My my, what a lovely Christmas gift for Hillary Clinton.  God knows she deserves a break.

I am very happy with the commentary accompanying this major endorsement.  They really see Hillary as her supporter so ... informed, capable, wise and, most importantly ... ready.

I am happy.

Congratulations to Hillary.

Great endorsement for her .

I have become lukewarm to her candidacy of late , because I dislike incompetence when I see it especially on several occassions and for a long stretch but there is no doubt to she is the best candidate for president out there.

I hope she uses this as a turning point in her campaign . This is huge.

I have to say desmoinedem is perhaps the most knowledgeable about Iowa on this blog , he had it right.  

HOLY F***! I did not expect that.

That's right, ready to lead from day one.

You know, in December of 2006 it was my prediction that Clinton and McCain will duke it out in 2008. Friends, battle of the Titans. Who knows?

ITs a good break for Clinton but I wonder three things.

One, will this reinforce the sense of her as the "establishment" candidate, against which those seeking "change" will want to vote?

Two, what "experience" is the endorsement talking about? Informed, yes, I can buy that; thoughtful and well-spoken on the issues, sure. But at what point is anyone going to explain to us what experience it is that Clinton's relatively quiet 7 years in the Senate outweigh Edwards' 6 or Obama's 3? Can Iowans really be expected to believe that just being married to the President is relevant experience?

Thirdly, why did the Register endorse the candidate in each party who has been the most hawkish on the Iraq war? IS that indicative of how people in Iowa feel about the war?  

Looks like I was wrong -- new edit board seems to have brought a different set of criteria to the decision-making table, than previous DMR edit boards. Well, tactically, this is perfect for Team Clinton, because it shuts up the press about her slide in the polls, and sets the stage for The Comeback Kid, Part II. Further, I suspect that Bill Clinton is going to be even more prominent in making the closing argument to Iowans on Hillary's behalf in the final 18 days.

As much as I strongly support Obama, I thought the DMR would go for a candidate like Biden who is respected especially on foreign policy.

Biden deserved this one.
 

The biggest loser is John Edwards, who has really bet it all on Iowa and was counting on that second consecutive endorsement. They dissed him harsh:

"Edwards was our pick for the 2004 nomination. But this is a different race, with different candidates. We too seldom saw the "positive, optimistic" campaign we found appealing in 2004. His harsh anti-corporate rhetoric would make it difficult to work with the business community to forge change."

Obama breaks even: since Edwards is hurt, this helps make him the Not Hillary.  The second tier loses one more little bit of hope.

The second biggest loser is The Entire GOP Field for losing the endorsement to John McCain who's running pretty openly on a Screw Iowa strategy. That was a Pox On All Your Houses endorsement.

While it will take some time to see if Clinton will be able to retake her lead in Iowa...

One of the reasons you come to savvy political blogs like MyDD is to read cutting-edge analysis like this.

Its a good get for Clinton, albeit surprising one.  If the all-female panel actually was going strictly by experience as they suggest, Biden or Dodd or even Richardson seemed better choices.  Its also curious that they did not mention Clinton's string of negativity.

But its clear from the editorial that the decision was between Obama and Clinton.  They spoke favorably of him twice.  I was surprised that they dismissed Edwards so harshly having endorsed him last time.

Finally, I wonder if DMR's opposition to student caucusing and Obama's refusal to back down hurt him.  I would think so.

Despite the endorsement of Senator Clinton, I still expect Edwards to win the state. He has such an advantage. The endorsement however, may decide who is number two and who ultimately goes on to win NH, SC and the nomination.

who says iowans dont like negative campaigning? they rewarded hillary for it.

I just watched the endorsemnet and this line from the lady caught my hear ,

Barack Obama " inspired our imagination "  but it was Hillary Rodham Clinton that " inspired our confidence"

- That should be the closing argument for Hillary Clinton , that lady couldn't have said it any better.

It reinforces the theme of Bill Clinton's interview with Charlie Rose:

America needs an experienced agent of change more than just a symbol of change.

the one thing this does, although it's good for Hillary in an attempt to win Iowa it ends the spin that a bad showing isn't meaningfull. Now no more it will be a miracle if she wins stuff, she has the biggest Newspaper, Vilsack ect.....if she can't win here no will buy excuses.

Obama's background has not been rigorously investigated yet, as has those of the Clintons'.  Who knows what could be uncovered about Obama?  Nobody.

And quite frankly, if Bill Clinton has cheated on Hillary since the WH,  that could potentially help her.  Hillary had her highest approval rating EVER right after the Monica Lewinski scandal.  

have u been asleep for the last month? MSM has done nothing but trash Clinton

gives new meaning to the term experienced.

A very well-reasoned endorsement. Interesting juxtaposition with the Globe's Obama endorsement, which goes for symbolism over substance. I hope Hillary uses the good news to pivot and restart her campaign.

NO SPIN.  It is well-known that the NYTimes has a story about Bill, which they were going to run either late last year or early this year but thought it wasn't relevant as Bill was a private citizen.  I am sure many have heard that the LA Times is sitting on a story, but I did not hear any name attached to it.  

My assumption is now that Clinton has injected himself into the campaign the stories are relevant to print.

I don't see a story on Huffington Post about Bill Clinton cheating. Is there really a story, or is this just random gossip in the comments somewhere?

I don't even like to look at the comments there.

This is shaping up pretty good.  I think the DMR endorsement carries some weight with currently undecideds.  The argumentation used also hammers some of the points home that have been argued here (i.e. Obama not ready for primetime, needs seasoning, etc.)    But, what I really like is the current narrative that Obama is running away with Iowa, which is not borne out by reality (Rasmussen actually shows Clinton ahead, Hotline has it an exact tie.)  The media chose to focus only on the polls that showed Obama ahead or surging, so the theme is now that Iowa is Obama's to lose, which is dangerous for him, as the state is in reality knotted up in a tie.   I actually want this to go on through all of December, don't necessarily want to see a highly publicized poll that has Clinton ahead by a larger margin, bringing about "Comeback kid" stories.   This first caucus is all about expectations, and with the expectation that Clinton will get her supporters to come out strongly, I like where the expectations game is at this point.

The Des Moines Register endorsement is a breath of fresh air.  At long last sanity has come to some element of the print (as opposed to the broadcast) media.

To suggest that Senator Clinton's eight years as First Lady are irrelevant is like saying that Eleanor Roosevelt's years as First Lady were irrelevant.  Both women served in those positions as hugely influential ambassadors for their country, admired the world over as truly unconventional visionaries.

What is most impressive about this endorsement is that it arrives clearly carefully measured--all candidates were assessed as to their merits and weaknesses.

In the end, however, Senator Clinton among all presidential candidates this cycle truly stands alone.  No other candidate is nearly as well prepared to deal with the immediacy of events on both a national and world stage.

In 2000, the MSM and much of the blogosphere perpetually criticized the Clinton years, ignoring the obvious fact of the long reign of peace and prosperity over which the Clintons presided.

Then as now, the press and pundits called for "change."  Much of the MSM viewed George Walker Bush as "folksy," as opposed to Al Gore's "stiffness."  

Talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey herself softened GWB's image with women, drawing forth his "compassionate conservatism" (a bizarre term; an of course contradictory term) for consumption among her many viewers--following his appearance on her program.  

Thus it may well be said that she, like much of the MSM, pushed him toward his (in the end, alas, illegitimate) victory.

Today Ms. Winfrey, like many others in the MSM, again ignores a candidate's credentials.

So much of the MSM celebrates Senator Obama, continuing in their long line of anti-Clinton rhetoric.

But where has such rhetoric led us?  Again, we are being asked to thurst into power a novice on the national stage, who represents "change" from the Clinton years.

But now that the United States finds itself in shambles, no "anti-Clinton change" will do.

The election of the only truly properly credentialed and sober candidate, Senator Hillary Clinton, is absolutely now necessary if the United States is to survive at all.

No style over substance, no rhetoric over sober reality--not this time.  

The MSM be damned (it shall be anyway--they gave us GWB and the blood is on their hands now), this time Senator Clinton, like the Des Moines Register has brilliantly concluded, is the only possible choice.

And the attacks on Obama from the Clinton camp continue. Now Old Bill himself goes on Charlie Rose and in a red faced angry rant goes off about Obama. Even Rose himself was reported to have said that Clinton Staffers were freaking out over his behavior......the Clinton's will do and say anything to get what they want and pity those who are in their way....they are loathesome people.....I am not even a Obama supporter (I support Edwards..

Irrelevant.....

This endorsement helps Edwards in the Iowa medica because it creates an expectation that Hillary is suppose to win. Sorry Bill, but you are full of shit as usual when it comes to Billary politics.

The Register and Gov. Vilsack are well known Moderates and Vilsack headed the DLC, along with the Clintons.  These are people who quiver in fear at Progressive movers and shakers, so they stuck to their same old musty ways, just as Congress has done.  They haven't changed in years  -why switch now.

By the way I argue with anyone who think Obama was bashing the boomers in past comments. NOT SO.  I've seen lots of animosity towards him because of that impression..
He went after the DLC!!  He's previously and vehemently rejected all efforts by the DLC to include him as a member.
He remembers, as we do, that thanks to the likes of Emanuel and Schumer the Dems have lost elections for the last 6 election.  Until Dean. Whom the Register also opposed.  

Anyone who saw the incredible Fox/Luntz focus group about Obama, Iowans are drooling for a new change -and voted almost unanimously for Obama.
(This link was e-mailed to me -if it doesn't work it's probably on Obamas website.
https://donate.barackobama.com/page/cont ribute/iowansreact?source=20071214_IR1_1 _X_G

I believe Obama will win Iowa, with a nice margin.  Looking at the makeup of yesterdays town hall, there were a boatload of big ol' boys clapping just as hard as every other age group.

World -meet an incarnated King/Kennedy with just the right touch of James Brown!

I actually smile now -at a politician!

I'm happy Hillary won this endorsement. I break out in hives at Obama's overt sermonizing & John Edwards just never struck me as much more than kind hearted but wet behind the ears. I liked the DMR line:  

"Indeed, Obama, her chief rival, inspired our imaginations. But it was Clinton who inspired our confidence."

Competence, and confidence. What a concept!

Interesting choice to also endorse McCain- I thought that guy was dead in the water long ago. That suggests, if he can build on his strengths in NH, Iraq is still very much the central issue, no matter how much the msm wants to ignore it.

Should she capture the nomination, keepng this in mind, Mrs. Clinton would be very wise to consider adding the brilliant, telegenic General Wesley Clark to her ticket as VP forthwith. I would work my ass off for that ticket.

Congratulations on the endorsement.

Was not expecting this- great news- people are hypocrites if they say it's not- how much it will help, i do not know.