John Edwards for President? for Thursday, November 8, 2007

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Thursday, November 8, 2007

Democratic Races Closing In Iowa, New Hampshire

According to this Boston Globe article yesterday, the Democratic races are closing in between the three frontrunners. Of course, the Iowa polls are based on Obama and Hillary having just spent roughly $6M between June and September pursuing the 126,000+ Iowans who came out to caucus last time around:

New polls out today suggest drops in support for Hillary Clinton and tightening races in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to vote in the Democratic nomination race.

In a Zogby survey in Iowa, Clinton leads with 28 percent, just ahead of Barack Obama with 25 percent and John Edwards with 21 percent. In an August Zogby poll, Clinton led with 30 percent, with Edwards at 23 percent and Obama at 19 percent.

The new survey was conducted Tuesday among 502 Democrats likely to attend the Jan. 3 caucus, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

In a Rasmussen Reports survey in New Hampshire, Clinton leads Obama 34 percent to 24 percent, with Edwards at 15 percent. Clinton's support is the lowest of the election in a Rasmussen poll, the firm said. The survey was the firm's first in the Granite State since the Democratic debate last week during which Clinton's rivals accused her of double-talk.

The survey was conducted Monday among 772 likely Democratic primary voters, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Edwards: Hillary Voting Like A Hawk in DC, Talking Like A Dove in IA & NH

According to this AP story from November 5, 2007:

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Monday accused rival Hillary Rodham Clinton of a two-faced foreign policy and argued that she is failing to do enough to stop what he called President Bush's march to war with Iran.

"Senator Clinton is voting like a hawk in Washington, and talking like a dove in Iowa and New Hampshire," Edwards told hundreds of people gathered at the University of Iowa, where he offered his ideas on dealing with Iran.

The 2004 vice presidential nominee stepped up criticism of Clinton's vote in Congress to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, which Edwards said is a mistake. He has said that by her vote, she and other lawmakers are allowing Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to "rattle the sabers" of war, and giving them the excuse they need to attack Iran, just as they attacked Iraq.

"The war in Iraq isn't even history yet, but the Bush Administration is repeating the march to war with Iran, and they're getting help from people who should know a lot better," Edwards said. "George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the neocon warmongers used 9/11 to start a war with Iraq and now they're trying to use Iraq to start a war with Iran. And we have to stop them."

ABC News: Edwards Picks Coveted Endorsement Over Obama as 'the Un-Hillary'

According to this ABC News story, "Edwards Picked Over Obama as 'the Un-Hillary': Former North Carolina Senator Nabs Coveted Iowa Endorsement":

Iowans for Sensible Priorities, a group seeking to redirect spending from the Pentagon to domestic needs, plans to endorse John Edwards Friday in Des Moines.

The decision to endorse Edwards over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama came down to 'courage versus caution,' according to the group's executive director.

'There's a rhetoric gap with Obama,' executive director Peggy Huppert told ABC News. 'He told me personally:'Trust me. Ideologically, I'm with you.' But people have told him to be afraid of being pushed too far to the left. He doesn't bring up [cuts in Pentagon spending] on his own. He doesn't incorporate it into his speeches. He skirts around it. He talks around the edges. He never gets to the heart of it in strong, bold language.'

Edwards, by contrast, won over the group with his harder edge.

Edwards boosted his chances of winning the endorsement Oct. 26 when Huppert asked him at an Iowa town hall meeting how he would respond to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the GOP's national front-runner, saying the day before that Democratic support for reducing Pentagon spending amounts to a lack of concern for defeating what Giuliani calls 'the terrorists' war on us.'

'Edwards gave an excellent answer,' said Huppert. 'He said we have to stop buying into their frame which equates spending money on the Pentagon with keeping us safe. He also said we can't have a Democratic candidate who cowers and runs away from this issue.'

'For whatever reason,' she said, 'John Edwards has decided he is going to take this on and he has staked out the position quite convincingly of being the un-Hillary.'

Although Clinton filled out the group's detailed policy questionnaire, she was not among the final two candidates under consideration for the endorsement.

'She didn't answer any questions 'yes' or'no,'' said Huppert. 'She has a refusal to commit to anything.'

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