Des Moines--Barack Obama has already begun shoring up support among the lower-tier candidates who lack the money or poll numbers to be serious contenders in the early primary states, such as Iowa, and Offthebus hears that "agreements" with these candidates may be announced soon.
Dennis Kucinich started what may add up to the critical mass Obama needs for a win or strong second-place showing in the Iowa caucuses, when Kucinich encouraged his supporters - few though there are in this frozen state - to join the Obama forces on caucus night, if Kucinich doesn't have enough voters to be viable.
The Kucinich endorsement flooded the blogoshpere and the main-street-media and handed Obama a mini-bounce at a critical time in this campaign for the most privileged voters in America - Iowa's caucus attendees.
For days, the rumors have been flying between the campaigns about which of the top three candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination will benefit from the second tier non-viable candidates - Joe Biden and Bill Richardson - to be specific.
The Biden national and state campaign honchos met at 4 p.m. Monday in a Des Moines attorney's office to discuss their strategy and decide if they would encourage their non-viable voters to choose either Obama, Edwards, or Hillary Clinton's caucus contingents.
At a crowded and noisy Star Bar on Ingersoll Avenue, where the Biden campaign staffers were sipping champagne - or harder stuff - and waiting for their candidate, his wife, and the Biden Family to arrive for a New Year's Eve informal gathering, Offthebus chatted with one of the Biden's national consultants who wanted to remain anonymous:
"A decision will be made tomorrow about who we'll encourage our supporters to stand behind if we aren't viable in a precinct. Right now, I'd guess Obama gets our support because we're more inline with his vision of foreign policy than any of the other candidates, and besides, we like him and how he's run his campaign."
"Is Biden angling for a Secretary of State position in an Obama Administration?"
The Biden consultant told Offthebus, "Well, Joe would make a great Secretary of State, wouldn't he?"
Biden's son, Joseph R. Biden, III is the current Attorney General for Delaware. Should Joe Biden resign his seat and accept a major post in the next Democratic Administration in Washington, his son is positioned to replace him in the U.S. Senate.
After attending the press party at the Temple for the Performing Arts, I headed over to Dos Rios, to pick up any additional bar talk conversations and dangle the Biden scoop.
Off-the-bus spoke with a national Obama staffer who confirmed, "We've heard that Richardson may also be telling his supporters to caucus for Barack if they aren't viable. Nothing definitive but there's a trend going on," she added with a smile. Ah, that's an understatement.
All of this off-the-record conversation and backroom pol talk could be nothing or something.
But the fact that the rumors are flying and top aides are willing to discuss their thinking with Offthebus, albeit without disclosing their names, is still enough smoke to detect yet another spark that could ignite a fire under the Obama campaign's fortunes in the Iowa caucuses.
This trend, along with the latest polls showing Obama ahead of Clinton or within the margin of error to win this first all-important national test, bodes well for Obama and puts additional pressure on the Clintonites to outdistance Obama in the next 48 hours.
Time is running out for Clinton, but may be the best of all possible worlds for Obama should his campaign continue to build support with the lower tier candidates open to a conversation about where their voters should land on caucus night - if they aren't viable.
None of the campaigns I spoke with - on or off the record - are prone to hand their support over to John Edwards, who is busy today flying around the state for his final push to win - and therefore, survive until New Hampshire, where his poll numbers continue to fall far behind either Clinton or Obama.
Bill Clinton was a Rhodes scholar and graduated at the top of the class.
He knows more History than most of the posters on any of the blogs.
Hillary has been involved in Politics for 35 years starting with the Nixon impeachment.
Im not sticking up for them for any other reason than most of the bad stuff about them
is not true.
Obama would be another "On the Job Trainee" and will never get my vote.
Any of the other Democrats will do. I am not even impressed with John Edwards.
It seems that the smarter a person is the less he is admired. It seems that we have too much T.V. and gameboy mentalities who think they know how to run the country.
It's time to think about the future, we don't want another idiot in the White House nor do we want another Dick Chaney.Get smart people and learn about the candidates.
www.iowa.barackobama.com to find their caucus location.
Republicans and independents who wish to support Barack can change their party affiliation at the polls to Democratic.
6:30pm tonight!!!
...and will lose in the national election worse even than Kerry, if she is the Democratic Party nominee as many who dont like her. Why else would the republicans be so enthusiastic about running against her?
The one poll Monday I think it was had Edwards with 62 percent of the second-choice votes. Obama was way back.
Why would the Obamabots put forward a pack of lies which are denied by Biden, Richardson, etc., if they didn't know he was going to come up short?
I love Dennis Kucinich, he stands for greater Economic Justice. He is indeed the most progressive of the candidates but let's be real for a minute. He can't win. I disagree with Kucinich's decision to ask his supporters to back Obama for the second vote.
It would stand to reason that if Economic Justice was what attracted you to vote for Kucinich, your second logical choice would be John Edwards who is the next in line of the Progressive Candidates.
One might argue that Obama is the next in line but I would not. His poorly developed heath care plan was not originally universal in scope. IMO,Hillary Clinton has developed a viable Universal Health Care Plan and on the Economic Justice issues is third in line. I also believe that she has the best chance to defeat any of the Republicans. This should be our most important consideration.
"I asked Joe Biden's spokesman, Mark Paustenbach, whether reports that Biden is encouraging his second-choice caucus goers to pick Obama were true.
'We do not have a deal with any other candidate,' he said.
'The staff meeting was to coordinate caucus strategy. We have no offers to do a deal and we have not reached out to others.' "
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/01/biden_wont_make_secondchoice_d.php
That aligns with everything I've heard in Des Moines.
In a general election the republicans would beat Obama like he was an evil stepchild. Maybe that is the Iowan's strategy, they are historically republicans to begin with.
Even so, if Obama is the one to run in the general election then for the first time in 50 years my wife and myself have decided we will just skip an Obama vote. Wouldn't even vote "present" on that one.
In advance, America should congratulate Iowans for doing their duty again, that is, picking the worst possible Democratic candidate, as they have done frequently including John Kerry in 2004. Part of the problem is the crazy Iowa caucus system, and another part is allowing Republicans to help pick the Democrat who think is easiest to defeat. Someday, just maybe, America will have a primary system where the real swing states (right now FLORIDA and OHIO) decide who the candidate is? Of course, that’s ridiculous. Instead it’s much better to get the government we deserve!
The polls state that John Edwards is 67% for second choice, regardless of what Kuchinic says and / or regardless of what Biden says.
The people have will pick their second choice.
And America will be farther down its self-paved road to destruction begun in 2000.
Our country is not LEFT - sorry guys. All the GOP has to do is slide center, leaving Obama in the dust.
And you all will wonder - "HOW DID WE GET HERE AGAIN?"
Wake up and gravitate towards the center - and just maybe we can take this country back.
Not so, the word is American and new and just been discovered by Obama.
Give me a break..
all i wanna know is whoever wins the nomination will you stick together and support whoever the nominee is. sure would be nice to see you peeps be unified just once, besides it being a national tragedy.just remeber do you's really want the repugs(a.k.a..the nazi party) to win again i sure hope not for the good of the world let alone your own country