Zogby has a
new Iowa poll, and it confirms that Gephardt has -- indeed -- taken a sliver of a lead over Dean. The lead is obviously well within the MoE (+/- 4.5), but that's three polls now showing Gep with a slim lead, and Gephardt experienced a seven-point net swing vs. Dean.
Look at Clark's numbers. Given Kerry's slow fade, Clark could've wrapped up the number three spot with minimal relative effort. It makes his campaign's decision to loudly and publicly pull out of Iowa particularly perplexing. (September results in parenthesis)
Gephardt 22 (17)
Dean 21 (23)
Kerry 9 (11)
Clark 7 (1)
Edwards 7 (6)
Lieberman 5 (4)
Kucinich 1 (2)
Braun .5 (1)
Sharpton .4 (.3)
Undecided 27 (34)
Update: Just had a thought...
Clark's biggest foe is probably Edwards -- the two will be battling it out in the southern primaries as Lieberman continues to fade away.
So why would Clark's people give Edwards a chance to gain all-important momentum and media coverage by snagging that third-place finish in Iowa?
Clark's decision to abandon Iowa (and it's the biggest political story of the week) is a boon to Edwards.