That former Republican frontrunner (and presumed nominee) John McCain is polling at 3% in Iowa had to be a huge blow to his hopes.
But The Carpetbagger Report catches the bigger news from that poll.
But the poll also gauged support among registered Iowa Republicans, whether they’re planning to participate in the caucuses or not. And that’s where it gets ugly.
The changes among Republican voters since March are dramatic. Romney is now the preferred candidate at 21.8 percent — double his March support.
Giuliani’s support, 10 percent, decreased by almost 8.5 percent. McCain’s support has collapsed in Iowa. His support among registered Republicans dropped from 14.4 percent in March to 1.8 percent in July-August. UI political scientists note that McCain has been passed in popularity not only by former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., who earned 5.2 percent support, but also by a Democratic challenger, Obama, who is supported by 6.7 percent of Republicans. No other candidate received more than 3 percent support. (emphasis added)
Think about that for a moment. Among Iowa Republicans, McCain has fallen behind Obama? And Iowa is the key to McCain’s comeback plan?
The Right's Field suggests that:
There’s at least a fifth of the Republican party up for grabs if the GOP’s own candidates continue to amp up the partisanship and crowd each other on the right side of the spectrum. One data point — that Iowa poll — suggests that Barack Obama, with his "post-partisan" rhetoric, might be the Democrat best positioned to peel their support away from the GOP. But all the Democratic candidates might be well advised to take note of them. I’m not saying they should flee the Democratic base — far from it. Rather the point is that candidates should be confident that in making the case for progressive values, they’re actually taking the fight to the Republicans.