YES: Former senator possesses an ability to cultivate the grass roots
WAYNE MADSEN
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
AP PhotoDemocratic presidential hopeful, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, smiles as he listens to a question during the Heartland Presidential Forum, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007, in Des Moines, Iowa.John Edwards has something Hillary Clinton doesn't: an army of union members and progressive activists who have been cultivating the nation's grass roots on behalf of the former senator and vice presidential candidate.
With 130 paid staffers in Iowa and an army of enthusiastic volunteers, Edwards stands a good chance of derailing Clinton's juggernaut of big-money donors and machine politicians. Endorsements from the Service Employees International Union and the Postal Workers Union will help Edwards in a state where organized labor remains surprisingly strong.
If Edwards wins the Iowa caucuses or even ties in a three-way race with Clinton and Barack Obama, the folksy North Carolinian will be in a good position to trump Clinton in New Hampshire. Backers of Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd, and Joe Biden will begin to look for another candidate to take on Clinton. While some may opt for Obama, a sizable move by these political free agents to Edwards will put him in a better position to win in New Hampshire.
http://www.charlotte.com/409/story/388829.htmlIn 1976, Iowa helped propel a lesser known Southern candidate, Jimmy Carter, to the White House.
The fact that Bill Clinton skipped the Iowa caucuses in 1992 (he received 3 percent of the vote) may not be lost on Iowa's Democratic caucus participants. Iowans are quite serious about their politics, and they do not like being ignored. And the fact that John Kerry, winner of the 2004 Iowa caucuses, chose not to fight the flawed presidential election results in Ohio despite the objections of running-mate Edwards, may draw more Iowans to Edwards as well.
New Hampshire is also unkind
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