Iowa’s David Yepsen on Obama v. Clinton: "Right now, fresh face is starting to outweigh experience."

”I think Barack Obama can be thankful for his good organization,” Yepsen said. “I think he’s probably got one of the best. I think he can be thankful
his message is starting to click a little bit. People are — Democrats want to see some change. And, I think they like what he’s saying about that. So, I
think he can be thankful for both of those things.”

<snip>

Of this week’s Washington Post-ABC News poll showing Obama for the first time on the leading edge of the margin of error for first place over national
frontrunner Hillary Clinton, Yepsen invoked years of pre-caucus caution.

"Caucus polling is tricky business. It’s difficult for pollsters to find an accurate sample of who is going to show up at the caucuses. And I think that’s
particularly true this year on the Democratic side where Clinton is looking to bring women into the process, older women who haven’t participated before
and where Obama is trying to bring young people in who haven’t participated before and who, by the way, use cell phones and sometimes these people
can’t be found by pollsters."

Even so, Yepsen says he detects a shift in the mindset of Iowa Democrats that may bode well for Obama and may pose problems for Clinton. I asked him
to evaluate the Clinton argument on behalf of her experience versus Obama’s appeal based on change.

"I think experience is important, but I think caucus goers are weighing the value of experience versus a fresh face and turning the page. And it’s, I think,
a close call. But right now, fresh face is starting to outweigh experience. Too many Democrats think she (Clinton) has too many negatives, too many
polarizing things in her past. They don’t want to go back to the past."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312505,00.html

Bless those Iowans.

Let's hope he turns out to be right in his observations when the time comes.

And the pro-"change" trend line should continue right up until Jan. 3, barring unforeseen events.

It's looking like UP at the moment :)

Look at the bisection point between Obama v. Clinton - looks as if Jan. 3 is an auspicious point.

:shrug: We should care?

Paul Tewes is one of the best. (It is fun to see so much talent in the state right now - Tewes & Vilmain are both awesome organizers).

You must be having the time of your life as an Iowa activist.

:rofl:

If you want to credit anyone with the 2004 successes then thank Jean Hessburg (Former Iowa Democratic Party Executive Director). She was the brains of all that and has been hired to guide Nevada through their process.

Great.

Fischer is a good face for Obama on TV, though.

What do you think of the ground organization so far of the various candidates? Do you think the race is still very fluid
in the second tier or has Richardson broken out of the pack?

organizing the caucuses. She has not endorsed a candidate that I am aware of.

(On Fischer ask yourself, why would a 2004 Edwards supporter who has most of his friends working with Clinton choose Obama unless it was the only way to GET his face on TV? Needing to feel relevant maybe? Maybe he's doing well for Obama all over the networks, but how does that deliver bodies on caucus night? Is he supporting Obama or Promoting Gordon Fischer?) Either/or here's a link to Gordon's Blog, Iowa True Blue (you know, the one where he proclaimed that Tom Vilsack WILL be the next President of the United States) http://www.iowatrueblue.com/ Which maybe should be renamed Obama True Blue for the next 40 days!

I think the race is 100% fluid. My husband asked Walter Shapiro (Salon) at an Obama event what he was seeing across the state. Shapiro said he was seeing larger crowds (Iowans are finally starting to get interested) at all candidate events but not a lot of 'takers' when it came to filling out caucus cards. All in all, Iowans are still 'undecided'.

back in 2000. In a country sick of Bill (balanced budget) Clinton.

:shrug: I don't know what you mean.

One more time?

People are sick of the whole Bush and Clinton era of politics. and they are starting to realize they do not want to redo the 90s. They just want to go forward and look to the future.
One of Hillary's big arguments is that she will bring back the 90s and it's a restoration. People don't want that.
They want to move on.

relative peace and prosperity y'know. It was a time when we let the government govern and didn't have to worry about it. Compared to the periods around the 90, those were pretty good times.

And polarizing partisan wars that paralyze government to this day.

but with $20/barrel oil propping up all our bad habits and India, Russia and China just starting to stir economically they are now about as relevant as the 1950's. Not to mention all of the concentration of wealth that has occurred in our own country in the meantime and which needs to be re-distributed, both in the form of a fairer tax system and expanded government spending on health and education.

The fundamental changes that have occurred since Clinton I doesn't disqualify (or automatically qualify) any of our candidates, but the thought that putting a Clinton back in the White House gets us anywhere close to where the world was in the 90's needs to be discarded.

As if nothing has happened since then in the world (thanks in part to Clinton's IWR blank check vote for preemptive war).

Oy.

LOL....as if nothing has happened.

I hear ya, and the whole premise is ludicrous.

It did work. The man who lost has been our president for 8 years.

It's good to study history.

f*** we're in.
It tis amazing how one poll out of 12 has become the raison d'etre of the Obama folks. Got to keep credit for at least leading in 1 poll, but if Obama were a basketball player and he was shooting 1 for 12 I would bench him. A baseball player hitting 1 for 12 I would send him down to the minors. A field goal kicker, I would let him go.A manager that only met 1 of out 12 goals for the company I would fire him, and I would take that fresh face and replace him with the more experienced person.Simple!

Ben David

are his actions. He did not vote when MoveOn was being condemned by the senate.

His camp will not allow anyone to criticize him in Daily Kos. That kind of blocks the
democratic process of discussion.

He makes himself Mr. Nice guy and lets his henchmen do the dirt.

To their credit, the Clinton camp hasn't engaged in underbelly blog sliming.

If you're interested in knowing more.

"The Clinton camp hasn't engaged in underbelly blog sliming." You are either blind or willfully ignorant of the facts
confronting you at DU everyday since September.

And isn't comparing a presidential race to baseball or soccer a bit like comparing apples to oranges?

Maybe you can tell us what your friend, Ann Coulter, thinks, too! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Maybe you can tell me what Hillary's friends Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly, thinks, too! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!