Whether to regain the democratic idealism lost in the 2004 presidential election, or to catch a glimpse of one of People Magazine’s “sexiest politicians,” students and community members packed into Kresge Auditorium last night to hear former senator and vice presidential candidate John Edwards speak.

Co-sponsored by Stanford In Government (SIG) and the ASSU Speakers Bureau, Edwards’ talk focused primarily on what he deems “the great moral issue of our time,” namely, the roughly 37 million Americans who wake up every day in poverty.

“There’s a huge void of moral leadership in this country,” he told the audience in his charismatic twang. “There is a hunger in America. A hunger to be inspired again. [Helping the poor] is not something we do for them, it’s something we do for us. It says something about the character of America”

Highlighting his work as director of the University of North Carolina’s Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, the former senator outlined his plan for politicians in Washington — as well as students on college campuses — to aid the plight of the less fortunate.

Hurricane Katrina brought the issue of poverty to the forefront of American discourse, Edwards said, showing that “poverty does have a face in this country.” That face is often a face of color, he stressed, referring to the largely African American population of New Orleans’s Ninth Ward district decimated by the hurricane and subsequent flooding.

First among his proposed remedies for poverty in America is to end the “embarrassment” of the current national minimum wage. Proving that he had not lost his knack for the political stump speech, Edwards proposed raising the minimum wage to $7.50 per hour and lobbying the states to make his plan work

“We’re going to win,” he asserted. “We’re going to win them all.”

Other propositions — which Edwards admitted ranged from “modest” to “controversial” — included the unionization of all service jobs; the creation of work bond accounts to remedy asset debt; enlarging the scope of housing vouches; and modifying the federal budget by removing tax cuts for the highest brackets and subsidies for oil and gas industries.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not very worried about how Exxon is doing,” he said, drawing laughter and applause from the audience.

Education was central to Edward’s proposal.

“If America wants to be competitive in the long-run, education is the single most important thing to do, “he said.

Finally, Edwards concluded his talk by calling on college students to remain active in the war against poverty.

“We’re better than this,” he said. “Now is the time for young people to speak out. You can’t wait for someone else to lead.”

In an interview with The Daily after his speech, Edwards elaborated on the role college students can play in the political arena.

“College students are principled,” he said. “And they have the courage to speak for their causes”. When asked about the protests at Stanford last Friday when President Bush was scheduled to visit the Hoover Institute, Edwards simply said, “God bless you.”

“You are the heart and soul of democracy,” he added. “Accountability makes democracy work.”

In the interview, Edwards also offered insight into the upcoming midterm elections in November, predicting that “the Democrats are going to clearly make gains.”

Given the tumultuous nature of the political arena, Edwards could not predict which issues will be prioritized in the fall, with the notable exceptions of immigration reform and Iraq. While a number of Democrats, including his former running mate John Kerry, have offered different strategies for winning the war in Iraq, Edwards told The Daily that the differences between plans were “nuanced.”

“Everyone has their own strategy,” he said. “But they all agree that having this many troops in Iraq right now isn’t working.”