John Edwards' populism is not necessarily new.

During a discussion on WUNC's "The State of Things" today, N&O reporter Rob Christensen argued that Edwards' previous campaigns for U.S. Senate and president had populist strains as well.

"In his Senate campaign, he ran against the big health-insurance companies and the HMOs up in New Haven, Conn., making all the decisions, not you and your doctor. That's populism in a way," he said.

Christensen pointed out that North Carolina also has a history of populism, with the label fitting Gov. Kerr Scott and U.S. Sens. Marion Butler and Robert Reynolds. That's not surprising, he argued, given that it's long been a state of "relatively modest tobacco farmers and textile workers."

Duke University professor Kerry Haynie said Edwards' discussion of poverty was risky because it implicitly brings up difficult issues of race as well.