An accumulation of small signs suggest a strong third or fourth place finish in Iowa today for Joe Biden to keep his candidacy alive. If not, it’s over.
County leaders and mayors have been endorsing him, and, perhaps sobered by the death of Benazir Bhutto, crowds have been coming out to hear what he has to say about Pakistan and other worrisome parts of the world as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“Barack does a room, Hillary does a room, I do the same room and I win,” Biden told Roger Simon this week. “I have absolute confidence in that. The question is: Do I get in enough rooms?”
In debates, the Senator’s 34 years of experience get “Joe is right” responses from most of the other candidates. His confidence and command on TV are presidential, but the polls have him stuck in single digits.
Iowans, known for surprises in their caucus results, will have to give Biden more than that to keep him viable. If they don’t, there will be one less voice of experience and sanity on the campaign trail.
Cross-posted from my blog.