The buzz of the moment is the Hillary Clinton strategy memo, leaked and quickly denied with much love for corn and pigs offered, arguing for a Screw Iowa strategy.
Ohhh, this is no accident. This isn't a sign of lack of discipline or intra-campaign strife. This is a deliberate, strategic move.
The key line is buried in the next to last paragraph:
If she walks any from Iowa she will devalue Iowa (our consistently weakest state).
This comes just days after a Register poll showing Clinton in third place with Bill Richardson within shouting distance. By publicly considering the Screw Iowa strategy, she in effect does devalue Iowa, and gets to have it both ways. She dramatically reduces expectations by making the case for Screw Iowa and acknowledging weakness. But by not openly dissing Iowa (as Gore `88, McCain `00, and Lieberman/Clark `04 did) she keeps a hand in the game and avoids offending Iowa supporters (most prominently the Vilsacks).
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