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Obama upends his party's politics
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
sent by MichaelP
[Upending the Dem leader****p has seemed to be impossible - I'll believe
it after it happens. -Michael]
LA Times - Jan 4 2008
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-dem*****s4jan04,1,4553284.story?coll=la-politics-campaign&ctrack=1&cset=true
Obama upends his party's politics
His promise of change resonates more than Clinton's claim of
experienc.
by Peter Wallsten
DES MOINES -- Barack Obama's surprisingly convincing win in Iowa on
Thursday upended the Democratic presidential race and overturned some
of the fundamental assumptions of modern-day American politics.
Voters in an overwhelmingly white state embraced an African American
candidate.
Women, given the chance to vote for the first credible female White
House hopeful in Hillary Rodham Clinton, voted in larger numbers for a
man.
And the Democratic Party's most formidable political machine, drawing
on deep-pocket donors and the celebrity of former President Clinton,
was beaten by a man who just three years ago held an office no higher
than state legislator.
Amid it all, Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, changed the
rules of the Iowa caucuses.
Long viewed as an insular process dominated by longtime political
activists, Thursday's first-in-the-nation voting event of the 2008
campaign turned out to be a forum for unaffiliated voters and
first-time participants to say they were looking for something new and
different.
One-fifth of the Democratic caucus participants were independents,
according to a media survey taken as voters entered precincts Thursday
night -- and of them, 41% backed Obama and just 17% opted for Clinton.
Moreover, 57% of caucus-goers said it was their first time taking
part, and first-time caucus-goers made up two-thirds of Obama's
sup****ters.
Even among Democrats -- who Clinton strategists have long argued would
be her saving grace -- Obama and Clinton essentially tied, winning 32%
and 31% respectively.
The entrance survey of 2,136 Democratic caucus participants, called
the National Election Poll, was conducted for a consortium of media
organizations, including the Los Angeles Times, by Edison/Mitofsky.
The results helped answer a question that has lingered for nearly a
year: Would a desire for experience in a time of war outweigh voters'
desire for change in national leader****p? According to the media
survey of Democratic caucus-goers, just one in five considered
experience to be the most im****tant factor, compared to more than
half who said an ability to bring "needed change" mattered most.
And among those who embraced change, more than half backed Obama
while Clinton and John Edwards split most of the rest in that category.
For the New York senator, the results stood as a sharp rebuke by
voters to a central argument of her candidacy: that she, more than her
rivals, was prepared to assume the responsibilities of the presidency.
Surveys have long found that Clinton, the second-term senator and
former first lady, was viewed as the most experienced and
best-qualified to lead on matters of national security and war.
But voters instead endorsed Obama's primary argument for "turning the
page" in Wa****ngton, an argument that essentially painted Clinton as a
status quo candidate.
"Change is the driving dynamic of the race, as opposed to who has the
most conventional resume or who voters see as the 'strongest leader,'
" said David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager.
The results are especially damaging for Edwards, the former North
Carolina senator. Even though he barely edged out Clinton for second
place the Democratic race is very much a two-person contest, pitting
Obama against Clinton.
Edwards was the party's 2004 vice presidential nominee thanks in part
to his surprisingly strong second-place finish here in that year's
caucuses. But after campaigning in the state nearly nonstop since
then, Edwards was thought by some to have the strongest organization
and the best chance at victory.
Despite gaining steam in recent weeks with sharply populist attacks on
"cor****ate greed" and lobbyists' power, Edwards on Thursday failed to
win his core base of union households and lower-income people.
He placed third among union households, winning 24% of that group,
compared to 31% for Clinton and 28% for Obama, according to the
entrance survey.
Edwards vowed on Thursday to compete in Tuesday's New Hamp****re
primary and beyond, but strategists for his rivals said they do not
view him as a threat, mostly because of his lackluster fundraising and
the expenditure limits imposed on his campaign because of his decision
to accept public financing.
Clinton, however, has the national sup****t base and resources to forge
ahead.
She retains double-digit leads in national polls and in most of the
big states that vote in late January and early February.
*
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