From the Associated Press:

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is moving staff out of Nevada to focus on other early voting states, a reflection of the uncertainty about the prominence of the first Western contest and Edwards’ tight resources.

Two Edwards campaign officials said Wednesday that the Nevada staffers were being relocated to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. They would not disclose how many staffers were being moved but characterized it as a handful.

Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid of Nevada responded with a warning: “Any candidate who chooses to ignore Nevada and its rich diversity does so at their own peril.”

Edwards seems to have embraced what might be the only strategy that could work for him. Focus heavily on Iowa, New Hampshire & South Carolina with the hope that winning one or all of them will sustain him through the rest of the primary process.

Though its his best strategy it isn’t a good one and frankly at the rate he is going Edwards is pretty much burning any chance he has with Clinton or Obama of getting into their administrations if they win.

People always ask why money matters. This is why. Edwards is basically running a three state strategy while Clinton & Obama are opening up a fifty state strategy.

Mike Huckabee who placed second in the Iowa Straw Poll now believes he is in the top-tier of candidates.

“We’re in fact in the first tier, I think, by everybody’s estimation, and here’s why,” Huckabee told Jim Axelrod. “It wasn’t just that we surprised people with a second showing, it’s that we did it with so few resources. I mean, this really was feeding the 5,000 with two fish and five loaves, an amazing kind of day for us.”

My take? Not a chance.

It is pretty impressive how Huckabee, with a very quiet effort, was able to pull off second place. With that said he wasn’t exactly competing against political royalty. Out of only 14,000+ voters Romney had 1925 more votes than Huckabee. Compare that to the 395 more votes Huckabee had over the third place winner Brownback and you don’t exactly see an amazingly clear message about how a nation of 300 Million feel about you.

In short the Iowa Straw Poll is a media fabrication that was ditched by the main candidates this year leaving little real meaning for the event.

Maggie North of Claremont told Obama he risks becoming part of the usual political scene if he keeps being drawn into well-publicized disputes with rivals. He and chief rival Hillary Rodham Clinton have jabbed at each other over foreign policy, the war on terrorism and the use of nuclear weapons.

“You can be it,” North said at a small gathering at a Hanover restaurant Monday morning that drew eight people. “But you’ve got to stop - excuse me for being blunt - you’ve got to stop getting involved in the way people are fighting each other, chewing you up a little more.”
“That’s what you do when you run for president,” Obama responded, getting a laugh. - Associated Press

I’ve actually been writing for months in this blog about how I felt Senator Barack Obama was setting himself up for a dilemma. His rhetoric is about “hope, change, uniting not dividing” which is great for lifting people up and making yourself seem above the fray. The problem? Sooner or later to win a political fight you have to get into the mud and when you do you alienate everyone who got you there.

Meanwhile Elizabeth Edwards also made a comment about Obama’s record and rhetoric. On the Iraq War:

And while Senator Barack Obama, D-Ill., was in the Illinois state legislature and not the Senate in 2003, Mrs. Edwards equally questioned his motives.

“Obama gives a speech that’s likely to be extraordinarily popular in his home district,” Edwards said, “and then comes to the Senate and votes for funding… so you are going to get people behaving in a holier-than-thou way.” From ABC News

She also said:

Read the rest of this entry »

* Barack Obama in GQ

* Electorate Shifts Towards Democrats

* How Did Huckabee Place Second?

* Edwards daughter received Murdoch money

* Most Dem candidates don’t envision fast Iraq exit

* Hillary raises Oprah’s Obama bash with a Magic party

* Obama enthusiasts go to camp

* Gay and lesbian voting power

* Tough talk drives Clinton effort: National security stance seen adding to image of strength

* Fund-Raising: Clinton’s K Street Play

* Q&A with John McCain

* McCain keeps focus in N.H.

* Romney fund-raiser quits after indictment

* Biden Opens Metro Office, Comments On Straw Poll

* Hillary, Romney Lead in New Hampshire

From the Associated Press:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Monday shrugged off his 10th-place finish in the Iowa straw poll this past weekend, calling such contests meaningless.
The Arizona senator, starting a two-day swing through early voting South Carolina, skipped the Iowa straw poll along with Rudy Giuliani and all-but-declared candidate Fred Thompson.

I pretty much just said the same thing in this blog BUT unlike McCain I am not running for president and so I don’t come across as a sore loser, just some cranky person.

In all seriousness McCain & Giuliani did the right thing in skipping the Iowa poll. It would have been worse news for them to actually compete and lose and at this point both are not shaping up well for Iowa. Romney has spending spending a great deal of time and money in the state and unless Giuliani makes a massive push (and McCain gets a respirator for the state) it looks like Romney could take it in the Caucus. Time will tell.