Edwards machine rolls across Iowa

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: Edwards machine rolls across Iowa
Dispensing twangy charm and just-folks humility, the Democrat visits every corner of the state where he finished second in 2004. The $400 haircut isn't helping.
By Maria L. La Ganga, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 30, 2007

....There are three big questions confronting John Edwards: Does he need to finish first in Iowa to keep his presidential hopes alive? Could he actually win the first-in-the-nation caucuses, a traditional springboard to later victory? And, finally, will he?

To date, there are only two easy answers: "Yes." And "yes." After that, it's "Who the heck knows?" Edwards himself offered this viewpoint in a recent interview about his Iowa strategy: When it comes to the Hawkeye State, "I think anybody who doesn't win is going to be in an uphill fight."

Still, Edwards is believed to have the deepest political organization in the state. He has chairmen in all 99 counties and relationships dating back to his earlier run, when he came in a strong and surprising second behind Kerry and ahead of front-runner Howard Dean.

"I know what's doable in this state, and I think Edwards can win Iowa," said Sarah Swisher, state political director for the Service Employees International Union, who has attended every caucus since 1976. "It's very doable." But doable and done are different things.

Many Edwards optimists point to the 2004 primary season, when Dean was practically anointed the Democratic candidate for president before Columbus Day, only to spin out of control when the caucusing and voting began several months later. "The big difference is, of course, that Hillary Clinton is not Howard Dean," said Peverill Squire, professor of political science at the University of Iowa. "Hoping that somehow things are going to unfold in 2008 the same way they did in 2004 is probably wishful thinking."...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-edwards30sep30,1,1320315,full.story?coll=la-headlines-nation