by WonkoKevin

In a bold move attempting to revitalize their sagging campaigns and vault ahead of front-runners Clinton, Obama, and Edwards, Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd decided not to go on a hunger strike until changes are made to start bringing the troops home from Iraq.  Dodd, who was already getting significant positive spin in Wonkosphere for his threat of a filibuster over telecos’ immunization from prosecution, did not receive 40% buzz share from liberals, while Biden, following Dodd’s lead and not joining him, did not receive 36% buzz share.  Hillary Clinton, who has been pulling down 30-40% buzz share for the last six months, was not down to 3%, slightly above Steven Colbert.

Dodd and Biden have decided to not hang out on cots in the Senate, where Senate security has decided to leave them be.  Doctors are not monitoring their health as both don’t partake in a liquid-only diet.  There is not discussion of other Democrats from the Senate and House joining them, as a large portion of the public does not rally around their line-in-the-sand.  Republicans are not crying publicity stunt, as MSM attention has not shifted and they don’t need to worry about figuring out how to get it back.  Both Dodd and Biden were facing the impossible task of climbing over 3 or 4 candidates in front of them; now, 6 days not into the hunger strike, Dodd is not leading Edwards in Iowa by 6%, and Biden is not 15% in front of Bill Richardson in New Hampshire.  This has not completely changed the face of the race.

by WonkoKevin

Chris Dodd drew a line in the sand today.  Or maybe we should say, kicked sand in the face of some of his fellow Dems.  While focused on the telecos, his web site’s statement is of broad sweep: “The Military Commissions Act.  Warrantless wiretapping.  Shredding of Habeas Corpus.  Torture.  Extraordinary Rendition.  Secret Prisons.  No more. I have decided to place a “hold” on the latest FISA bill that would have included amnesty for telecommunications companies that enabled the President’s assault on the Constitution by illegally providing personal information on their customers without judicial authorization. I said that I would do everything I could to stop this bill from passing, and I have.”

When you get Daily Kos and Huffington Post to shout that Dodd’s got courage and Obama’s being equivocal, it’s a nice bump going into the weekend.  Dodd’s buzz share and poll numbers haven’t moved much since the firefighters’ union endorsement, so we’ll see if this one has legs. 

Photo and license by Marc Nozell.

by WonkoKevin

John Edwards had the biggest increase in Wonkopshere buzz share the day following the Democratic debate in New Hampshire.  Edwards increased buzz share from 20% to 25% amongst liberal bloggers, and also had the biggest increase in buzz share amongst conservative bloggers.  Other debate benefitters were Gravel and Kucinich, whose buzz shares increased by 2 percentage points each.  Dodd, Obama, and Richardson each loss a percentage point, and Clinton lost 4 percentage points.  Buzz on Biden went the most quiet, going down 8 percentage points.  Even though he had a good debate, it followed a day of intense buzz due to the passing of his Iraq soft-partition bill.  Edwards also got a lot of buzz amongst the MTV and MySpace audiences last night, being the first candidate to participate in a 1-hour forum hosted by MTV and MySpace.  Edwards relished the format and wowed them, according to the feedback from the MySpace audience.

by WonkoKevin

Last night’s debate at Dartmouth University in New Hampshire (full transcript here) is being reported by MSM as a fight between Hillary Clinton and the other contenders.  While that dynamic was obvious, I thought the debate was notable for the multiple lines of fracture that emerged, as candidates vied to differentiate themselves from both Clinton and each other.  Since it’s obvious that Clinton will be opposed seriously by someone, it is these secondary fractures which may be more telling and important.

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There are moments that emerge in a campaign when a candidate is able to move from one level of “legitimacy” to the next, thus opening the door for more attention and thus more potential for poll movement.  Chris Dodd just may have taken that step, with an endorsement by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) yesterday.  Dodd scored his highest buzz share levels in memory, getting over 15% yesterday from liberal bloggers, according to Wonkosphere.

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Both liberal and conservative bloggers and commentary in the mainstream media caught on to a subtle shift in the interpersonal dynamics of the Democratic presidential campaign yesterday during the AFL-CIO sponsored debate. 
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Still running behind Senator Hillary Clinton in national polls, Senator Barack Obama is following up last week’s positive showing in the political blogosphere with another week of attention, but not necessarily the type of attention he wants. 
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