THE SNOWS OF IOWA. I think Mark Halperin is right to say that "if Hillary wins Iowa, she runs the table and wins the Democratic nomination. If Obama wins Iowa -- less likely, but not impossible -- he runs the table and wins the Democratic nomination. John Edwards could win Iowa and still not be the nominee. That does seem to be the dynamic of the race right now: In the case of Clinton or Obama, a win in Iowa will be unexpected enough to propel them through the rest of the early primaries. Either one could win Iowa and then get a Kerry-like boost from it. Edwards, by contrast, is the Gephardt of Iowa -- he needs to win it to stay alive, but it doesn't lock in any future primaries. Incidentally, if I were the Obama folk, I'd be blanketing Iowa. I'd buy a house, sponsor a corn festival, marry a local. If he wins there, he simultaneously knocks out Edwards and shatters Clinton's momentum. If Edwards wins there, he continues to split votes with Obama, while a Hillary win propels her through to New Hampshire. Additionally, Obama's only behind by about 5 points in Iowa, while Hillary, in a build that I hadn't much noticed, is up by a staggering 20 percent in New Hampshire. --Ezra Klein
