Survival Guide for the Iowa Leaders (Howard Fineman - Newsweek)

[VolcanoJen]

This article is by Howard Fineman, King of the Lousy "I possess no political instincts whatsoever" Pundits. The never-asked-for "advice" he provides to each of the four Iowa frontrunners makes for an amusing read, at least.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3969012/

Survival Guide for the Iowa leaders
What Dean, Kerry, Edwards and Gephardt should do now

Excerpt:

Any hopes that he and other Democrats had for a quick, decisive end to the presidential nominating season are vanishing here in a nasty crescendo of TV attack ads and street combat. These guys are out for blood, and they have good organizations to draw it. Dean may well win here, but I’m not sure it’s going to be the end of anything.

It’s possible that four contenders—Dean, Dick Gephardt, John Kerry and John Edwards—could finish within spitting distance of each other. In that case, more people would be “winnowed” in than “winnowed” out, winnowing being what the Iowa caucuses are supposed to do. And since neither Wes Clark nor Joe Lieberman is playing here, they aren’t being winnowed one way or another.

I don’t think I’ve seen a cycle in which there is so much technical expertise in the campaigns: There are a lot of very professional people at all levels of these six campaigns. But assuming that the hired help does its job, here and in the other “early” contests, what do the candidates themselves need to do to survive?

Here is my suggested survival guide—what to do and what to avoid—for each:

More - STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO HOW THE DEMS COULD WIN BIG, by Howard "2001 Media Whore of the Year" Fineman!