At the Saddleback Faith Forum, Barack Obama twice states that he has at the basis of his Christian faith commitment to "the least of these", which is a biblical reference to people who are poor.

I think America's greatest failing in my lifetime has been that that we still don't abide by that basic precept in Mathew that, 'whatever we do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.'  That notion of, that basic principle applies to poverty; it applies to racism and sexism; it applies to not having, not thinking about providing ladders to get into the middle class.   There's a basic sense that this county, as wealthy and powerful as we are, still does not spend enough time thinking about "the least of these."

What has Obama "flipped on" over the years?  He says,

I think that a good example would be the issue of welfare reform, where I was always believed that welfare had to be changed.  I was much more concerned ten years ago when President Clinton initially signed the bill that this could have disastrous results. I worked in the Illinois legislature to make sure that we were providing child care, health care, other support services  for the women who were gonna be kicked off of the rolls after a certain time.  It worked better than a lot of people anticipated.

One of the things I am absolutely convinced of is that we have to have work as a centerpiece of any social policy.  Not only because ultimately people who work are going to get more income, but the intrinsic dignity of work, the sense of purpose, the sense that you are part of the community because you are making a contribution, no matter how small, to the country as a whole.  That's something I think Democrats generally have made a significant shift on.

What does it mean to be a Christian?

The expectations that God has for us, and that means thinking about "the least of these" . . .

Although some of us may disagree with what Obama says about poverty, none of us ought to deny that he has addressed it.  He addressed it clearly in the above debate, by saying that he believes the primary thrust of his faith is the obligation to treat the least of our brothers with the same consideration that we would give to  Jesus Christ himself.

Say what you will about the way in which Obama addresses poverty, but clearly he has expressed a very definite commitment to addressing it.