Kucinich Gives Obama a Gift

Dennis Kucinich is telling Iowans who caucus for him that their second choice should be Barack Obama (and here). This is a HUGE deal. The Democratic Party rules require that in any precinct where a candidate does not meet a 15% threshold, his or her supporters must organize on behalf of a second-choice candidate who does clear the threshold. Kucinich's supporters may be few, but they could be enough to tilt the result towards one of the top tier candidates if they all re-organize around the same second choice. In 2004, Kucinich asked his supporters to make John Edwards their second choice, which was a big reason why Edwards did so well that year. This time around, it looks like the beneficiary could be Obama. In a three-way race as tight as this, Kucinich's supporters could end up the king-makers.