There’s been lots of interesting chatter about the latest poverty stats. Garance Franke-Ruta writes : “So, on the one hand, we have a nation that does not take poverty seriously (as per E.J. Dionne), and on the other, a public that thinks Democrats are excessively focused on the poor at the expense of the middle class (as per Elizabeth Warren).”

I don’t know the data Garance is basing this on, but I assume she’s right. But, in “fairness” to the Dems I don’t think it’s true. With the exception of John Edwards, I haven’t heard much from the Democrats re poverty in a long time. The public impression may be there, but it seems to me that Bill Clinton changed the Democratic Party (improvement is in the eye of the beholder) into one fixated with the Middle Class. The watershed was probably Welfare Reform — aimed at helping those “who worked hard and played by the rules.” No code there. But compared to the 1980s and early 1990s, Democrats barely discuss the poor (and Republicans barely talk about the underclass). Having had the misfortune of having read very large numbers of Democratic convention speeches going back a long way (a habit I picked up at AEI), my impression is that the words “poor” and “poverty” have steadily declined in Democratic rhetoric while “middle class” has increased quite a bit.

I’d be interested in seeing evidence that contradicts my impression.