Iowa is Almost Upon Us

While there is a rather "no joke" quality to this headline, Campaign in Iowa Is Called Pivotal and Still Close, there is some interesting stuff in the article, mostly about Edwards:

To muddy matters more, Democrats said it has been increasingly clear that any success by Senators Kerry and Edwards at coming in second or third could draw votes from Mr. Gephardt or Dr. Dean, pulling them out of first place. That dynamic has become particularly apparent with Mr. Edwards, who is making a concerted effort to draw votes from Mr. Gephardt, to the concern of Mr. Gephardt's advisers and to the delight of the Dean camp.

And Mr. Edwards was expected to receive a big lift from the endorsement of The Des Moines Register in its Sunday edition.

A third place finish for Edwards would be a huge boost, but one still would think that fourth or fifth are his most likely slots.

I think that ultimately the intensity of the Dean supporters is going to be the deciding factor. It is hard to get people to go to caucuses, and so having seemingly highly committed folks will be a huge advantage.