Chinks in the Armor

With the Iowa caucuses rapidly approaching it seems that the once assumed invulnerability of Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential nomination race has now evaporated leaving her in a three way horserace for the nomination. Despite early double-digit leads by Clinton over Barack Obama and John Edwards, the former First Lady and Senator from New York has now fallen behind Obama and is only slightly ahead of Edwards in a recent poll of Iowa Democrats. With this latest poll it would seem that the race is no longer predetermined and that Senator Clinton may have a rougher time ahead than was previously anticipated.

As with the 2004 race and the “unbeatable” Howard Dean, it would seem that this race may be as close as any in recent memory for the Democratic presidential nomination. This may be good or bad news for Democrats who might have an easier time in the general election if they can find unity earlier in the race. At the same time this uncertainty within the Democratic party may work to their advantage as the Republicans have focused much of their energy attacking Hillary Clinton in the anticipation of her winning the Democratic nomination. Their tactics focusing on one contender for criticism have left the door open for other Democratic contenders to make a stronger run against them in 2008.

With the race tightening up it will likely become necessary for Mrs. Clinton to become more active in taking on the more controversial issues of the campaign that she has thus far been less than committal about addressing. Her recent stumble with the issue of driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants and the ongoing questioning of her fundraising ethics by former Senator John Edwards have left her vulnerable and on the defensive. With only weeks left t go before the first primaries and caucuses it seems like the once unbeatable Clinton will have to work hard to come out of Iowa with a win. For Edwards and Obama the Iowa race may open the door for them to sweep into the February Super Tuesday primary with the momentum to take the nomination away from the erstwhile frontrunner.

One thing is certain. After the most recent debate in Las Vegas, the tenor of the race has changed from polite civility to a no holds barred fight to the finish. The once runaway contest has now become a tight competition between three political heavyweights. Not to be underestimated in the race is the potential impact of the other candidates still running for the nomination. In the most recent debate Senator Joe Biden and Governor Bill Richardson were able to make strong points that in some cases weakened the positions of their opponents including the frontrunners. This chipping away of the armor of the leaders makes the race an increasingly wide open one with the certainty of the outcome lessening by the day.