From an interview in Mens Vogue Magazine:

Edwards is sipping on a jumbo-size soda from Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits in his Chapel Hill headquarters when I ask him if he truly believes a Democrat can win in the South, given how the white working class tends to vote. “Oh, I’ll win more than one Southern state,” he tells me. “I will win more than one Southern state. You remember we had this conversation.”

The latest South Carolina polling numbers show Edwards is being trounced by Barack Obama & Hillary Clinton, the same for Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, well you get the drift.

Andrew Sullivan has this great picture in his blog:

I love it!

“ron paul”

New national polling conducted by USA Today/Gallup shows Hillary Clinton (33%) with double-digit leads over Barack Obama (21%) if Al Gore is in the running (which he hasn’t but pollsters asked anyway). With Gore out of the race the lead grows by 1% with Clinton at 39% & Obama at 26% putting Edwards at a distant third.

Meanwhile Fred Thompson, who also isn’t officially running but almost definitely will, came in second for Republicans with 19% over McCain at 18%. It is not statistically significant but most believe Thompson will receive a further boost when he actually announces and is further evidence that McCain, who entered the race as the presumptive front-runner, is in trouble. Giuliani still is the favorite with 28%.

It is becoming more evident that in this election cycle immigration is going to play a big role. I cannot help but come back to Lyndon Johnson. Not because of any role Johnson played in the issue but because of something he said when passing the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Supposedly Johnson said of the Democratic Party “We have lost the South for a generation” and in reality, they had. After that vote many Southern Democrats became Republicans and have been so ever since.

George W. Bush seems to see the immigration issue in the same way. As Governor of a border state he saw the growing wave of illegal immigration (and legal immigration as well) from Mexico & Latin America. He seems to genuinely understand that if Republicans cave into the base of the party they may well hand the largest minority voting block to the Democrats to add to their portfolio. It could be devastating for the Republicans. Meanwhile the left understands what they can gain and so they are willing to put American fears of lost jobs and culture aside, seeing a future of Latin influence coming their way.

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That’s what Secret Service agents are calling the Illinois Democrat, in the time-honored tradition of giving “secret” code names to presidential candidates and other protected dignitaries. As is custom, the Obama moniker reflects something of the man himself (though he might prefer “progressive” or “independent”).

From the Washington Post. Sen. Clinton’s name, if you are wondering, is “ever-green”.

Still, according to a Secret Service spokesman, all code names are chosen by military officials, suggesting that they should not be examined too closely for deeper meaning.