Two More Pieces of Bad News for Clinton

Obama continues to close the "Super" delegate gap. CNN now has him just two delegates behind Clinton, while ABC News declared yesterday that he had surpassed her. Now, Rasmussen Reports says that they will stop polling Clinton "in the near future" in order to focus on McCain-Obama. While that last piece of news may not seem like a big deal, I remember how deflating it was to me, as an Edwards supporter, when Gallup dropped Edwards from it's national tracking. As a supporter, it was definitely a gut-check moment.

Clinton will win West Virgina handily on Tuesday, and she will also win Kentucky. It does not matter. Every available mertic, objective and subjective, points to Obama. Unless a really big rock falls on him, this race is over. I respect her right to stay in as long as she wishes, but this is like watching a terminal patient slowly die. The systems that support the life her her campaign-donors, delegates, press, polling, etc.-all seem to be slowly shutting down. It's sad to watch, and I wonder, when it's over, will this indebted campaign look to Democrats (read: Obama) to pay the bill for the prolonged life support?

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Clinton Slides in Iowa: New Poll

Today, Rasmussen is reporting results showing that Hillary Clinton's poll numbers in Iowa have dropped seven points in recent weeks, mirroring her six point drop in New Hampshire. Currently, 29% of respondents support Clinton, 25% support Edwards and 21% support Obama, making the race a statistical dead heat. Not surprisingly, Bill Richardson now finds himself in the double digits drawing support from 10% of those polled. Among those who say they are certain to caucus, the top three are tied, 26%, 26% and 26%. Fully half of those polled say they might change their mind before January, so the race is truly anyone's. Second choice support, important in caucuses, is also evenly split between the top three. Among the top three, Edwards is the best liked by caucus goers, with 84% reporting a favorable opinion of him, compared to 81% for Obama and 79% for Clinton. I bet congress wishes for those numbers!

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Want to Win? Choose Edwards

There was more good news for the Edwards campaign today. Over the last two weeks, his bold approach to issues has gotten sharper, and even more bold as he takes on corporate politicians of both parties. He isn't singing this hymn alone. Every time Edwards starts a new verse Obama chimes in. Perhaps as a result, while Hillary Clinton continues to lead in national polls, her lead is softening as questions about her electability simmer.

At the same time, according to Rasmussen, Edwards, who has consistently been the most electable Democrat, continues to do better than all other Democrats in general election match-ups. He has solid leads over both New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani 49% to 41% and former Senator Fred Thompson, who he dominates 49% to 35%. He also leads Romney and McCain.

Democrats are in the unique position of having the opportunity to nominate John Edwards, the candidate who is (1) the most progressive and (2) the most electable. How can we not?

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