E.J. Dionne on the new consensus on poverty: Quietly, a new anti-poverty consensus -- reflected in the dueling speeches Edwards and Obama gave this week -- is being born. It stresses personal and parental responsibility while also addressing economic changes that are promoting inequality. It seeks to deal with the growing isolation of the poor, the need for early intervention in the lives of poor children and the importance of increasing the economic rewards for what is now low-wage work. Mostly out of public view, anti-poverty scholars and activists have used their time in the political wilderness to figure out what actually works. The whole column is worth a read, but E.J. is being modest. His book Why Americans Hate Politics was of the first to make the argument that policies addressing the behavioral and structural causes of poverty were compatible and necessary. It's encouraging that such high-profile politicians have identified themselves with this message.