Dean wins narrowly over Gephardt. A few points behind in a surprise is Edwards with a narrow 3rd over Kerry. But the separation between 1 and 4 will be no more than 6 pts.
Dean declares victory, but pundits say he barely hung on and lost support late. Gephardt says such a close race shows his competitiveness (not for long). Edwards claims practical victory coming from nowhere to finish within shouting distance. Kerry says it was hardfought and he came from nowhere to challenge competitors who had been campaigning there forever.
The reality is no one gets a big bounce or momentum and despite denials Gephardt is mortally wounded and will drop out after finshing 5th in NH.
Dean declares victory, but pundits say he barely hung on and lost support late. Gephardt says such a close race shows his competitiveness (not for long). Edwards claims practical victory coming from nowhere to finish within shouting distance. Kerry says it was hardfought and he came from nowhere to challenge competitors who had been campaigning there forever.
The reality is no one gets a big bounce or momentum and despite denials Gephardt is mortally wounded and will drop out after finshing 5th in NH.
The problem with Edwards is that he is a pretty boy dragging off many similar points as his competitors. He is like a Gephardt-lite on trade issues, a Lieberman-lite on fiscal responsibility, but unfortunately for him he is not a Dean-lite in terms of firing up supporters. Yes he has some good money in the Bible belt and surely would do well in the South, but bottom line is that he is doing well right now to just play it strong and keep getting his message out. A good showing can raise his profile, much like McCain did last time around. No one really noticed him on a national standpoint, now lots of people look to him. Edwards has a decent setup and the man is very young and has that potential to use the good looks to his edge, but he needed this run just to get some notoriety and maybe even get the VP nod. In any case it would be wise for him that unless things incredibly fall his way not to run up much debt and just use the time to press the flesh and get himself known for many potential future runs.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by D2bets:
Dean wins narrowly over Gephardt. A few points behind in a surprise is Edwards with a narrow 3rd over Kerry. But the separation between 1 and 4 will be no more than 6 pts.
Dean declares victory, but pundits say he barely hung on and lost support late. Gephardt says such a close race shows his competitiveness (not for long). Edwards claims practical victory coming from nowhere to finish within shouting distance. Kerry says it was hardfought and he came from nowhere to challenge competitors who had been campaigning there forever.
The reality is no one gets a big bounce or momentum and despite denials Gephardt is mortally wounded and will drop out after finshing 5th in NH.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Let me amend a little:
Dean 28
Gephardt 25
Kerry 24
Edwards 19
Dean wins narrowly over Gephardt. A few points behind in a surprise is Edwards with a narrow 3rd over Kerry. But the separation between 1 and 4 will be no more than 6 pts.
Dean declares victory, but pundits say he barely hung on and lost support late. Gephardt says such a close race shows his competitiveness (not for long). Edwards claims practical victory coming from nowhere to finish within shouting distance. Kerry says it was hardfought and he came from nowhere to challenge competitors who had been campaigning there forever.
The reality is no one gets a big bounce or momentum and despite denials Gephardt is mortally wounded and will drop out after finshing 5th in NH.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Let me amend a little:
Dean 28
Gephardt 25
Kerry 24
Edwards 19
Kerry's got a lot of work ahead of him though because, at this point, beyond NH he has limited organization and funds. I suppose he could mortgage some artwork or something. Seriously though, while he's always had some strength in NH polls, he's been nowhere in the radar in SC, OKLA, AZ, NM, etc etc. Then again, momentum can go a long way. We'll see. Long race ahead. Long race. Kerry better start raising some more money soon.
I agree, he has no money and isn't going to draw much attention outside the Northeast and Florida. The guy is in trouble in the South. I think it sets up as Clark will do best in the West, Edwards will show strong in the South and Kerry will be strong in the Northeast. The guy that can steal some thunder outside his zone and in the up for grabs Midwest will be the winner. A really messy race I think.
