For 1st time, Iowa poll shows Clinton in lead
Hillary Clinton has taken the lead among Democratic presidential candidates in an Iowa poll, showing progress toward overcoming a big hurdle in the race.
Although the New York senator is leading in national surveys, Iowa has remained an elusive prize. She has been in a tight race with John Edwards and Barack Obama in the state that begins the primary campaign voting in three months.
Clinton has focused on boosting her appeal in Iowa, including two visits with her husband, the former president, by her side over the summer. The effort appears to have paid off, according to the poll of likely Iowa caucus-goers that was published in yesterday's Des Moines Register.
She was supported by 29 percent of the 399 respondents to the poll conducted Oct. 1-3, compared with 21 percent in May. Edwards's support fell from 29 percent - good enough for first place in May - to 23 percent. That is a statistical tie with Obama's 22 percent.
"I'm doing everything I can to earn the support of Iowans," Clinton said yesterday during a stop in New Hampton, Iowa.
A standing-room-only crowd at a community center was warmed up by listening to the disco hit "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now."
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Obama puts faith in faith
Barack Obama stood in front of a pulpit in South Carolina yesterday and told worshipers that his faith "plays every role" in his life.
"It's what keeps me grounded. It's what keeps my eyes set on the greatest of heights," the Democratic presidential candidate told members of the Redemption World Outreach Center in Greenville, who nearly filled the 4,200-seat church.
Obama said faith is "what propels me to do what I do and when I am down it's what lifts me up." He said God "is with us and he wants us to do the right thing," including breaking down the divisions between Democrats and Republicans and among religions. When people work together, he said, there is "nothing that can stop us because that's God's intention."
The Illinois senator is a member of the United Church of Christ, a church of about 1.2 million members that is considered one of the most liberal of the mainline Protestant groups.
Obama asked the South Carolina church members to pray for him and his family. "Sometimes this is a tough role, being in politics. . . . Sometimes you can become fearful. Sometimes you become vain and sometimes you will seek power just for power's sake," he said.
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