EDWARDS’ RURAL CAMPAIGN

Of the nation’s 250 poorest counties, argues Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, 244 are rural, and he has a plan to help them. A candidate with a plan is as common as a tourist at Old Orchard Beach; what distinguishes Mr. Edwards’ Rural Recovery Act is its details, which suggest he knows specifically what he is talking about. A rarity.

For instance, the plan recognizes the bind of low Medicaid and Medicare payment rates to rural areas, which are often underserved by medical providers and yet are assigned reimbursement levels that make it difficult to keep the physicians these regions have. And his plan recognizes that rural areas are counting on energy development – often biofuels or wind – to help grow their economies. He would fund alternative energy research, help with start-up capital and require cleaner-burning engines.

It may surprise urban residents to see that the Edwards’ plan includes a section on battling the abuse of methamphetamines, but more help fighting the devastating effect of drug abuse in small towns across the country is crucial to stopping the spread of this easily produced and highly addictive drug which is silently crippling rural America. Economically, the former North Carolina senator knows that access to high-quality broadband soon will be required of any community serious about development, yet urban areas outpace rural towns in this.

All of the dozen issues in the Rural Recovery Act target serious problems in rural America which are too often unrecognized by the nation’s more powerful cities. Combined, a chronic failure to deal with rural health care, economic development, drug addiction and connection to the larger world places small towns at a huge disadvantage. It is an important face of the poverty Mr. Edwards has spent much of his campaign highlighting.

Mr. Edwards has a challenge of his own, trying to gain attention in a field led by Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who have been nearly overwhelmingly successful in raising campaign dollars and, thereby, attracting media attention. It’s not clear that Mr. Edwards can overcome this, but his urgency in calling attention to poverty, particularly rural poverty, is far more important than how many campaign dollars he has raised.

This isn’t to say that the other candidates have been insubstantial in their comments and plans, but with regular complaint from the voting public that too much of campaigning relies on image and not enough on content, here is a campaign that has focused on issues that are of real importance to rural Maine. Whatever the outcome of the Democratic primary, Mr. Edwards has hit upon what matters and come up with serious answers in response.