Clinton's Lead Has Changed the Dynamics of the Race

With most national polls showing Sen. Hillary Clinton expanding her lead over rivals John Edwards and Sen. Barack Obama, it's changed the dynamics of the Democratic presidential race.

The escalating attacks by Edwards and Obama on Clinton -- and on each other -- are attempts to better position themselves as the alternative to Clinton. She's the clear frontrunner, but polls still show her with very high negatives. There is clearly room for at least one anti-Hillary candidate, but probably not two.

The candidate running fourth in most polls, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, remains somewhat quiet. He seems to remember what happened to Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt in the run up to the Iowa caucuses in 2004. Both men engaged in relentless attacks on each other and ended up finishing behind John Kerry and John Edwards when the final votes were tallied. Richardson may be hoping Edwards and Obama cross the line into negative campaigning and annoy the average Iowa caucusgoer.

Meanwhile, Clinton seems to have gained a few allies on the stage at recent Democratic debates. Sen. Chris Dodd and Sen. Joe Biden have sprung to Clinton's defense when attacked on her ties to lobbyists and her foreign policy stances. It makes you wonder if they've thrown in the towel on their own presidential aspirations and are positioning themselves for Clinton Cabinet posts.

-- More 2008 campaign news on Political Wire.