The Des Moines Register’s Big Move

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The Des Moines Register is releasing its super-important endorsement in the Democratic primary tonight. In Iowa, where the Drudge Report, the New York Times op-ed page, and the liberal blogosphere all influence opinions far less than they do on the coasts, a nod from the state’s largest paper can provide a campaign with a huge boost. It certainly did that for John Edwards in 2004.

So we’ll be on that here at MoJoBlog. The NYT has an excellent article on the length campaigns will go to get the Register‘s endorsement. Right now, the sexy pick is Joe Biden, though that may just be political reporters hoping for a bit of intrigue to cut the monotony of the campaign. A Biden endorsement would probably hurt Clinton, because they share voters who place a higher premium on national security experience and/or hawkishness than anything else. And if you subscribe to the theory that Edwards and Obama have like-minded supporters, a nod for either one will hurt the other. A Clinton choice would likely reenergize her drifting campaign.

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And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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