Obama, Edwards, and the undecideds
Barack Obama engages voters at a campaign stop Sunday in Knoxville, Iowa. (Scott Olson/Getty)
KNOXVILLE, Iowa -- With the Iowa caucuses so close and the Democratic race so tight, everyone's looking for ways to read the tea leaves -- the polls, the sizes of the crowds candidates are drawing, the contenders' body language on the hustings, and so on.
Here's one thing to chew on: One striking difference between appearances by John Edwards and Barack Obama in the last 24 hours was the number of undecided voters in their audiences. Last night, Edwards pulled in an impressive crowd of 1,100 people into a Des Moines high school. When Edwards asked how many people there were still undecided, only a smattering of hands went up.
This morning, Obama packed about 400 people into a middle school here in Knoxville. When he asked the same question, dozens of people raised their hands. A similar thing happened recently in Manchester, N.H., where Obama spoke to a much bigger audience at a downtown hotel. It seemed like nearly every hand was in the air when Obama asked undecided voters to identify themselves.
A coincidence? Maybe. But it could also be one indication that while Edwards has a core group of seasoned, committed supporters who will caucus for him no matter what, Obama is drawing a lot more curious onlookers, who, if they are persuaded to his cause, could fuel his victory on Thursday. As anyone in Iowa will tell you, it will all come down to turnout.
John Edwards campaigns Saturday night at a Des Moines high school. (Win McNamee/Getty)
Edwards is a phony.
John Edwards is correct in focusing on lobbyist, lobbyist are a major problem for our country, they are at the heart of the corruption of the
United States of America at present. The multinational
Corporations influence our laws, our medicine, our media, and at large our planet, We are in a disturbing situation.
When profit wins over humanity, we have failed as a
Government and as nation of God and of the people. If we allow our government to fool us with their propaganda Hype machine, payed for and owned by multinational corporations, then we will fail again, and God bless
the Children of the future. John Edwards is legit,
He is a true Patriot, He is groomed for battle.
He has experience in the fight that will finally set
our Country on track again.
Let him Cleanse our Government of Corruption,
look where it has led us.
It is time to be THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA again.
Support John Edwards, he is a Great Man,
he is the best candidate for the job...
Or maybe it means that Obama has less core support?
John Edwards talks a good populist game, but his history is anything but. He voted for numerous trade agreements that gutted American manufacturing and led directly to our current trade deficit with China. He voted for the Iraq War, which has pushed America into hundreds of billions of dollars of foreign debt, a large part of the reason the dollar is in free fall. His ideas that you can simply cut the major corporations out of the equation is so ridiculous as to be laughable. The one place where Edwards has the right idea is in lobbying reform, yet he never introduced a single piece of ethics reform as a Senator, and now he is benefiting from millions of dollars in 527 spending in Iowa. He hasn't maintained a consistent position on any issue in the last 8 years. They'll paint him as a flip flopper and a fake, and they'll be right. Do the smart thing: vote Obama.
Big business is destroying our democracy, reputation and middle class. It is time to stand up this assault on our country. I whole-heartedly support John Edwards. Edwards is our best hope for restoring our way of life. Go John Go!!
If you voted for the War, you have poor judgment, no creditability, and have caused America's image abroad great harm. Angry canidates are too polarizing and don't appeal to independents. End the CLINTON/BUSH Monarchy reign! Let's turn the page and take back our Government!
Go Obama!
Btw, I'm bringing 28 new faces to Thursday's Caucus that have never been polled - including mine! Will be historic!
If you voted for the War, you have poor judgment, no creditability, and have caused America's image abroad great harm. Angry canidates are too polarizing and don't appeal to independents. End the CLINTON/BUSH Monarchy reign! Let's turn the page and take back our Government!
Go Obama!
Btw, I'm bringing 28 new faces to Thursday's Caucus that have never been polled - including mine! Will be historic!
John Edwards: What will you do about the horrible property tax increases that have hit many homeowners -- chiefly caused because Bush didn't fund the No Child Left Behind Act.?? Towns were forced to look to homeowners to finance most of that act.
Now retired, my taxes have risen from $3,500 to $13,000 since that act was passed, and many seniors and handicapped residents have lost their homes. Now, that's a REAL education.
When elected, you and your congress have to clean up that mess.
I think a fair comparison of crowd numbers would be to provide the draw for both candidates in Des Moines, Obama was in Des Moines on the 30th too. The article compares the crowd in the largest city in Iowa with that of a small town.
It would also be fair to note that Obama doesn't have independent organizations raising unregulated campaign money to run misleading attack ads against Edwards.
We need a President capable of using transparency, intelligence and skills to fight corporate greed, not anger. America has had enough violence and we don't like who we've become in the eyes of the world. Senator Barack Obama has a track record of success in defeating corporate interests working in a bipartisan way. A couple of examples: Obama worked with Russ Feingold (D–WI) to eliminate gifts of travel on corporate jets by lobbyists to members of Congress and require disclosure of bundled campaign contributions under the "Honest Leadership and Open Government Act", which was signed into law in September 2007.[76] He joined Charles Schumer (D-NY) in sponsoring S. 453, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections.
There's a real choice to be made here, no doubt. But let's not forget folks, that both of these guys would make great presidents. For me, it comes down to two things:
1) If you look at historical data, Edwards doesn't stand a chance to win the nomination, even if he wins Iowa. The path to the nomination is a combination of momentum, money, and organization. If Edwards wins Iowa, he will have nothing but momentum on his side. Against an entrenched quasi-incumbant like Hillary, he won't stand a chance.
2) Obama was against the war in Iraq before it started. That means a lot to me, and it speaks volumes about his judgement.
Edwards has admitted that almost everything he did as a senator was a mistake. He didn't gain any experience since then.
Obama is going to win in a landslide. He is a better candidate, and he has run a better campaign
Obama is a total opportunist who has abrogated his responsibility as a US Senator when he could have made a difference that was mutually beneficial to the US and his campaign. He chairs the EU sub-committee on Foreign Policy, but has yet to convene a meeting or visit the EU. Additionally, he vacated his own principles during the last omnibus spending bill that gave Bush $70b unrestricted for the war and billions more for 8,993 earmarks. This is not leadership. Wake up Iowa!
It's time to vote for a candidate for change who has a track record for actually bringing about change.
it's time to vote for a candidate who has vision, judgment, skills, courage, and integrity.
it'stime to vote for a candidate who has spent his entire adult life working for people in the trenches, in the courts, in elected office.
It's time to vote for a candidate who can win in the general election.
Barack Obama's time is now.
Do not let this once-in-a-generation leader slip through our fingers.
it's time to vote for a candidate who can restore our reputation in the world.
edwards tripped all over himself trying to get musharraf to return his calls just so he can say he talked to him. that was a cheap political stunt.
edwards is willing to talk to a corrupt dictator who tortures his own people but he's unwilling to talk to ceos? how does that make any sense?
edwards worked for, and invested millions into an offshore hedge fund despite having railed against tax dodging corporations all through 2004. his voting record shows him voting against the poor in favor of protecting corporations over and over again. see his bankruptcy votes. edwards is a hypocrite. he has little credibility for the promises he offers. his bluster is hollow.
Edwards is all talk and no action.
Edwards not only voted, but promoted Bush's illegal war without reading the intelligence report.
Edwards decided to become a high paid lawyer, while Obama decided to work as a community organizer right of college.
Obama was against the war before it was popular.
A vote for Edwards is a vote for the other war supporter - Hillary.
Yes, T. Knight wake up! What did John Edwards accomplish during his term as Senator? He talks about change now, but what did he do when he had the opportunity to affect change? Senator Obama has been about change his entire career. He passed the toughest ethics reform since Watergate. I believe the opportunist is the ambulance chaser we have in John Edwards.
Oh and Ranganath D-Punjab was a direct quote from a supporter of Hillary and was denounced by Obama when used in a piece by one of his junior staffers. Also, you speak of racism, but who's supporter made a comment about Barack's use of smoking pot when he was a teenager and then tried to imply that he might have even dealt. You need to read more and stop going with the herd mentality.
Go Obama!!!
is this site erasing comments critical of hillary?
Comparing an Edwards rally in Des Moines (population 193,886) to an Obama rally in Knoxville, IA (population 7,731) is kinda dishonest. Obama has had double the crowds of Edwards in comparable venues since Christmas.
Comparing an Edwards rally in Des Moines (population 193,886) to an Obama rally in Knoxville, IA (population 7,731) is kinda dishonest. Obama has had double the crowds of Edwards in comparable venues since Christmas.
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