Brilliant Politics

12:50 p.m. No, I did not ask her why a black woman from Nebraska is supporting John Edwards (and not Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton), but her remarks shed light on that question as she talks about the issue of poverty.

12:35 p.m. Several women waiting in line to get into the DNC meeting say why they are supporting Hillary Clinton.

11:45 a.m.  John Edwards is delivering a dynamic speech as I write this post: “We have a system that protects ExxonMobil profits but does not protect the planet….Will you stand with me to take down this wall that surrounds Washington, D.C. Will you stand with me to give every man, woman, and child the opportunity they deserve?”

10:30 a.m. November 30, 2007. This interview took place a few minutes ago, as we wait for the candidates to speak this morning at the DNC Fall Meeting in Vienna, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C.

Last night at the Democratic National Commitee’s Fall Meeting, Howard Dean touted the DNC’s aggressive plans for a “voter protection plan.” Dean said, referring to the 2008 presidential general election, “This is going to be a close race. It doesn’t matter what the national polls say.” Joe Sandler, DNC General Counsel, explained that the DNC now has much better database technology for monitoring state and local voter lists and can therefore determine whether purges of voter lists are accurate or not. Anna Martinez, Deputy Director for Voter Protection, discussed findings of a recent Election Protection Survey, which reveal startling shortcomings in state and local safeguards. For example, some municipalities have no written policy for purging registered voters; and some precincts have no policy for the chain of custody of voting machines. Voting machines have gone home with poll workers in recent elections. These nuts and bolts issues are not sexy, but they are extremely important in winning elections. Kudos to Howard Dean and the DNC for coming up with an aggressive plan of action. More on these issues later. -Doc

This presidential race in Iowa is un-predictable for Democrats and Republicans, and it will remain that way right up until the night of the Caucus on January 3rd. It makes for good political theatre, and hopefully it puts pressure on the candidates to articulate their vision for America. Not just their criticisms of the Bush Administration–that is easy. What is their positive vision for the future of America?

Political Wire gives the latest poll numbers in Iowa:

Political Wire got an advance look at a new Strategic Vision poll in Iowa that shows Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama tied in the Democratic presidential race at 29%, with John Edwards trailing at 23%.

On the Republican side it shows, Mitt Romney barely leading with 26%, followed closely by Mike Huckabee at 24%, Rudy Giuliani at 14%, Fred Thompson at 10% and Sen. John McCain at 7%.

-Doc

The Quote of the Day:

The stories that bear a second reading are true in the sense that the voice of the author emerges from the struggle to get at the truth of what he or she thinks, has seen, remembers, can find language to express. I know of no task more difficult, but it is the joint venture entered into by writer and reader—the writer’s labor turned to the wheel of the reader’s imagination—that produces the freedoms of mind from which a society gathers its common stores of energy and hope.

-Lewis H. Lapham, from his current editorial, “The Gulf of Time,”  in Lapham’s Quarterly.

This is the first in what will be an ongoing series of People as Pundits interviews with Americans who don’t get paid to be pundits, but whose views add a valuable perspective to the political discussion. This is Bill Clinton (he showed us his I.D.) expressing his opinion in Des Moines, Iowa. Click on video below for interview.

We have added a Photo Gallery link on our sidebar, below the Blogroll section, that takes you to Martin’s Flickr photo gallery. You can see many great photographs from the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa on November 10, 2007 and from the Hall Of Fame Dinner in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on June 2, 2007. We will be adding a BrilliantPolitics page on Flickr in the coming weeks that will include some of my photographs.

-Doc