crime" for merely bringing the subject up. After all, prisoners, like poor people, don't vote.
Given what the nation faces, we need a president who confronts politically sensitive problems because they are real, not politically expedient. That's John Edwards.
David Helman
Henry County Democratic chair, retired federal prison warden
Salem