has anyone else noticed

[pasadenaboy]

that in all our candidates speaches in New Hampshire and Iowa on CSPAN and in print, they always talk about the middle class, but never about the poor. Why doesn't anyone talk more about our obligation to the poor in our society?

[Dookus]

1. one word:

votes

[Scott Lee]

4. I have to agree on this one.

Simply put, the poor don't vote.

Now, if we could come up with a revolutionary way to change that - you'd be talking about a whole new ballgame. I used to muse about electronic voting getting the vote out to the poor - a "proactive" approach (I hate that word but it actually fits here).

How would you get the vote more available and attractive to poor people? This is a worthy subject of discussion.

[Cocoa]

2. I've noticed that

but I wouldn't say "never." When talking about health care, for example, many candidates talk about the immorality of leaving anyone uncovered.

And Gephardt has defined the difference between the dem vision and the Bush vision as Bush thinks if you're poor you deserve it and the dems think that society has an obligation to help the poor.

But you're right, appeals to the middle class dominate the discussion.

[Warpy]

3. It's wrong, but

...most people, from the struggling working poor to the lower reaches of the filthy rich consider themselves middle class.

I forget who it was, but one Congressman opined that it took an annual salary of $200,000 to qualify one for the middle class. Since the middle class is distinguished from the working class by their ability to invest and to hire household help while they do it, I think he was onto something. However, that WalMart clerk barely managing to keep fed and sheltered and hoping s/he doesn't get sick because there's no affordable insurance still considers him/herself middle class.

These jokers are just trying to appeal to us all by harping on the "middle class taxpayer" theme. After all, considering how poverty has been demonized and nearly criminalizd in this country under GOP mismanagement, who wants to consider himself poor?