Major Surprise

Yesterday the "Who?" candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson and Joe Biden all pledged not to campaign in rogue states that have moved their primaries up in defiance of party rules. This was widely seen as a nice gesture but pretty well meaningless in the great scheme of things. Since none of the "principled" candidates have huge treasuries at their disposal, it could just as easily have been a cost-saving measure. But in a real surprise today, Obama and Edwards also signed on to the pledge and Hillary! Clinton rapidly jumped on the bandwagon for fear of being left behind.

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards on Saturday joined three other Democrats who say they will skip states that break party rules by holding early primaries.

Their decision is a major boost to the primacy of four early voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — and a welcome development to the Democratic National Committee.

"We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process," Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle said. "And we believe the DNC's rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role."

The DNC has tried to impose discipline on a handful of unruly states determined to vote before Feb. 5 and gain influence in the election cycle.

"Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina need to be first because in these states ideas count, not just money," Edwards said. "This tried-and-true nominating system is the only way for voters to judge the field based on the quality of the candidate, not the depth of their war chest."

Obama said the DNC's nominating process is "in the best interests of our party and our nation."

Their pledges came a day after rivals Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson and Joe Biden endorsed the plan, which was promoted by Democratic leaders of the four states that have party approval to hold early contests.

Despite how the AP led its story here, Clinton was dead last to this little bit of political theater. But the Republican candidates are now in a corner and had better also follow suit - right now. Otherwise it will be used as a club against them. Believe it. The Dems will puff themselves up and point to their "principled" stand for ideas rather than money. (I suspect this has a lot to do with trying to distract attention from Norman Hsu and his unusual methods of financing Democratic candidates.) "Look! Over there! It's Halley's Comet!"