In LBN: Iowa Poll: Clinton slides, leads Sanders by 2 points

[LiberalElite]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141314029

Source: Des Moines Register

6 a.m. CST January 14, 2016

DES MOINES REGISTER AND TRIBUNE COMPANY
Hillary Clinton has lost most of her lead over Bernie Sanders in the race to win Iowa’s Democratic presidential caucuses, a new Iowa Poll shows.

Clinton, who has been the favorite all along, now leads Sanders by just 2 percentage points in The Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll. That’s down from 9 percentage points a month ago.

Clinton is now the top choice of 42 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers, compared with Sanders’ 40 percent, the poll finds. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

“It shows Bernie is around to stay for sure. It’s not a fly-by-night thing,” said Grant Woodard, a Des Moines lawyer who has worked for several state and national Democratic campaigns. “It really shows we’re going to have a pretty crazy last few weeks here.”

The tightening race is not because of a surge in support for Sanders, the poll indicates. His support has risen just 1 percentage point in the past month. But Clinton has seen her support slide from 48 percent to 42 percent. The big shift has been in the number of likely Democratic caucusgoers who say they are undecided or who plan to stand up for “uncommitted.” Fourteen percent now say that, up from 8 percent a month ago.

Read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/news/

[PATRICK]

1. Outside of whatever the numbers actually are

the fluctuations themselves seem to confirm that Clinton has had a flimsy hold on a big chunk of her support- who would have gone for Biden or anyone comparable and that she has not changed their level of commitment beyond name recognition and all the known stuff. I suspected a long winter of discontent would fester there without strong positive risk taking. All the wind in those sails belong to Sanders, even Trump and would make her donors really nervous. Now it is the party regulars who are nervous about November and the lackluster political skills.

This article might also reflect or parallel the dismay of losing this whole inevitability mirage in a real campaign on an actual, important agenda they would rather ration out sideways with low calorie substitutes to the suckers- excuse me- the Democratic electorate

[Qutzupalotl]

2. Caucuses are strongly affected by enthusiasm,

especially when people feel they are witnessing and paricipating in history. That gives me hope for Nevada.