This caught my eye:

More than 20 years ago, congressional Democrats pushed for an increase in the minimum wage, only to have the first President Bush veto the legislation. There were fights over the minimum wage again during Bill Clinton’s presidency, and more battles under George W. Bush.

Now, Democrats are once again hoping to revive the minimum wage — currently at $7.25 per hour — as a campaign-year issue that some strategists believe could help cast Republicans as out of touch during tough economic times.

Spurred by comments from several Republican candidates, Democrats and their allies are attempting to convince voters that the entire Republican party wants to lower or abolish the minimum wage.

“All of those candidates are saying do away with the minimum wage, do away with regulations and they are getting massive amounts of money from the Republican party, so you have to say that the Republican party agrees with those,” said Richard Trumka, the president of the AFL-CIO in a conversation with reporters Tuesday.

“Are they going to do away with the minimum wage?” Mr. Trumka asked, rhetorically. “Ask them.”

   I agree–use the minimum wage as an issue. But, it would be a mistake to DEFEND the paltry level of the minimum wage. What we should be saying to people: the minimum wage should be at least $10 an hour…now. As it stands now, a person working at the minimum wage–full-time, 52 weeks a year, with no benefits and no health care–is making a poverty-level wage, as defined by the federal poverty level for a family of four. And those federal levels don’t reflect the true burden of the cost of living.

   So, by all means, let’s make the contrast clear–but don’t sit back and make an argument "elect us because we’ll preserve a poverty-level wage".