comfortable with Bush's emphasis on the mobilization of "church and charity, synagogue and mosque" in the fight against poverty.

The question is, would Bush be equally comfortable with RFK's insistence that this battle be a national priority, with national funding to leverage grass-roots efforts? The "points of light" that Bush's father hailed are critical, but they have to be connected to a central grid and powered by a sense of urgency.

"I'm entirely in favor of faith-based organizations playing a role in helping the poor," Edelman told me. But he's weary of the policy debate on poverty degenerating into a zero-sum church vs. state argument.

Tell that to Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who's trodding the talk-show circuit, fretting about chipping away atthe Economic Policy Institute puts it: "The rule of 'last-hired, first-fired' has not been revoked, and we're likely to see some major layoffs in the low-wage labor markets.

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"If the recession is relatively long and deep, Bernstein continues, "as many as one-half of those who left welfare for work could lose their jobs."

It's not a moment too early to start preparing for this eventuality. What makes Edelman's book so wise and relevant is that he wastes not a line on meaningless big government vs. no government or church vs. state arguments.

"Much of what we need to do," Edelman writes, "has nothing to do with Washington, or with government at all. Private action is as much a part of the answer as public policy."

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Bush echoed that sentiment -- after a