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Posted: November 20, 2007 2:53 PM
Clinton Faces a Tight Race in Iowa, Poll Shows
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Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., is leading in national polls, but it’s a tight race in the crucial early caucus state of Iowa.

A recent Washington Post-ABC News Poll shows Clinton garnering only 26 percent support, with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in the lead with 30 percent, and former Sen. John Edwards, D.-N.C., both close behind with 22 percent.

“The factors that have made Clinton the clear national front-runner — including her overwhelming leads on the issues of the Iraq war and health care, a widespread sense that she is the Democrats’ most electable candidate, and her strong support among women — do not appear to be translating on the ground in Iowa,” the Washington Post reported.

With Iowa’s caucus expected to be a key deciding factor for both Republican and Democratic nominees, most candidates are pushing hard in that state. Clinton plans to spend Thanksgiving weekend meeting with Iowa voters.

Besides working for the support of Iowans, the senator has been busy defending herself from political pundits like columnist Robert

Novak, whose recent column alleges that “Agents of Sen. Hillary Clinton are spreading the word in Democratic circles that she has scandalous information about her principal opponent for the party’s presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, but has decided not to use it.”

The claim has pit Obama and Clinton against each other in yet another arena, with Obama shooting back.

“In the interest of our party, and her own reputation, Senator Clinton should either make public any and all information referred to in the item, or concede the truth: that there is none,” he wrote, according to New York’s Newsday.

Otherwise, Sen. Clinton has been enjoying some positive feedback from her recent performance in a Democratic debate in Las Vegas.

Clinton’s showing in early October’s Des Moines, Iowa debate was seen by many to weaken her campaign, as Clinton struggled against an onslaught of attacks from other candidates.

In last week’s Vegas debate, however, Clinton was able to regain some confidence, according to analysts.

“Clinton won the battle of Las Vegas by aggressively turning the tables on her rivals, challenging them where they are vulnerable and forcing them to answer questions they weren’t ready to answer,” the Washington Post’s Dan Balz wrote. “If Obama ever looks back at the video of the debate, he will see at least three moments he will regret, moments where he either faltered or missed an opportunity to counter the front-runner’s criticisms. Edwards may think of this as the debate where he was able to do little more than restate old charges against Clinton, while struggling to stay in the center of the discussion as he had done in Philadelphia.”