Daily Kos: Edwards Evening News Roundup: NH Election Night Edition

Edwards Evening News Roundup: NH Election Night Edition

by cosbo

Tue Jan 08, 2008 at 04:00:04 PM PDT

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It's primary night in New Hampshire...just in case anyone forgot. This EENR version can be used as a live blogging by everyone.

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cosbo's diary :: ::

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1.Edwards' Last-Minute Words of Encouragement

Buck up Edwards people. We've got a long way to go.

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- In his final public appearance before the results come in, John Edwards offered up words of encouragement for campaign staffers in his Manchester campaign office.

"We’ve known that we are the underdog campaign," said Edwards in a very brief speech to supporters and staff. "And we need people like you who are committed to this cause of saving the middle class and changing this country and taking on all these powerful entrenched interests that exist."

Edwards then went into a separate room to make some last-minute phone calls to undecided voters.

The campaign goes into today’s primary polling a clear third. A second place result tonight would be considered an upset but also very unlikely. Senior campaign officials are realistic about their chances and tell CBS News they hope for a strong 3rd place.

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Some voters are actually thinking about winning the general election.

2. LIVE: Edwards greets supporters in Manchester

MANCHESTER | John Edwards made a brief swing through his campaign headquarters in Manchester this afternoon to shake hands with a few supporters.

Two Middlebury College students, Abigail Blum and Jessica Singleton, said they were lucky to arrive at his Hanover Street office just as he was arriving to cheer him on through the primary and help his campaign through the rest of the presidential race.

"His whole platform inspires me," said Singleton, of Tennessee, who said the North Carolina senator is the only Democratic candidate who will work for the middle class.

Others said Edwards is the most electable candidate in the party, despite Barack Obama's recent surge in popularity.

"Even though he got the $400 haircut, I think he remembers his roots," said Tim Powers, of Medford, Mass.

Edwards' southern roots make him the best choice to be the Democratic nomination, according to Powers, because historically the southern states tend to vote for candidates from their own region.

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3. A John Edwards Surge?

Interesting article by In Welsh over at huffpost.

I confess that my own take was that if Edwards didn't win Iowa his chances were very slim. These numbers seem to indicate otherwise. Admittedly, it's quite clear that NH will probably go heavily Obama, and the historical pattern has been for that to translate into a further bump in the early states.

However, if I were Edwards and I was tracking similiar numbers to these, I simply would not drop out based on the early states, especially if the trend continues. And, while Clinton's numbers are clearly dropping (and, as Glenn notes, they are transfering to Edwards, not Obama) at this point, if I were her, I'd be worried, but not yet panicking.

It ain't over yet. Obama's got the momentum, but he needs to start moving those national numbers or he's going to hit a brick wall.

I find this very interesting because of the lack of coverage that Edwards has received in the media. He shouldn't be getting this surge, it just shouldn't be happening. That means that something about him and his message is getting through.

Perhaps it has something to do with the tired phrase "change", which this election is supposedly about.

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