And lets imagine things this way for a moment, shall we?

Obama = Gene McCarthy
Edwards = Bobby Kennedy
Clinton = Hubert Humphrey

Yet another new poll out of Iowa this morning, this one from McClatchy/MSNBC.

(Yes, I know that there are many different polls showing many different things.  Yes, I know that some of us don't care about polls.  Happily, there are thousands of other diaries for you!)

Let's go to the numbers.

Yesterday, former President Jimmy Carter by his side, John Edwards visited Georgia Southwestern State University to discuss his vision for America, NBC's Lauren Appelbaum reported.

The nation's poverty rate declined for the first time this decade, but the number of Americans without health insurance rose to a record high of 47 million in 2006, according to Census figures released today.

....The addition of 2.2 million people to the roster of the uninsured was attributed largely to continuing declines in employer-sponsored insurance coverage.

Take the top three contenders for the Democratic nomination and their spouses.  That's six folks:

Hillary Clinton
Bill Clinton
Barack Obama
Michelle Obama
John Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards

Elizabeth Edwards' football tossing skills have come under heavy questioning.  Does she throw like a girl, or is it actually an impressive performance?

Just to get folks up to speed, Mark Penn is Hillary Clinton's pollster and chief strategist.  Penn began his career working for Republicans.  Republican pollster and strategist Dick Morris brought Penn into Bill Clinton's orbit, where he eventually became Bill Clinton's lead strategist, and after 2000, Hillary's lead strategist as well.

Penn has generally been recognized as a DLC centrist during his time with the Clintons.  Obviously, real Democrats have never much liked the guy, but events brought to light recently have brought things to a much higher level of disgust.  At the beginning of May, Ari Berman in The Nation published an amazing expose of Penn.

Check out the website John Edwards has helped set up to focus community activity towards ending the war.  http://www.supportthetroopsendthewar.com/  The site offers a variety of ways for you to make your voice heard in the offline world on this Memorial Day.

MSNBC was so sure that Edwards, Obama, and Clinton would answer 'yes' to the GWoT that they reported that all three raised their hands.  After all, George Bush and Dick Cheney have been telling us all for the past 5 1/2 years that the Global War on Terror was the explanation for their psychotic foreign policy.

But MSNBC got it wrong.  John Edwards did not raise his hand.

Unraveling Edwards' subtext does not require a Derrida-spouting graduate student. Hillary Clinton is the obvious apostle of these "cautious, incremental steps," while Barack Obama is the undeniable master of feel-good rhetoric. What is most intriguing about the Edwards 2.0 campaign is how a once carefully calibrated, pro-war, mainstream Democrat has fashioned himself into the candidate of "big, bold transformational change."

Democratic Voters (Likely Caucus Goers)
John Edwards      34.2
Hillary Clinton      28.5
Barack Obama    19.3

Full Poll Details

He talks about poverty and community in the wake of Katrina.  And it's a good illustration of a strong Democratic message that can reach beyond Karl Rove's politics of polarization.

It's also a pretty good illustration of how it's nice to have a great communicator delivering your message.

Steve Clemons, the point man on defeating John Bolton, has put together an amazing conference on Terrorism, Security & America's Purpose.

Lots of heavy hitters and deep thinkers.

If you don't have cable, you can watch a simulcast at http://www.americaspurpose.org/

Check it out.  Good and rare stuff.