At this point, how is John Edwards doing?

[Colobo]

I've been thinking about how he's been doing lately, in terms of polls, debate performances... and I wonder: how is his campaign doing? How are things going for him right now?

[PresidentObama]

1. So-so. It's Iowa or bust, and it's a dead heat there.

He's got enormous support there from 2004, and connects very well with voters in Iowa. He's visited every county, and basically lives there and has since the election of 2004. His populist message really hits home with the voters there, and he's consistently ran in the top tier in the polls there.

[Colobo]

2. Good, honest post.

Thanks for your analysis.

[rwheeler31]

3. He is a good man. I like him.

[1932]

4. Ad spend IA: Obama $5M; Clinton $3M; Edwards $20K as of 2 weeks ago.

http://nymag.com/news/politics/powergrid/40989/

[calteacherguy]

7. It's good that he's in the race.

Not my first choice, but I'm glad he's in the race.

We have a great field.

[The River]

5. If He Can Get His Message Out

He can win it all.

from PDA and worth reading again

http://pdamerica.org/articles/campaigns/2007-08-25-11-38-06-campaigns.php

"To Build One America, End the Game"
By John Edwards
August 25, 2007, Hanover, NH

"This election is unlike any we have faced before. The stakes are higher. And the challenges we face as a nation are greater than at any time in memory.

We as a nation must choose whether to do what America has always done in times like these -- change direction and move boldly into the future for the sake of our children, if not for ourselves, or wander in the same stale direction we have traveled in our recent past.

The choice we must make is as important as it is clear.

It is a choice between looking back and looking forward."


much much more

[saltpoint]

6. He may have the residual affection many Iowans had for him in 2004 when

he finished a strong and surprising second place (32%) to Senator Kerry.

John and Elizabeth were in Iowa quite a bit then and have been since and remain very popular.

The race is a jamjob right now. The differentials between leaders are tightening just in time for the next 40-some days, when they'll likely tighten some more.

It's not out of the question for there to be a 5-way finish in Iowa with five candidates (Biden, Clinton, Edwards, Obama, and Richardson -- in no predictable order) within a % point of each other or LESS than a % point of each other, their final totals coming to a few hundred or couple dozen in number.

In other words, a cliff-hanging nail-biting, pulse-pounding dead heat.

They all have significant support and none of them appears to be in Iowans' disfavor. They're all known quantities. Only Gephardt was known well to Iowa Democrats. He was a neighbor. He was friendly. He'd won there before. He was tall. They shook the man's hand and then buried him alive with 11% of the vote. That was the end of Gephardt's political career (until the POST's announcement of his vice presidential appointment!).

The Democratic race is fluid now because the candidates can offer legitimate appeal and multiple and varying strengths.

Edwards is one among those, and meets those criteria. Now it's up to the Iowans to decide if they can motivate themselves and their families and their friends on caucus night.

I bet they will.