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First off, let me get this out of my system: didn't that Des Moines Register debate suck? Whoa. While I still think Wolf Blitzer is the worst moderator in America, the woman from the Register made a pretty strong case that she's a contender for that award.
Thanks for letting me do that. Now I can move on.
Obama and his campaign team are feeling very confident these days, and they should be feeling good about themselves, they've had a good last few weeks. Hillary's team seems a little panicky, like a usually disciplined team that has lost control of a situation and has lost their sense of discipline.
However, I think things will even themselves out as we go into these last couple of weeks. I'd be surprised if Hillary's team doesn't settle themselves down and perform well at the end. But the real news in Iowa is that Edwards is hanging around, staying close to the other campaigns. I had thought, as I wrote here, that if Edwards stayed in third place that he would start to shed voters, especially given his spending limitations because of his matching fund decision. I think I was wrong, though. He continues to be right in there, very close to the leaders. His populist outsider message has a lot of appeal, and he remains popular as a 2nd choice for folks whose candidacies aren't viable at their caucus. If the frontrunners end up banging on each other in these last couple of weeks, he could benefit from being outside of the line of fire.
Don't be shocked if Edwards ends up being first on caucus night.
I don't think he goes anywhere after that, though. I still think the matching fund decision was one of the stupidest decisions I've ever seen in modern Presidential politics, and I think it means he won't make it through a long-distance race.
Iowa, though, is still very much in range for him.
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