Clinton Strategists Diving for Cover on Iowa

Today, on Meet the Press, two of Hillary Clinton's most staunch allies, Bob Shrum and James Carville, were obviously on a mission to lower expectations for Clinton's chances in the Iowa caucuses. Both, but particularly Carville, emphasized that, not only in Iowa, but nationally, any of the top three democrats can win the nomination. And, then, Mary Matalin, republican strategist who happens to be married to Carville, chimed in with the opinion that the very best thing that could happen to Hillary Clinton would be to lose the Iowa caucuses.

Why are they doing this? Because the "inevitability argument" that has driven fundraising and poll numbers for Clinton, is about to jump up and bite her if she fails to win in Iowa. And, there is a very good chance that she will not win in Iowa. Buried in the poll numbers that were shared on the show today are two key points: democratic voters in Iowa overwhelmingly want change more than they want experience. Clinton has consistently failed to cast herself as a change agent-because she really isn't. She may be a different gender, but her stand on Iran and her strategies on the campaign trail-including her failure to answer questions and cries of "mudslinging" when her rivals call her to answer on the issues-smack of the very best strategies Karl Rove has to offer. It's not new-it's more of the same. It's not transformational, as Bill Clinton's message was. It is controlled. It is disciplined. It is effective. But change? No, it's not change.

The second indicator in the Washington Post poll-the one that put Obama on top for the first time-is Edwards's strength as a second choice for voters-something that is very important in the caucuses. And, there is great affection for Edwards in Iowa.

Yes, this is anyone's game at the point. As the guests all pointed out, there are four debates in December, and anything can happen. My prediction continues to be that Edwards wins Iowa, and Bill Richardson also finds himself in the top three. We'll see, anything can happen. But these pundits had an agenda today-they know that Clinton may well not come out on top in Iowa, and they want to blunt the impact of that loss.

A Thanksgiving Message From the Edwards'

This is a new spot cut by the Edwards Campaign for Thanksgiving. Take a look!

Why John Edwards Matters for Georgia

Paging all Iowa caucus goers and voters in early primary states.

Georgia is not an "early state," and it could be that, due to the momentum created in the early caucuses and primaries, the nominee will be a virtual lock before Georgians vote in our February 5th primary. Yet, the result of that nomination process and the result is critical for Georgia and other "red" states. That's why so many Georgia democratic leaders-including women-have stepped forward to support John Edwards. Simply put, we all know that John Edwards at the top of the ticket will help democrats up and down the ballot get elected in 2008, and we know that John Edwards as President will help Georgia elect a democratic governor in 2010. And, if John Edwards is our nominee, then we know that he puts 'red' states and important 'swing states' in play-in part because he actually plans to run there-making it more likely that our next President will be a democrat.

To some democratic candidates, Georgia is nothing more than a great big piggy bank. John Edwards has raised his share of cash here, too, but he remains the only one of the candidates who has been to Georgia to raise money for our democratic house and senate caucuses and for the Democratic Party of Georgia.

So, it's no wonder that key Georgia democratic leaders like Gov. Roy Barnes, Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, Sen. Valencia Seay, Sen. Vincent Fort, Melita Easters and others have stepped up to support John Edwards-not only is he the candidate who has the best chance of actually winning nest November, but he's the candidate who can help turn states like Georgia a nice shade of blue!

Here are a couple photographs that help tell the Edwards story in Georgia.

Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, Sen. Valencia Seay and Sen. Vincent Fort Endorse Edwards

Georgia Women Democratic Leaders With Elizabeth Edwards

Rove's Playbook for Defeating Hillary Clinton

If you didn't already know why we need to nominate John Edwards, Newsweek has a chilling article about how Hillary Clinton can be defeated by none other than Karl Rove. Read it all here.

Elizabeth Edwards: War in Iraq Not Making AYP

Last night, at a Macon, Georgia fundraiser, Elizabeth Edwards spoke to a group that included Kyle George, a Mercer law student and veteran of the war in Iraq. In response to his question about what Sen. Edwards would do as President to end the war in Iraq and begin bringing out troops home, Elizabeth paused and said , "you know, if we took the language of No Child Left Behind and applied it to this war, there's no way the war in Iraq has made AYP ." (Adequate Yearly Progress) That might've been the best line of the night. It is interesting, isn't it, that we go to great lengths to hold teachers accountable and to measure the progress of students, but despite the billions invested in Iraq, we don't do nearly as much to measure the progress of the war or hold George Bush accountable? It's time for a President who will get us out of the multi-billion dollar quagmire.

Sen. Edwards Needs Your Support Tonight!

Do you believe that presidential elections should be publicly financed? John Edwards does, and yesterday he took the courageous step of opting to accept federal matching funds for this election, and he's the only leading candidate to do this, and tonight, I'm asking you to show your support for that decision by making a contribution to his campaign.



That means, if you contribute to John Edwards for President today, up to $250.00 of that contribution will be matched, so $10 becomes $20 and $250 becomes $500. So, how about it? While Hillary Clinton continues to rake in the money from Washington lobbyists, the only money that's good in the Edwards campaign is yours and mine. Your small change can make a big difference, and you can contribute on this secure web page.

So many of my progressive friends have told me that they support public financing of elections. Well, now is the time to step up the the plate and show that you will support the candidate who agrees with you. If you contribute before midnight on Sunday, it will be counted in what is sure to be a strong third quarter fundraising total for Sen. Edwards.

I have found it interesting in that today, on some "progressive" blogs, the Edwards team has been assailed for this decision. Not a terribly progressive attitude if you ask me. After all, Edwards is opting into a system that was established in the wake of Watergate to help stem the tide of corruption in elections and return control of the process to citizens like you and me. It's time to stop the madness and support the candidate who is, once again, leading-in the only way that really matters. It's one thing to talk about big, bold change and quite another to actually embrace big, bold change-right now, this year, in this election. Isn't that the kind of leadership you are looking for in a president?

It's Worth Noting

John Edwards has stayed competitive in Iowa, in fact leads in many polls, despite the fact that he has not been up on television while Clinton, Obama, Biden and to some extent, Richardson, have.