Disclosure: I am a supporter of Hillary Clinton for president

With the row about race hopefully ironed out and out of the way, as per good-will gestures from Clinton and Obama, the campaigns are headed into the deciding stage of the race, in my opinion.

Here are some of the bits and snippets of where we are and other items some may have missed:

1. Latest campaign ad in NV:  Title "About people"

It is short (most likely produced for TV, which can get pretty expensive) but well done.  Hillary highlights 35 yrs. of experience, a theme that works for her.  Also very evident is populism and the idea that Hillary will fight for the little guy/gal.  

2. Clinton's recession response plan

In a very important development, Hillary Clinton has released her recession stimulus plan, to blunt the effects of the recession we are either already in or just about to enter.  

I had blogged about the plan in more detail earlier, here:

http://mydd.com/story/2008/1/11/194436/3 52

This article in the NY Times written by Paul Krugman compares Hillary's, Edwards' and Obama's responses to the looming recession:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/opinio n/14krugman.html?_r=2&ref=opinion&am p;oref=slogin&oref=slogin

A very telling excerpt:

Last week Hillary Clinton offered a broadly similar but somewhat larger proposal. (ed. note: compared to Edwards' plan.)   It also includes aid to families having trouble paying heating bills, which seems like a clever way to put cash in the hands of people likely to spend it.  The Edwards and Clinton proposals both contain provisions for bigger stimulus if the economy worsens.

And you have to say that Mrs. Clinton seems comfortable with and knowledgeable about economic policy. I'm sure the Hillary-haters will find some reason that's a bad thing, but there's something to be said for presidents who know what they're talking about.

Clinton's response is predictably populist and progressive.  The size and scope of the package puts a lot of money into the pockets of the hardest hit to churn the economy.

Krugman also made some unflattering comments about Obama's recession response.  However, that has been discussed in length on this blog earlier today and does not need to be rehashed.

3. Hillary Clinton reiterated that she would start pulling out troops within 60 days of inauguration.

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Russert_dr aws_staunch_defense_of_Clintons_0113.htm l

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton defended her record on the Iraq war to Tim Russert on NBC's "Meet The Press" this Sunday and insisted that she will begin to pull out troops within 60 days of taking office.

"From my perspective, part of the reason that the Iraqis are doing anything is because time is running out," she said. "They see this election happening, and they know that they dont have much time, that the blank check George Bush gave them is about to be torn up."

Video of the interview with "gotcha" Russert is contained in the link to the raw story article.   One to two brigades per month are to be pulled starting January 2009.

4. Commentary:  History vindicates Clinton

Without much comment, since the "racial crap" is hopefully behind us now, a commentary that is setting the historical record straight on what apparently got this flap started in the first place (if it wasn't the earlier excuse making that NH voters showed latent racism in a Dinkins- Wilder-effect way.)  

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/1 4/opinion/main3710235.shtml

More after the break...

A stimulus package, designed to address a looming recession?  Republicans would instantly go the tax-cuts for the rich route.  After all, when the company does well, it all trickles down to the unwashed masses, and everybody is happy.  Except, it never works out that way.  Along the way, the middle-class, lower-middle-class and poor never see the promised benefits.

The plan consists of 3 parts:

A $30 Billion package for low-income families hit hard by the mortgage crisis.

A $40 Billion package in "other spending," mainly for the poor and umemployed.

An additional $40 Billion in tax-rebates for low-income and middle-income families.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080111/pl_n m/usa_politics_dc

Clinton upstages Republicans with stimulus plan

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton on Friday proposed $70 billion in emergency spending to stave off a possible U.S. election-year recession, upstaging Republican rivals who clashed over the economy but offered few specifics.

The New York senator, who hopes to become the Democratic nominee in the November election, proposed $30 billion to help low-income families hit by the mortgage crisis and $40 billion in other spending, mainly for the poor and unemployed.

The former first lady, trying to build momentum after her narrow New Hampshire primary victory over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, also urged Congress to prepare an additional $40 billion in tax rebates for low- and middle-income families to be implemented if the initial stimulus fails.

FINALLY someone proposing a recession stimulus that does it from the OTHER SIDE, the trickle-up side of the equation.  The relief would most likely be spent immediately, and therefore would have a much more immediate and powerful effect than the GOP's typical bandaid, tax-relief for wealthy individuals and corporations.    

Clinton released her economic proposals amid warnings that a recession is increasingly likely. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at "substantive" interest rate cuts on Thursday and President George W. Bush is considering his own economic stimulus package.

"I don't think we can wait. ... Too many people will be hurt, too many jobs will be lost, too many homes will be foreclosed on," Clinton said, urging the Congress to work with the president to avert a slide toward recession.

The plan immediately came under fire, with a spokesman for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney charging the plan increases spending, "ignores innovation and instead grows the size and role of government."

Damn right, we can't wait.  It is time to pass a low-income relief package right now.  People are hurting now, energy costs have gone through the roof, we are on the brink of a recession, and it is felt most dramatically by the poor, low- and lower-middle income earners.

This $110 Billion shot-in-the-arm stimulus is what is needed.  Good work, Hillary.

Hillary's New Year's Countdown

Hillary Clinton's new ad for Iowa, "President"

With Iowa right around the corner, it may just turn out that the race for Iowa is actually going to end up being a 2-person race, just not Clinton and Obama, but Clinton and Edwards, with Obama finding himself in some trouble keeping up.  I am writing this with the biggie poll still outstanding, the DMR poll, to be released tonight, but I'll go on record predicting that it, too, will show Obama behind Clinton, and probably also Edwards.   Clinton and Edwards have advantages over Obama, because they are stronger with the older age set, which has historically shown up to caucus in Iowa in much larger numbers.  They also appear to be doing equally well with rural voters, another very important voting group.  Obama has to rely on voters who usually don't come out in great numbers for the caucuses, always a dicy proposition.

Now, why did I write that Clinton is in a strong position as the year closes out?  After all, Edwards could conceivably close out strong and take Iowa, thereby helping himself to become the anti-Hillary moving forward, not Obama.   I think if the Clinton campaign has to choose, they would take an Edwards win over an Obama win, believing that it would help them in the long run (if Hillary does not win Iowa herself, of course.)   It is partly about funds, as Edwards, moving forward, has limited funds to spend on all the states that make up the nomination process.   But the biggest part is where Obama supporters end up, should Obama lose support because he disappoints expectations.  I believe a lot of his support will end up going to Clinton, especially the young voters and most of his African-American contingent.  That add-on support would make Hillary even harder to beat, and would be particularly important for the 20 Feb. 5 states.   So, I think that the last few day's developments have actually strengthened Hillary's overall position, by virtue of how it has seemed to effect Obama, regardless of whether Edwards or Clinton actually win the Iowa caucus.  Now, we could all be surprised and Obama wins Iowa after all by virtue of getting an unprecedented voter contingent out to the caucuses, but that appears to be, at least as of today, less likely than it was just a week ago.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/politi cs/ny-ushill315521016dec31,0,4770436.sto ry?coll=ny_home_rail_headlines

Surging Edwards may be blessing for Clinton

Clinton needs a viable John Edwards - her worst-case scenario is that Obama takes first place and Edwards comes in third here," said University of Iowa pollster David Redlawski. "If Edwards falls into irrelevance, that really hurts her because he's splitting the vote against her."

Clinton's advisers worry what will happen if Edwards were to falter in Iowa, according to sources in the campaign. His collapse could deliver his supporters, overwhelmingly anti-Clinton, to Obama in numbers great enough to push deadlocked New Hampshire and South Carolina into the Illinois senator's column.

For those interested in Hillary Clinton's Iowa activities, here a link to some info:

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/hq/iowa/

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail /2007/12/31/a_diligent_clinton_keeps_her _h.html

A Diligent Clinton Keeps Her Head Down

By Dan Balz
DES MOINES -- Hillary Clinton will close out nearly a year of campaigning in Iowa with a New Year's Eve rally in downtown Des Moines late Monday night. It will be glitzy and splashy and will feature her most significant surrogate, her husband the former president.

But what is striking about the final days of one of the most fascinating campaigns any of us have witnessed here in Iowa is how Clinton has avoided becoming the focus of attention. The national front-runner has become, if not invisible, virtually ignored -- and that seems just the way she wants it.

Barack Obama and John Edwards have zeroed in on one another. Joe Biden, Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd hunger for attention. Clinton is methodically moving around the state, saying the same thing at virtually every stop. She has given a few interviews, but made little news.

The style is classic Hillary Clinton, the girl with the responsibility gene, the always-prepared student who never skips her homework. Her final days in Iowa are as disciplined as they are unexceptional -- except perhaps where it counts, in reaching out to Iowa voters. (But that we will not know until Thursday night.)
....
Eight years ago, just 59,000 Iowans participated in the Democratic caucuses. Four years ago that doubled to 124,181. This year estimates run to 140,000 or 160,000 -- or in the guesstimate of former Iowa Democratic chair (and Obama senior adviser) Gordon Fischer, up to 200,000 -- an astounding figure, but one which Fischer believes is plausible given the intensity that has been evident here for a year.
....
There is a workaday quality to the Clinton message -- to the messages of both Clintons actually. Call it bread-and-butter or kitchen-table economics, but the Clintons have never forgotten what got Bill Clinton to the White House.

What got them there was a relentless focus on the middle class and a list of programmatic solutions aimed at easing the economic anxiety that many Americans felt then and feel today -- and the Clintons are still focused on such concerns.
....
Hillary Clinton is doing the same in her own way at stop after stop in Iowa, head down, avoiding the chattering class. "We're locked and loaded on our message," said Howard Wolfson, Clinton's communications director. "Other candidates are making news by attacking other candidates. They're going to run their race. The race we're going to run is focusing people on who's ready to be president."

Clinton took hits earlier in the race and suffered from her own missteps. She and Obama have sparred over the past week on the questions of experience and change. Obama has tried to engage her further but has been distracted by the rise of Edwards -- leaving Clinton largely free to move through the state without distractions.

It looks as if strategically Hillary Clinton is hitting her stride in Iowa, closing the year with strong appearances in the outer reaches of Iowa.  Thursday will show whether it translates in people coming out to caucus for her.  I think we will see a stronger than expected response for her in the state.

Campaign season is finally upon us.  It will all go quite fast now, back-to-back-to-back.  At the end the Demcratic primary voters and caucus goers will have spoken loud and clear, and there should be no doubt about the nominee.  I think that will be Hillary Clinton, but whatever the Democratic voters decide will be the will of the PEOPLE, ALL OF US, not the punditry or the blogs or other politicians.   This next month promises to be exciting for all political junkies, and unlike anything we have ever experienced in its rapid-fire fashion.  May the best candidate win.

So, cheers, and a Happy New Year to all.

CNN released their latest Iowa poll, with Clinton leading by 2%:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/20/i owa.poll/index.html

Thirty percent of likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers support Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York as the nominee, with Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois at 28 percent and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina at 26 percent, according to the poll, released Thursday morning.

ARG polls

Clinton leads Iowa by 4%, in NH she surged to a 14% lead in the two ARG polls released today.

http://www.pollster.com/blogs/poll_arg_iowa_new_hampshire_1.php

Iowa:

Clinton 29%

Obama 25%

Edwards 18%

Biden 8%

Richardson 8%

Their previous poll showed Obama in the lead by 2%, so this is a 6% turnaround for Clinton.

NH:

Clinton 38%

Obama 14%

Edwards 15%

Richardson 5%

Clinton shows at 14%, and in comparison to last month's poll Clinton has added 3% to her overall lead in NH.

Further:

Two national polls released this morning further the impression that Hillary Clinton has bounced back from a lull, and in a pretty big way.  We have seen her New Hampshire polling go somewhat in the right direction again (heading upwards) and the latest Iowa poll from Rasmussen has her in the lead in Iowa (contrasting to previous polls which have shown Obama in the lead.)  The national polls are important in two ways:  

1. Showing trends of the nation's Democratic voters as a whole in terms of reaction to what they see and hear from the various candidates.

2. The national polls largely reflect on the aggregate polling conducted in the 20 Feb. 5 states, and it is reasonable to assume that should there be split state winners (i.e. say, Obama wins Iowa and South Carolina, Clinton wins Nevada and New Hampshire) the national poll taken right after the Florida primary would be the guiding poll, heading into Feb. 5.

NBC/WSJ poll

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/d ocuments/wsjnbcpoll20071219.pdf

Clinton margin:  22%

Clinton 45%
Obama 23%
Edwards 13%

Second tier:

Biden 4%
Kucinich 4%
Richardson 2%
Dodd 1%

Trend:

Nov. 2007

Clinton 47%
Obama 25%
Edwards 11%

Sept. 2007

Clinton 44%
Obama 23%
Edwards 16%

Ok, this poll suggests that not a thing has changed nationally.  That of course goes counter to the impression that has been created by some in the media and on blogs.    The margin is exactly the same it has been last month, and at 22% it is quite large.  

Battleground poll

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/RCP_PDF /BG-33-questionnaire.pdf

Clinton +24%

Clinton 47%
Obama 23%
Edwards 13%

No previous trendline for this poll. Interesting in this poll is that GWU Battleground polled partisan perference by strength of support. With that we get: Clinton/definitely 29% Clinton /probably 16% Clinton /lean 2% Obama/definitely 12% Obama/probably 10% Obama/lean 1% Edwards/definitely 5% Edwards/probably 7% Edwards/lean 1% The strength of "definite" support for Clinton is striking, especially when compared to Obama and Edwards' numbers. One would think that at this point, days before Christmas, Obama and Edwards would have solidified their support base more.

Methodology

THE TARRANCE GROUP and LAKE RESEARCH PARTNERS N = 1,000 Registered “likely” voters Field Dates: December 9-12, 2007 SPLIT SAMPLE A/B

Analysis

Obama supporters showing buyer's remorse? The last two polls in Iowa appear to be moving away from Obama and towards Clinton (yesterday's Rasmussen also showed Clinton in the lead in Iowa) and these latest national polls certainly show a strengthening Clinton position. There was also that CNN poll that showed Clinton surging ahead in New Hampshire to a 12% lead. It looks like a bit of increased scrutiny Obama has seen recently has hurt him somewhat.

I believe this ad is designed to run in Iowa only.  References to the Harkin Steak Fry and campaign events in Iowa make that clear.

I like the fact that the people shown in the ad appear very authentic, regular people.  Particularly the first guy shown, Todd Eaton, explains the reasons for his switch away from Obama very well.   I think this ad is pretty strong, because it makes the case for a switch away from one of the other two candidates towards Clinton in a convincing fashion.  Several Iowa polls have shown that Clinton's current support claims to be solidly supporting her in larger numbers than Obama's and Edwards' current support, so this ad seeks to exploit that support softness and syphon off some of the shaky support Obama and Edwards currently show.  

This is a candidate supporter diary

With this the last installment of the candidate diary series before Christmas (I will be assembling bikes and toys on Christmas eve instead of blogging) let's jump right into the issues I would like to focus on:

1.   "Comeback trail"

A somewhat welcome development has been the media narrative that Obama is said to be the new frontrunner, the guy surging everywhere, etc.   Going with the common media narrative that Obama is surging ahead and that he is now the frontrunner while Hillary Clinton has fallen flat on her face, we are seeing a resurgence of sorts in recent days.  Part of that is obviously due to the fact that the desired media narrative does not reflect reality, so we are seeing movement that appears to completely contradict the current theme, but that is to be expected, since the "real" state of affairs is not nearly as Obama-friendly and Hillary-averse as is being portrayed.   The other part is that Obama has been thrust into this new role and is receiving a lot more scrutiny than before, with the expected result being that it is hurting him in recent days.  The question becomes whether Obama may have peaked too soon, that now Clinton can become the "comeback kid II" with her 99 county helicop-tour of Iowa, and new polling reflecting somewhat of an upswing for Clinton as a result of the recent closer Obama viewing and her own efforts.

Latest polling evidence may be showing a Clinton recovery

Nationally, Hillary Clinton is on the upswing, as can be observed in the RCP averages graph here:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/ 2008/president/us/democratic_presidentia l_nomination-191.html

The two most recent polls, the USA Gallup poll and ARG, show Clinton at just about 20% margin to Obama's showing.  The Rasmussen polling also shows a Clinton recovery of sorts, now putting her numbers back above the 40% mark and the margin to Obama going back up towards the mid-teens.   These latest results differ from other numbers we had seen, and suggest that Clinton is recovering on the national level, which spells not-so-good news for Obama.   The national polls are important for the Feb. 5 states, and should pretty much stay on this level if the candidates split the early states (in other words, neither candidates wins all 6 early states, but the states split up) and should then remain the same as they have been moving into Feb. 5 and the primaries/caucuses for the 20 states on that day.  

State polling:  

Iowa is all knotted up, but encouraging for Clinton is that Rasmussen is showing Clinton ahead in the state, and more importantly, she also has strong support already (whereas the other candidates' support is softer at this point.)  Another poll, the Quad City Times poll, shows a different picture, with Obama looking strong, and a discrepancy of 12% between the 2 polls.   Still, most people would probably trust the Rasmussen numbers over Quad City, due to the notoriety of the pollster involved here.  Also, the simultaneous Hotline poll is showing an exact tie, further suggesting that the Quad City Times poll may be off.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/ 2008/president/ia/iowa_democratic_caucus -208.html

New Hampshire polling is interesting with the last 4 polls showing a somewhat conflicted picture.  The last poll to be released out of New Hampshire shows Clinton ahead by 9%, which, if confirmed by future polling, would suggest somewhat of a Clinton recovery in New Hampshire.

http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/FOX_ NH-2_DEC_RELEASE_WEB.pdf

South Carolina is showing a very similar picture to what we just saw out of New Hampshire.  After polls narrowing, the last poll showed a healthy jump for Clinton to an 8% lead from the previous tied polling we have seen:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/200 7/12/14/sc-poll-huckabee-bolts-to-top-of -gop-obama-cuts-into-clinton-lead/

It feels as if Clinton may be turning her numbers around in South Carolina and New Hampshire, if the last polls are any guides.  We'll see.  Iowa appears to be totally knotted up, and I personally like that Obama is now being declared the favorite in the state.  We may actually get to see declarations of "Comeback Kid II" before this is over.

New polls out for California and Florida show unchanged and extremely strong for Clinton,which underscores that Clinton's national performance has not been effected much at all, going into the homestretch of the campaigns.

2.  DesMoines Register endorsement

A lot has been written about the DesMoines Register endorsement, it has been long-awaited and thoroughly blogged on this site.  Let me just say that I regard this endorsement as rather important.  I have always believed that in the end Hillary Clinton will win Iowa, and my contention is strengthened, as many who are undecided at this late stage take their cues from their daily newspaper's endorsements, friends and families opinions, etc.  

Here the newspaper's announcement:

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.d ll/article?AID=/20071215/NEWS/71215016

and explanation:

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.d ll/article?AID=/20071215/NEWS/71215018

Key quote:

"The times demand results. We believe as president she'll do what she's always done in her life: Throw herself into the job and work hard. We believe Hillary Rodham Clinton can do great things for our country."

3. "The Hillary I know"

Interesting website unveiled today: http://www.thehillaryiknow.com/

As this is a growing diary style site, it should be interesting to see it develop and grow.  I enjoyed the human aspects of these stories.  It puts bare the true essence of Hillary Clinton, which is as a never tiring advocate for children, minorities, disadvantaged and disabled.  

Here is Hillary's latest TV ad for Iowa, which focuses on the DesMoines Register endorsement:

Iowa is currently a tossup. Being a small state, the key is to get the word out to as many people as possible and to have an excellent get out the vote organization.   To that end, unions and special interest groups can lend a major helping hand, and efforts seem well underway for Hillary:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail /2007/12/06/clintons_triple_threat.html

The American Federation Of Teachers AFL-CIO Committee On Political Education reported today it has spent $281,114 on radio ads promoting Clinton in Iowa. Yesterday, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees unveiled a flight of television ads it began airing in Iowa promoting Clinton, the leading edge of what it said would be a seven-figure expenditure. And earlier this week, the national political group Emily's List unveiled a massive get-out-the-vote effort that involved surveys and a new web site aimed at drawing likely Clinton supporters to participate in the Iowa caucus.

From previous reports, each of these 3 groups intends to spend a 7-figure sum to get Hillary Clinton elected in Iowa.  In as tight a race as the one we are seeing in the state, this effort combining major spending on positive issues ads for Hillary and boots on the ground canvassing could make all the difference to put Clinton on top in Iowa.

For these efforts all three groups have enlisted the services of a boutique media consultant that specializes in political message development, Chicago-based Adelstein/Liston."Our intent is to deliver a very strong message for a very strong candidate," said Ann Liston, a principal in the firm.

The three mammoth political action committees did not all just stumble into each other. "We talked it all through," said Richard Feller, who is handling the Iowa effort for AFSCME. "I think it went in pieces. Emily's List designed their program. I spoke with them about what they were doing and then tailored my program to assist their program." The AFT effort followed after that.

A coordinated effort to spread the efforts of these 3 groups out for maximum impact.  Good idea.

None of the groups is legally permitted to coordinate with the Clinton campaign to design this effort, and each said they had not. "We have not and would not take any direction from them at all," said Eric Smith, of AFT. But coordinating with each other is a different matter.

The FEC has typically allowed separate independent groups to coordinate their activities, said Scott Thomas, a former FEC chairman.

IMHO this will have major positive impact from different levels.  Vocal and visible support from the teacher's union highlights Clinton's education bonafides.  AFSCME represents labor, and the 30,000 union membership is the largest in Iowa, will be very visible, very present, and very vocal.  Emily's list represents women issues, the largest voting block in Iowa.  

A lot of issues and efforts will decide who wins Iowa.  This is a huge and very real effort to help Hillary in her bid to take the state.

UPDATE: Here is the powerful AFSCME ad that is currently running in Iowa:

The last 3 days have brought us some very interesting polling data.   I would like to say that the reports of Hillary Clinton's demise appear greatly exaggerated.  I am more convinced now than ever that she will end up as the nominee, even if she were to lose Iowa.   I believe she will win Iowa, but it will be very close.  Even with a loss in Iowa I don't see a big surge for either Obama or Edwards coming our way, unless the race ends in a blowout of sorts, which seems far-fetched.   Obama is now, due to massive media coverage in the MSM, expected to win Iowa.  He might not, and that would be absolutely devastating to his fortunes, as he would have not met current expectations.  Should Obama win Iowa IMO the bump he could expect out of the state would be negligible.  That is the double-edged sword of the media pumping up one person to create a narrative, as an expectation of a win in Iowa is now there for him, which does not lend itself to the "come from behind, surprise" bumps we have seen in the past.   Anyway, polling will probably be going back and forth in Iowa, with some polls showing Clinton ahead (like today's Zogby) and some polls showing Obama ahead.  Yet, the overriding narrative will be that Obama is expected to win the state, because the media loves that theme (they would love both the Democratic and GOP races to be up in the air well into primary/caucus season for ratings.)

So, what have we seen over these last 3 days?

(Note:  All of these polls have been diaried here with links to them, I won't bother putting links up to all of them in this diary.)

First, the POSITIVE polls for Clinton:

1. ARG in SC showing an absolute blowout

2. Zogby showing Clinton in the lead in Iowa

3. Zogby showing a stable, unchanged race in NH.

4. Marist showing a 14% lead over Obama in NH, unchanged from last month.

5. Union Leader showing a 13% Clinton lead over Obama in NH.  

6. Quinnipiac showing Clinton obliterating Obama and Edwards in Florida at 53% to 17% and 7%

7. Quinnipiac showing Clinton at almost 30% over Obama in PA - Clinton 43% - OBama 15% - Edwards 9%

8. The same poll showing Clinton at almost 30% margin over Obama in OH - 45%, Obama 19%, Edwards 13%

9. S-USA California primary- Clinton 50%, Obama 24%, Edwards 16%

10. PPP's North Carolina poll - Clinton 31%, Edwards 26%, Obama 24%.

11. Quinnipiac showed some tremendously good news for Clinton in head-to-head comparisons between Clinton and all GOPers in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

12. LATimes national poll showing Clinton at 24% margin again - the very latest national poll to be out.  

Aside from the very encouraging LATimes national poll the Quinnipiac series of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania stood out, both for their horse race numbers, which show very strong support for Clinton, and also for the very strong head-to-head numbers Clinton shows against all GOPers.  I found interesting that Clinton once again beats Edwards in his own home state via the PPP North Carolina poll, Zogby and Marist showed the NH race unchanged from last month, which suggests a stabilizing of her polls in NH.

On the somewhat negative side:

1. ABC/WaPo's NH poll shows a single-digit race between Clinton and Obama.  Clinton 35%, Obama 29%, Edwards 17%.  

2. Strategic Vision shows an Obama lead in IA.  Obama 32%, Clinton 25%, Edwards 25%.

3. USA Today/Gallup showing a 15% race.  Clinton 39%, Obama 24%, Edwards 15%.

The SV poll's viability (I personally believe the SV Iowa polls are off and have been for a while) is a bit of a question mark, but then again ARG may be as well on the other side of the coin.   The ABC/WaPo poll for NH looks like an odd outlier, since Obama has support in that poll he shows not even close to in any other poll.  Future polls will have to either prove that poll to be an outlier or confirm it.

I guess we'll see how it goes from here.  As a Clinton supporter I am happy with where we are.  I think when you have 3 days of polls like the above, you can be quite happy about where you are.  Only a few weeks left (I was out almost all day Christmas shopping myself.)   Iowa will be interesting, but not the be-all some here wish it to be.  I think the race is going to be won elsewhere:  New Hampshire, Nevada, Florida.