Children squabbling over the poverty toy.

Clinton and Edwards have spent the past few days in a verbal tug-of-war over their respective anti-poverty credentials. At a New Hampshire campaign stop Wednesday, Edwards reacted angrily to comments that he said questioned his commitment to ending poverty.

“She said something about ‘People are talking about poverty, but, you know, what are we going to do about it?’” characterizing the remarks as a “veiled reference” to him. “Let me just be clear,” said Edwards. “Ending poverty in this country is the cause of my life, and I am completely committed to it.”

He then called on Clinton and other White House hopefuls to commit to raising the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour, and to come up with their own comprehensive plan to end poverty.

In an interview with CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux Thursday afternoon, Edwards again called on Clinton and the rest of his Democratic rivals to come out in favor of the $9.50 figure. Clinton’s statement was released shortly after his appearance.

That statement was that she had already introduced legislation — on Wednesday — to raise the minimum wage.