Hillary's poll numbers

[Padfoot]

As most of you probably know, Hillary has been trailing in Iowa for a while now and the two most recent polls have placed her behind both Edwards and Obama.  What if this starts to happen in other states as well?  If Hillary slips into third place in New Hampshire too will she quit?  Is it possible that she might drop out before voting starts in NH if Obama and Edwards become the obvious top two candidates in most states?

[Tender Branson]

I think she´ll lead the NH polls for a couple of months now, while she´ll experience some heat by Richardson in NV and Obama in SC. But eventually she will stay in the race, maybe skip Iowa and focusing on the other 3 states.

[Jacobtm]

No way, she has too much money. Even if she loses all four of the first contests, she can still count on tons of votes in large urban centers that vote on super tuesday, since she can buy ads in these very expensive media markets.

[Mr. Morden]

No way, she has too much money. Even if she loses all four of the first contests, she can still count on tons of votes in large urban centers that vote on super tuesday, since she can buy ads in these very expensive media markets.

Except that Obama is raising $ faster than she is.  Where did people get this idea that Clinton has some kind of insurmountable cash advantage?

[Padfoot]

No way, she has too much money. Even if she loses all four of the first contests, she can still count on tons of votes in large urban centers that vote on super tuesday, since she can buy ads in these very expensive media markets.

Except that Obama is raising $ faster than she is.  Where did people get this idea that Clinton has some kind of insurmountable cash advantage?

b/c she is married to the biggest and best Democratic fundraiser.  Bill Clinton is a bottomless pit of money.

[Mr. Morden]

No way, she has too much money. Even if she loses all four of the first contests, she can still count on tons of votes in large urban centers that vote on super tuesday, since she can buy ads in these very expensive media markets.

Except that Obama is raising $ faster than she is.  Where did people get this idea that Clinton has some kind of insurmountable cash advantage?

b/c she is married to the biggest and best Democratic fundraiser.  Bill Clinton is a bottomless pit of money.

Then how is it that Obama has raised more money than her so far?

[motomonkey]

Hillary has some formidable strenghts including:

1.  Her popularity with the core of the Democratic base and traditional leadership is substantial.  This will work in her favor in getting super delagate commitments. 
2.  Her experience (including Bill's) will allow her to navigate the important back channels, power brokers and local political machines more effectively than any other candidate.
3.  Her popularity is strongest in larger markets with dominating media coverage ie. New York.  This has the effect of amplifying her message which makes her often seem like she is doing better than she really is.  If her message gets traction beyond her base this media advantage will be hard for competitors to overcome.
4.  Never underestimate Bill Clinton's political ability to read a situation and devise the perfect message and strategy to end up on top.  The "comeback kid" has the best instinctive political skills ever seen at the Presidential level.

That being said:

1.  Her numbers are retreating not climbing.
2.  She is still the most polarizing candidate in the race.  It appears the people that oppose her hate her more than the people who support her love her.  She needs strong, passionate supporters to overcome the negative noise that will only increase as her candicy moves forward.
3.  Obama is a rock star.  Democrats are suckers for rock stars.  Without Obama, Hillary would have been that "cause celeb" but for now, she has to watch the gushing from the bridesmaid position.
4.  She needs to fight without looking like a street fighter. 

In all, Hillary should be around for a long while, but I think Edwards is in a very good place as this plays out (assuming no Gore entrance).