Reply #9: One point confuses me

[Tom Rinaldo]

"In recent weeks Clinton has boosted her staffing levels and opened new offices in Iowa, where previously she had looked a runaway winner."

When did Clinton look like a runaway winner in Iowa? Possible winner, OK, but runaway winner? In Iowa? Same thing with this quote:

"Obama's support in the key state of Iowa - which votes first in the Democratic presidential nomination race - has moved up strongly. Last week a poll for the Washington Post put Obama four points ahead of Clinton. The news rocked the political pundits who for months had assumed that Clinton's lead there was virtually unassailable."

Can anyone remember any pundit who for months has been assuming that Clinton's lead in Iowa was virtually unassailable?

It seems like the people who wrote this story are mixing apples and oranges, switching back and forth between Clinton's lead in national polls and expectations for her nationally with the situation inside Iowa. Clinton spent most of the last year trailing in Iowa and it has almost always been closely bunched there.

Aside from that they do capture the current spirit of the Obama campaign in Iowa which may have national implications.