In his book, Searching for America's Heart, Peter Edelman, sets forth a plan to end poverty in America and to carry on the work that was started by Robert F. Kennedy. As he says, "I decided to pursue my personal memorial to Robert Kennedy by carrying on in his spirit." Peter Edelman worked for Robert F. Kennedy from his 1964 Senatorial campaign until RFK's death in 1968, to quote Edelman:

"The sixties represented the zenith of American interest in reducing poverty, and Robert Kennedy was a major actor on the subject during that decade."
The book begins with Edelman explaining why he resigned from the Clinton administration after President Clinton signed the 1996 Welfare bill. In his signing and as a way of legitimizing the bill, President Clinton quoted RFK commenting on the importance of work. The new Welfare bill has forced people to either find jobs or to be completely cut off from welfare. I doesn't matter that most of these jobs do not pay enough to feed a family. Edelman quotes a letter he received from RFK's youngest daughter, Rory, in which she said that Clinton had contributed to the "bastardizing...of his name and legacy."
The book begins with an overview of the career of RFK. Of all the books I have read, this gives the most detailed account of the work he accomplished as the Senator for New York.

"He was conscientious about his conventional Senate work...His day-to-day Senate work has received little attention from biographers, because he was doing so many other things...He wasn't the least bit uninterested. He was just interested in so much else at the same time."
While describing what RFK either succeeded in doing or in attempting, Edelman does not rely on "what if?" He gives concrete examples of what has to be done in the new war on poverty. He gives examples of programs throughout the US that are successfuly helping people escape the web of poverty. Proper education is a large part of that. He does suggest, however, that the safety net that was removed with the 1996 Welfare act is necessary to help people over the rough spots. In describing Kennedy's beliefs about assisting the poorest citizens Edelman says:
"He came to realize that people at the bottom were not always going to be able to work and that a safety net to end hunger and assist in survival was essential"
The reason for a safety net is to help them have the freedom to become educated in order to find a decent paying job, to help them feed their children. I just hope that those in power will read this book and follow the examples that it sets out.
This book gives me hope that the work of Robert F. Kennedy was not in vain, that much of what he worked for and hoped for will eventually come to be.

Copyright 2002 ( )